Every day the Good Good Good team collects the best good news in the world and shares it with our community. Here are the highlights for this week!
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The Best Positive News We’re Celebrating This Week —
The world’s first hydrogen ferry is officially in service in San Francisco
In a milestone for sustainable transportation, the Sea Change ferry is now officially running in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Providing an entirely different experience from a traditional diesel ferry, the Sea Change is quiet and emits only heat and water vapor — because it’s fueled by hydrogen.
The Sea Change can travel up to 300 nautical miles at speeds of up to 15 knots. It can hold 75 passengers and is no more expensive to ride than its counterparts. It’s also the only vessel where you can literally drink the exhaust — the water vapor supplies a drinking fountain onboard.
What’s the nuance? Most hydrogen is still made from fossil fuels, so it’s not fully “clean” — yet. The Sea Change ferry will use hydrogen fuel that is available locally, but eventually, designers hope it could use green hydrogen, which is made from water and renewable electricity.
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Deforestation in Colombia fell to a 23-year low in 2023
Thanks largely to a decline in environmental destruction in the Amazon, deforestation in Colombia fell 36% in 2023 — to just over 792 square kilometers. Down from around 1,235 square kilometers in 2022, that figure represents a 23-year low.
One of the most biodiverse countries in the world, Colombia is home to thousands of plant and animal species — but continues to lose habitat to deforestation every year.
But 2023 was an encouraging year, especially in the country’s Amazon region, which typically drives its deforestation rate. Deforestation there declined 38% to around 443 square kilometers — down from 712 in 2022.
While the country acknowledged the “really good news,” it noted that the battle against deforestation continues: it’s on track to rise in 2024 due to dry conditions exacerbated by El Niño.
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In a breakthrough for HIV treatment, a new drug trial showed a twice-annual injection is 100% effective against infection
A large clinical trial in South Africa and Uganda has shown that a twice-yearly injection of a new pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug gives young women total protection from HIV infection.
This breakthrough gives great hope that we have a proven, highly effective prevention tool to protect people from HIV. Alongside greater advocacy, funding, and access to treatment, it could help continue the declining rates of HIV/AIDS cases and deaths globally.
There were 1.3 million new HIV infections globally in the past year. While that’s fewer than the 2 million infections seen in 2010, it’s still above the HIV new infection target that UNAIDS set for 2025 (which is fewer than 500,000 globally).
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More good HIV/AIDS news:
- Putting it ahead of schedule to end the country’s epidemic, the rate of new HIV infections in Namibia is five times lower than it was in 2002.
- Grassroots AIDS activists helped fight for and win access to affordable HIV treatments for people around the world.
- After a groundbreaking treatment, a 53-year-old man in Germany became the fifth person to be officially cured of HIV.
- While antiretroviral drugs can keep HIV in check, a small biotech company in San Francisco is working on a cure for HIV using gene editing.
A mother fought tirelessly to get free phone calls and emails in Connecticut’s prisons
Diane Lewis’ community has been hit hard by mass incarceration. Data from 2020 showed Upper Albany had one of the highest incarceration rates in Hartford — 1,917 per 100,000 people, or more than four times the rate statewide.
At the same time, the neighborhood’s median household income is about $24,000, and more than 30 percent of families live in poverty. A $5 prison phone call chipped away at the little money people have for essentials like food, rent, medicine, and clothes.
Lewis’ advocacy for prison phone justice began after her 17-year-old son went to prison in 2004. Knowing the importance of staying connected, she usually called four times a day, and with each 15-minute call costing her between $3 and $5 — she was spending about $100 per week.
Two years ago, Lewis finally won her years-long fight to make phone calls and email free in Connecticut’s prisons and juvenile facilities. In that time, the free phone calls and emails from prisons have been “life-changing” for families — and incarcerated people.
With over 500 nests, sea turtles just made a comeback and broke a 42-year record in Florida
With its sandy beaches and subtropical waters, Florida is home to one of the largest loggerhead sea turtle nesting populations in the world.
Despite living up to 70 years, loggerheads have been on the decline due to ocean pollution, human interference, and the gradual destruction of their nesting habitats. They’re protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
But on the Gulf coast of Florida, Anna Maria Island just celebrated a huge milestone for sea turtle conservation when volunteers counted 546 nests on the island, breaking a 42-year record for the island.
And it’s thanks to conservation efforts that happened 25 years ago.
→ Read more
More good sea turtle news:
- Georgia recently made history with the state’s largest-ever endangered sea turtle release.
- Thanks to extensive conservation efforts and local awareness, Bangladesh has seen the highest number of olive ridley turtle eggs this year.
- Researchers and locals are using technology and tradition to study and protect sea turtles in one of their most critical nesting grounds.
Continuing to gradually increase, wind power surpassed coal in electricity generation in both March and April
In March and April of this year, wind power generated more electricity than coal in the U.S. The Energy Information Administration expects wind power generation to fluctuate in the coming months, but maintain its steady increase overall.
The U.S. now has more than 74,500 wind turbines, with about 3,000 new turbines built every year since 2005.
And while wind power only represents about 10.2% of total U.S. energy production, it accounts for almost half of all renewable energy production.
This good progress comes even as offshore wind development faced setbacks last year. It also comes as new air pollution regulations signal the end of the notoriously “dirty” coal industry in the U.S.
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A court just ruled that pollution violates the rights of a river in Ecuador
Part of a growing movement to legally recognize the “rights of nature,” Ecuador is one of a few countries whose constitution enshrines the rights of places like the Machángara River.
Now, a court just issued a “historic” ruling that pollution has violated the rights of that river, which runs through the country’s capital, Quito. The government must now develop a plan to clean up the river.
