These mushrooms eat pollution

Hey fam,

It's officially more than 20 weeks into 2025. I know, I can't believe it either. Somehow, January 1st simultaneously feels like yesterday and 10 years ago.

But still much more to come! I hope your weekend ahead (a long weekend if you're in the US thanks to Memorial Day on Monday!) is full of rest, friends, and good food.

This week we're covering a woman who uses mushrooms to clean up pollution, a re-wilding movement taking over The Netherlands, building monkey bridges from old hoses, unprecedented Indigenous rights in Colombia, and more...

Friday, May 16

The world is better because of a woman who’s using mushrooms to eat pollution...

Despite fears arising from the hit show “The Last of Us”, Danielle Stevenson is reassuring people that fungi won’t turn people into zombies, but will break down contaminants in soil.

2.2-3.8 million different species of fungus likely exist on earth, and after growing up near a polluted river that would catch fire from oil spills, Danielle was surprised to see plants and fungi growing in abandoned factories, leading to her interest in a scientific process called mycoremediation which uses fungi to safely remove polluted chemicals, pesticides, and metals.

Without mouths like animals or photosynthesis like plants, fungi instead release enzymes that break down organic matter and then absorb it. 

So adding some species of fungi to contaminated sites like brownfields, which have hazardous substances that make the land difficult to use, can safely transform into safe and usable areas for parks, affordable housing, or whatever a community needs.

Of course, stopping pollution in the first place is the best solution, but for already dangerous land, fungi, and people like Danielle, are making things better.

Monday, May 19

🌻 Less than a year after the world’s largest dam removal on the Klamath River was completed, blooming wildflowers have returned to the river’s edge, literally showing that nature is healing as the rushing river once again brings nutrients and life as it flows down its natural path (Adele Peters|Fast Company)

🪏 A movement called “tegelwippen” has taken over the Netherlands with citizens removing over 13 million tiles of pavement in the past 5 years and replacing them with wildflowers that combat flooding and overheating, with the government approving and even supporting with gardening equipment, plants, and slab removal (Klaus Sieg|Reasons to be Cheerful)

📉 So much wind, solar, and nuclear power was added by China last year that their emissions dropped even though energy demand increased, marking the first drop that was due to clean power generation instead of a demand slump, in a trend that hopefully continues to accelerate (Lauri Myllyvirta|CarbonBrief)

🪡 Becca (from our community) is reclaiming old fabrics to turn them into bags and functional art.

Tuesday, May 20

🐒 An adorable species of monkey is safely crossing the road on a bridge made from used fire hoses, built by a community science Facebook group...

When Jo Leen Yap saw endangered dusky langurs trying to cross busy Malaysian roads and often not making it, she came up with a plan during her free time while getting her PhD.

Collecting old fire department hoses that were strong and water resistant, her plan made it out of the group chat as she led a team of researchers to put up their first bridge 40 feet above a busy road.

And after a few adjustments, they recorded over 7,000 wildlife crossings on this one bridge alone.

So with clear signs of success, three more bridges are now being constructed, as Yap’s organization called Langur Project Penang is determined to reduce roadkill and help langurs and other treetop animals safely live their lives and peacefully coexist with the humans in the area.

Wednesday, May 21

*This was a paid collaboration just for social media, but I wanted to include it here as well to fill in today's gap and provide more interesting content that you may like :)

🗣️ Together with my partners at Climate Power, I did some research to see if calling our elected representatives and making our voices heard actually makes a difference... (Spoiler alert: yes it does!)

Thursday, May 22

🇨🇴 Colombia formalized some Indigenous local governments throughout the Amazon in a historic decree decades in the making, giving Indigenous Peoples not only land titles but self-governing authority over their lands with “public budgets and administrative power” to protect their forests and hopefully other nations will follow their lead (Steven Grattan|AP)

🐕 Trained dogs are sniffing out invasive spotted lanternflies eggs to try and remove them before they hatch, since these insects damage trees and fruit crops in the US, but by using these talented dog’s superior sense of smell a team in Cleveland has already eradicated up to 200,000 (The Guardian)

💸 11 states have introduced climate Superfund bills after Vermont and New York passed similar laws which make the world’s worst polluters pay for the damages they’ve created, and despite backlash and legal challenges, more states are determined to bring forward long overdue accountability (Akielly Hu|Grist)

🍎 And Bee (from our community) planted over 100 native fruit trees and plans to give the excess away for free to their community

Bonus!

🚮 People are taking action with trash... by sending upcycled postcards to politicians.

🫓 They made a tortilla that doesn't need to be refrigerated.

🦘 Thanks to backlash, Adidas will no longer use Kangaroo leather in their shoes.

This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. 900,000+ people are in our community across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Bluesky. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com.