no. 97: It's (almost) Earth Day!

Hey friend,

Happy Friday!

Every Friday is special in my book, but this one's extra nice with Earth Day right around the corner (April 22).

And while every day should be Earth Day, this holiday really does make people stop and think about how amazing our home planet is. Started by US Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970, it's become a global event that's credited with planting the seeds for the modern environmentalism movement, as well as bringing forth a lot of government pressure for positive change.

I'll be scrambling around to some exciting events this weekend learning from environmental leaders, attending a Climate Emergency Strike, posting a lot of meaningful content, celebrating our love for Earth, biking through 53 car-free streets in NYC, and on Earth Day itself I'm planning to be in nature as much as possible and reflect how lucky we are to be living on such a magical rock.

Whether you have plans for the day or not, I hope it's a great one for you, and I'm glad you're here on Earth with me.

Now enjoy this week's good news...

The good from Monday, April 15

Starting off a little grave (pun intended)... Human composting, water cremation, and natural burials are gaining popularity alongside eco-friendly funerals with better casket materials like willow, and even the more affordable renting of a casket that can be sanitized and reused to create less waste. (Positive.news)

eBay has gotten rid of fees for people selling pre-owned clothing on the site in an effort to encourage more secondhand items to stay out of the landfill and be more affordable to work towards a circular economy. (Yahoo)

Water will be cleaner in the US since the EPA is now requiring forever chemicals called PFAs to be removed from water systems, as these cause all sorts of crazy health risks and never break down in the environment, so this move will prevent tens of thousands of serious illnesses. (NYT)

The popular painkiller acetaminophen which many people know as Tylenol is now able to be derived from poplar wood instead of traditional petrochemicals like crude oil and coal tar, and researchers from the University of Wisconsin Madison say it’s not only greener but cheaper too. (New Atlas)

The good from Tuesday, April 16

53 streets across New York City will be closed to cars this Saturday 4/20 in honor of Earth Day, so people can walk or bike or frolic or slither or do whatever you want without worrying about zooming automobiles. (6sqft)

You can now trade in trash for food at a series of garbage cafes set up in Delhi, India which incentivizes cleaning up plastic litter to help prevent waste from clogging drains and harming animals while also combating food insecurity. (Reasons to be Cheerful)

A highway is being revamped in Indiana to charge your electric vehicle while you drive over it, which is kinda solarpunk and works by putting copper coils under the road’s surface that deliver electricity through magnetic fields that turn on and off. (Inside Climate News)

A new window coating that blocks heat while still letting in light has been developed by a team of scientists, by basically preventing heat-generating ultraviolet and infrared light, while still letting in the visible light wavelengths for humans to reduce indoor temperatures by up to an impressive 7 degrees Celsius. (Ecowatch)

The good from Wednesday, April 17

Despite increases in living costs, consumers in the UK are still prioritizing ethical and sustainable products, like those certified by the Fairtrade label, showing more awareness and care toward fair wages and ethical values. (The Guardian)

Greece is set to invest 780 million euros (about 829 million dollars) for marine conservation and pollution cleanup including 2 new protected marine parks and reducing pollution in tourism and transportation. (Ecowatch)

This research boat called the Energy Observer is 100% renewably powered and has been traveling around the world for the past 7 years and will now take their learnings and apply them to bigger vessels to clean up the shipping industry. (Canary Media)

India’s Supreme Court just had a major ruling that expands the scope of their “right of life” which now constitutionally guarantees a clean environment, protections against adverse climate effects, and the right to equality and health. (The Independent)

The good from Thursday, April 18

They literally cloned two endangered ferrets... scientists took black-footed ferret cells that were frozen nearly 40 years ago and Noreen and Antonia are both healthy and adorable and will help diversify the gene pool by resurrecting this long lost lineage. (Washington Post)

The fourth-longest river in the UK called the River Wye has a new plan to reverse declining water quality by incentivizing farmers to plant buffer zones that capture agricultural runoff and use better waste disposal practices. (GNN)

A new Whale Safe program is tracking cargo ship speed and whale migration patterns to help provide publicly available transparent data and create slow speed zones to avoid the often fatal collisions and protect these marine animals. (The Economist)

Texas generated more electricity from solar than coal all of last month as clean energy is surging in the sunny state while coal production is plummeting with the gap predicted to continue growing. (Canary Media)

Bonus stories

In Uganda, bamboo has government’s backing as a crop with real growth potential

The Ugandan government has set a 10-year policy that calls for planting 300,000 hectares of bamboo, most of it on private land, by 2029 as part of wider reforestation efforts.

AP NewsRODNEY MUHUMUZA

Chip Ganassi IndyCar Team Announces Sustainability Effort

Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar and Sports Car operation will take part in Earth Month with a sustainability effort at its facilities and on the road.

ForbesBruce Martin

Between Brazil’s Caatinga & Cerrado, communities profit from native fruits

PORTEIRINHA, Minas Gerais — Beneath the shade of the umbu tree, Maria Neves tells Maria José that ripe umbu fruit is like a woman on the brink of giving birth: It demands immediate attention. “Umbu doesn’t take a day off; it’s like milking cows, it’s every day,” says Maria Neves Almeida, a Caatinga dweller (or […]

Mongabay Environmental NewsXavier Bartaburu

Inside the UK’s First Open-Access, Pay-As-You-Go Factory

By making manufacturing technology available and affordable, maker spaces like BLOQS are knocking down barriers.

Reasons to be CheerfulMaryLou Costa

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See you again soon,

Jacob

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