The city of 2.6 million dumps varying contaminants into the river, and with a lack of wastewater treatment, has a devastating impact on people, wildlife, and the surrounding environment.
→ Read more
More good news for protecting nature:
- With 15 reserves across Ecuador, a group is protecting 10% of the planet’s bird species, adapting its approach based on local conditions and threats.
- Indigenous groups are protecting 80% of the Amazon in Ecuador and Peru, preserving endemic species and preventing approximately 2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Guardianship of a 532-acre redwood forest in California was returned to the Sinkyone tribes, protecting endangered species and what’s left of California’s old-growth forest.
Thought to be extinct in 1992, 60 new baby Siamese crocodiles have hatched in Cambodia
In 1992, Siamese crocodiles were listed as ‘virtually extinct,’ as wild populations dwindled from decades of poaching. In addition to habitat degradation, the crocs were hunted for their soft, reptilian hides used in the fashion industry.
But now, in “a real sign of hope,” the largest population of the endangered species has hatched this century, with 60 babies born in Cambodia’s Cardamom National Park.
Most recently, locals discovered three nests in an area where captive-bred crocodiles had never been released before. And miraculously, just a few days later, two other nests were discovered in the national park.
Look for the helpers: The crocodiles’ comeback has been decades in the making. After their declared extinction, a tiny group was rediscovered in the remote Cardamom Mountains in 2000 — where the Indigenous population of the Chorng people had been protecting them for years.
Thanks to 13 young people, Hawaii agreed to take “groundbreaking” action to decarbonize its transportation system
A group of 13 young people in Hawaii argued the state was violating their constitutional rights by building infrastructure that exacerbates greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
While the latest in a growing movement of young people taking their climate cases to court, it’s reportedly the first-ever youth-led climate case calling for zero emissions in transportation. And they recently won their case, with the state agreeing to take action to decarbonize its transportation by 2045.
The youths accused the state of prioritizing highway construction and similar projects that guarantee the use of fossil fuels, rather than those that reduce emissions.
Had it gone to trial, it would have been just the second trial in the U.S. from young people arguing that a state’s actions violated their right to a safe, healthy future.
More good news of the week —
There was a significant decrease in the number of countries that still have the death penalty in 2023. Despite a rise in executions, close to three-quarters of the countries in the world have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
A second critically endangered pangolin was just born at the Prague Zoo in less than two years. In addition to being the most trafficked animal in the world, due to habitat loss and deforestation, all eight species of pangolins have been struggling for survival across Asia and Africa.
Scientists are using AI and machine learning models to forecast water quality issues caused by toxic algae blooms. Now reported in all 50 states, blue-green algae blooms have grown in intensity and frequency due to climate change and rising water temperatures.
Researchers just found the cause of the life-threatening disease lupus, which could lead to a cure. Impacting millions of people worldwide, lupus is an autoimmune condition that occurs when the immune system attacks the body’s ordinary cells.
A newly approved pneumonia vaccine offers significantly more protection than other vaccines. Pneumococcal infections are responsible for over 150,000 hospitalizations for pneumonia and 2,000 cases of meningitis in the United States annually.
A breakthrough new drug could help reverse even more opioid overdoses. Naxolone is one of the most common and effective opioid overdose treatments, but it’s only effective for about 2 hours, and fentanyl can last in the bloodstream for up to 8 hours.
The first-ever elephant herpesvirus vaccine was just injected in a 40-year-old elephant at the Houston Zoo. Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus has been the leading cause of death in Asian elephants born in North America since 1980.
A coal plant that operated for 100 years in Michigan is now being turned into a giant battery. Once it’s built, the new battery storage system will be the largest stand-alone energy storage site in the Great Lakes region.
AI-powered trash cans are helping restaurants, buffets, and caterers cut down on food waste. The world wasted 1.05 billion tons of food in 2022, leading to almost five times the emissions of the aviation sector — nearly a third of that waste came from the food service industry.
An organization has set up 10 “period pantry” locations stocked with free supplies across Tampa, Florida. While Florida doesn’t have a “tampon tax,” many people in the state still experience period poverty and stigma around menstruation.
A UK brewery is helping cut reoffending rates by teaching formerly incarcerated people to brew beer. Tap Social Movement’s proven success is being hailed as a possible template for ways to ease the unprecedented overcrowding in UK jails.
Researchers have found a way to recycle old solar panels into lithium-ion batteries. The “game-changing” discovery uses silicon, which is more abundant and capable of making a more energy-dense battery than current commercial methods.
America just named its 430th national park, and it honors a complex time in U.S. history. It joins other historic sites that reckon with the more complicated and shameful parts of U.S. history, like the Amache National Historic Site and the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monuments.
New AI-powered software is transforming pregnancy scans and boosting maternal health care in Africa. Eliminating the need for a specialist to administer an ultrasound, pregnant women are incentivized to receive care earlier, helping improve maternal health care in the country.
In the first sport in the world to award competitors for sustainability, Team Great Britain just took first place. The high-octane sport SailGP is the only grand prix with 2 winner podiums — one for the fastest of the season and the other for the most environmental impact.
Part of a nationwide initiative to plant 100 million mangrove trees drones are distributing seeds in the United Arab Emirates. The drones distributed over six million seeds last year as part of the effort to restore the country’s coastal mangrove forests.
Every country in the world has now banned the use of leaded gasoline in cars. The world started adding lead to gasoline in the 1920s to improve efficiency and engine performance, before lead was proven to be a toxic pollutant, particularly for children.
A study found that as the coronavirus evolved, the odds of developing “long COVID” dropped — especially for the vaccinated. Among vaccinated people, 53 out of 1,000 developed long COVID up to a year after infection during the delta variant and only 35 during omicron.
