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 —
A needle-free alternative to the shot, the FDA approved a nasal spray vaccine against the flu
Providing an alternative for those who are afraid of needles, the FDA just authorized at-home use of a nasal spray vaccine for the flu. It’s been found to be just as effective as the shot.
The first alternative to the annual flu shot, FluMist can be self-administered outside of a healthcare setting, giving people “greater convenience, flexibility, and accessibility.”
While it still requires a prescription, the out-of-pocket cost will be about $35 to $45, and potentially less depending on insurance coverage. It’s expected to be available next fall.
Why is this good news? From 2010 through 2023, hospitalizations for the flu have ranged from 100,000 to 700,000 each year, and from about 4,900 to 51,000 people have died. Providing greater convenience and access to a safe and effective prevention tool will help save lives.
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California just sued ExxonMobil for its alleged role in deceiving the public about the plastic pollution crisis
In a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, California alleges ExxonMobil deceived the public into thinking “that plastic recycling could solve the plastic waste and pollution crisis when they clearly knew this wasn’t possible.”
In a report from earlier this year, the Center for Climate Integrity found that plastic producers knew for decades that recycling was too difficult and expensive, but promoted it as a “solution” anyway.
CCI’s president called California’s lawsuit the “most important legal action to date in the global fight against plastic pollution.”
Why is this good news? While the lawsuit will still have to play out in court, it’s encouraging news that states are working to hold companies like ExxonMobil accountable for their actions in exacerbating public health and environmental crises like plastic pollution and ultimately, climate change.
Global emissions have likely reached a critical tipping point thanks to rapid solar growth and EV adoption
According to leading climate scientists, global fossil fuel emissions must peak before 2025 to avoid some of the worst impacts of the climate crisis. And experts think we may meet that mark.
Two major international climate agencies are predicting global emissions have reached a tipping point, and could start declining this year.
Driving this critical inflection are fossil fuels being replaced with renewable energy sources at an increasingly faster pace, and more people are driving electric vehicles. Additionally, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, China, is leading the way in both of those key areas.
A hospital company in North Carolina forgave the medical debt of 11,500 patients
Following a news report on the nationwide medical debt crisis and a North Carolina hospital system’s aggressive pursuit of medical debts — that hospital system reversed course, canceling those debts instead.
With some dating back 20 years or more, Atrium Health would place liens on patients’ homes to collect on their overdue bills. That decision impacted around 11,500 patients — all of whom have now had the liens removed and their debt forgiven.
Earlier this year, the state also started a medical debt relief program — which all state hospitals participate in — but some patients who had longtime debts were left out of the program.
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More good news for medical debt forgiveness:
- An Instagram fundraiser helped forgive the medical debt of over 140,000 families.
- A local government in Ohio used $1.6 million in federal funding to cancel $240 million of residents’ medical debt.
- Congregants at a church in Nebraska are forgiving the medical debt of their neighbors, one at a time.
- A woman’s dying wish was to forgive the medical debt of others — and her viral fundraiser has raised over $1 million.
Moms across the U.S. are putting cash and gift cards in diaper boxes to recognize and support other moms
In a now-viral post on TikTok, a Nashville mom shared an image of a handbag sitting next to baby items on a Target store shelf — along with a reflection that it illustrated the sacrifices parents make to care for their children.
That post has been viewed by 20 million people, and has inspired many to hide money or gift cards in diaper boxes and formula containers for an unsuspecting parent to find and treat themself to something just for them.
The #shedeservedthepurse hashtag has been flooded with videos of moms sharing their personal stories of hardship, and going into stores to “pay it forward” and do the same.
“I was a struggling mum of 4. I’m in a better position to pay it forward now. Doing this Thursday on my day off!” one person commented.
While it’s important that parents have all they need without “challenges” like this — from essentials like diapers and formula, to postpartum mental health support — it’s inspiring to see strangers caring for and meeting the real needs of their neighbors.
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Covering 40,000 square feet, the world’s first vertical strawberry farm just opened in Virginia
A startup just opened the world’s first scalable, indoor vertical strawberry farm in Richmond, Virginia. The farm is designed to produce over 4 million pounds of strawberries every year.
The strawberries grow in a facility that uses advanced software to control temperature, light, and humidity — creating the ideal growing environment for the planet.
