The end of TikTok?
Hey fam,
As of writing this (afternoon on Thursday, January 16), it looks like TikTok is still set to be banned in the US this weekend. I know this goes against the point of my content which is to report good stories.
But thankfully, if you're reading this, we can still talk to each other right here (and I'll keep posting videos on the other major platforms too).
No matter what happens, this looming ban is making me realize the importance of building out this newsletter and expanding it into a much deeper community hub where we can exchange stories, give each other advice, and come together to support & build a better future.
If there's anything you'd love to see added, advice you have, or just general thoughts, please hit "reply" on this email and tell me!
And if you know someone else that would benefit from this weekly breath of fresh air, feel free to send it their way.
Stay tuned for a lot more to come...
And now, enjoy this week's good news!
Friday, January 10
🐻❄️ Not a single company placed any bids on an Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling lease sale, marking the second failed sale in a row, supporting the strong public opposition for disrupting this beautiful sacred land and signalling that drilling the land and disrupting the refuge is not worth it (Yereth Rosen|Alaska Beacon)
🐝 A new species of blue bee called Andrena androfovea has been discovered in which the males have a fuzzy structure around their eyes which sort of resembles eyeliner thought to help attract mates, and they’re the only bees of their kind to collect and spread pollen from nightshade flowers (Meghan Cook|GoodGoodGood)
🚫 Styrofoam is now effectively banned in the world’s fifth-largest economy, California, since the material gets recycled less than 1% of the time and often becomes litter, which along with similar policies in over 100 cities will likely force a industry-wide shift into better and more reusable packaging options (Jeff Young|Newsweek)
🦋 And today’s community win comes from Mackenzii who’s planting a lot of milkweed to help monarch butterflies from home as they depend on this flower to survive.
Monday, January 13
🐒 The golden lion tamarin, first described back in 1519, was on the brink of extinction from habitat loss, until conservationists stepped up to vaccinate the wild monkeys for yellow fever, create protected areas and wildlife crossings, and encourage breeding until their numbers increased to the self-sustaining population they’re at today (Alex Rodway|CNN)
💨 A new report shows 2025 is set to be the first time Europe will generate more electricity from wind than coal, marking the first time a single renewable energy source will generate more power than coal in any major region, further solidifying this energy transition (Gavin Maguire|Reuters)
🇪🇸 Barcelona’s air quality continues to improve so much that 2024 marked the lowest levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution ever recorded in the city, thanks to low emissions zones that restrict polluting vehicles in major parts of the city which in turn increases the use of public transportation and electric vehicles (CatalanNews)
🌱 And today’s community win comes from BotanicalTeaParty whose brother is building a hydroponics cabinet that works year round to grow food in water instead of soil to help feed their community.
Tuesday, January 14
💧 22-year-old Gabriel Kay designed a kettle called Osiris that boils water with interchangeable components that are easy to swap out with just a screwdriver, to reduce e-waste and last a lifetime, which has now won several awards and can hopefully help end poorly designed electronics that can’t be easily repaired at home (Robin Eveleigh|Positive News)
🧑⚖️ The US Supreme Court rejected an attempt by Big Oil to drop state lawsuits, where they tried to get the cases taken over by federal courts instead of state ones, yet this decision will allow the dozen states already filing lawsuits to move forward in holding Big Oil accountable for deceiving the public (Lindsay Whitehurst|AP)
🦔 "Hedgehog highways" where residents of British cities and towns cut tiny holes in their garden fences to allow hedgehogs to pass through have been added to over 240,000 gardens and along with other practices are showing signs of recovery for the urban populations of these little critters (Stephanie Castellano|Reasons to be Cheerful)
🛍️ And today’s community win comes from lulu.wassup whose family switched to reusable grocery bags.
Wednesday, January 15
💧 Ancient stepwells intricately built throughout India hundreds of years ago as water reservoirs which trap rain for a reliable water source and to act as social hubs are making a comeback, getting rediscovered, repaired, and restarted to both show them off and continue to combat water scarcity today (Charuskesi Ramadurai|Reasons to be Cheerful)
🧬 A new species of pangolin was discovered during a routine DNA analysis of animals that were confiscated from wildlife traffickers, with scientists officially identifying the Indo-Burmese pangolin covered in scales and as amazing looking as the rest, reiterating the need to protect these heavily trafficked mammals (Aspen Pflughoeft|Miami Herald)
🌿 When an invasive species called water hyacinth made a lake in Kenya nearly impassible and became so widespread it could be seen from space, Joseph Nguthiru started drying the weed and turning it into an award-winning plastic replacement called HyaPak, tackling two environmental problems at the same time (Tom Page|CNN)
🧑🌾 And today’s community win comes from Ira who started a rooftop garden on her home to share saplings, seeds, and produce with their neighbors.
Thursday, January 16
As of writing this (on Thursday night), TikTok is still set to be banned in the US on Sunday, January 19.
I started out on TikTok and have nearly 500,000 of you following me there.
If this is the end of the platform, that's a huge hit for spreading these stories of hope and for my career as I still make a substantial part of my living on the platform.
But we'll keep talking, sharing, and creating good news no matter what.
Bonus stories
🎶 Human music might have originated from... singing lemurs?
🌊 Harnessing the ocean and waves to generate power is gaining traction,
🤪 Letting kids have free, wild, risky play is actually good for them,
🚕 Haters gonna hate, but NYC congestion pricing already seems to be working.
Spread this breath of fresh air🪴
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Support good news & independent publishingThis newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. 800,000+ people are in our community replacing dread & fear with hope & action across Instagram, TikTok (for now), Threads, and YouTube. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com
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