And that’s more important than ever, as not only is the agriculture sector a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate the climate crisis (and uses a ton of water) — the climate crisis itself has heavily impacted food systems globally.
Why is this good news? The driving force for recent innovations in farming is directly correlated to the mass crop death and heavy financial losses spurred by climate-related disasters. This solution protects food systems from climate change issues while also protecting the environment from the harmful impacts of mass agriculture.
Local parks in the U.S. just got a record $254 million investment from the Interior Department
Overseen by the Land and Water Conservation Fund and the National Park Service, the Interior Department announced a record $254 million investment into 54 projects in 24 states for the redevelopment or creation of new local parks.
It’s the single-largest grant investment made from the department’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program.
A major component of the ORLP is to provide safe outdoor spaces for historically marginalized communities — and it’s part of the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to have 40% of the benefits of all federal funding flow to “disadvantaged communities.”
Why is this good news? Neighborhoods where residents predominantly identify as people of color have access to an average of 44% less park acreage than predominantly white neighborhoods — and it’s similar for low- vs. high-income neighborhoods. This historic investment aims to change inequity — and is especially good news ahead of National Public Lands Day (tomorrow!).
More good news of the week —
Louisville residents in newly “greened” neighborhoods had 13% to 20% lower levels of a blood marker of general inflammation. Once the fastest-growing heat island in the country, Louisville’s “trees as medicine” program is part of a new study to determine the connection between green space and human health.
The elusive, endangered black-footed ferrets released in Colorado are showing signs of successful reintroduction. Despite rarely being seen once they’re released, new evidence shows black-footed ferrets released into the wild have both survived and produced new offspring.
Thanks to incentive programs, school districts are starting to swap out old diesel buses for new, zero-emissions electric models. About 20 million students in the United States ride to school on school buses, the majority of which are still powered by diesel engines, which release harmful pollutants into the air.
Researchers found a blood test that can predict cardiovascular disease in women decades early. Every year, more than 800,000 people in the U.S. die of diseases like coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and stroke — this test could help with early detection and treatment.
Combining architecture and green technology, inventors created durable “walkable solar panels.” Though the company’s focus is on residential and commercial flooring, solar-paneled public walkways have slowly become more common around the world, from Tampa, Florida to Barcelona, Spain.
Helping more women run for office, Arizona and Oklahoma just approved the use of campaign funds for child care. Bringing the total to 35 states and Washington D.C., Oklahoma’s Ethics Commission ruled that dependent care falls under what state law considers an “ordinary and necessary expense.”
Scientists just discovered heat-tolerant coral in the Great Barrier Reef, offering hope for the reef’s future. As humanity works to dramatically reduce emissions to prevent further ocean warming, this research will help with interventions to buy time for corals to survive.
Scientists invented “coffee robots” to clean oil and microplastics from water using would-be wasted coffee grounds. At least 6 million tons of coffee grounds are created annually — but rather than being wasted, they could remove harmful pollution from water.
A hair-saving helmet that prevents hair loss in chemo patients is about to be available. By applying even pressure across the entire scalp, the helmet blocks off capillaries and prevents the chemo cocktail from reaching a patient’s hair follicles.
A judge rejected plans for the first new coal mine to be proposed in the U.K. in three decades. The ruling was a victory for climate groups who challenged the project’s claim it would have zero impact on global emissions.
In 100 days, Minnesota will be free of “forever chemicals” — banning the sale of products that contain PFAS statewide. It’s the most restrictive ban on these harmful chemicals in the nation and experts say local companies are already starting to get into compliance.
As ice sheets continue to melt at an increasingly faster pace, scientists have figured out how to thicken Arctic sea ice. Last week, scientists revealed concerning findings about the colossal Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica — if it were to melt, sea level rise would impact hundreds of millions of people.
Just in time for autumn leaves, Virginia’s 43 state parks all now feature special viewfinders for colorblind visitors. The viewfinders are equipped with special lenses from EnChroma that help those with red-green color vision deficiency experience an expanded range of colors.
After the city’s clean air zone went into effect, 4 in 10 kids started walking to school in London. When London restricted the volume of high-emitting vehicles roaming city streets, it knew it would bring quieter streets and cleaner air — but this benefit was a surprise.
Barcelona is converting its subway trains into power stations to fuel electric vehicles. Four electrolineras — Spanish for “electric gas stations” — went up in July whose powers are generated by the city’s trains.
