Good News for the Environment

Sustainable stories of progress for the planet

A large industrial room with a 'Food Bank' sign against the wall contains long metal tables with six very large red mesh bags of brown potatoes on them

New data: Food banks provided 1.7 billion meals and prevented 1.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions

Redistributing food before it’s tossed or wasted doesn’t just fight hunger — it also fights climate change.

Hikers on an elevated desert trail In Phoenix area with cactus and mountains in background.

The best (and worst) U.S. cities for getting outside in 2024

Going outside more frequently has the potential to improve health outcomes along with your mental health and quality of life. But where you live impacts how easy and convenient it is to spend time in the great outdoors throughout the year.

A photo collage of a grey wolf, a wind-powered cargo ship, an aerial view of a shoreline, a water pump, and an arm being injected with a vaccine

Good News This Week: September 14, 2024 - Wolves, Pinecones, & Cargo Ships

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...

A close up of two inventions: a WiFi router and a smoke detector made out of grayish recyclable paper.

Electronic waste is out of control. So this university student invented a WiFi router out of dissolvable paper

This recyclable router could revolutionize e-waste. We're still working on simplifying Wi-Fi passwords though.

A glass bottle full of an orange liquid sits in a lab, undergoing a bioreactor system

Scientists create a meat-free protein — with just hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide — to fight world hunger

Made in a bioreactor system, the protein and nutrient-rich yeast could change food systems for good.

A young man with brown hair and a brown mustache stands in a lush, green forest, holding up a handheld pinecone-shaped device called Pyri

Students win Dyson award for wildfire-detecting 'pinecone' device

The groundbreaking device was designed by four students at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London.

Two loaves of sourdough bread on a kitchen counter.

Droughts are decimating crops, but 'climate blend' grain is more resilient — and the bread it makes is delicious

This bread is built with climate change in mind. And it’s “rich” and “buttery” to boot.

Four park rangers guide a rhino through a field

Saving rhinos: Rewilding mission planned for entire herd from breeding farm

African Parks, which manages national parks in several countries across the continent, plans to rewild all 2,000 southern white rhinos from Platinum Rhino, winding up John Hume’s controversial intensive rhino breeding project.

A photo collage of a huge lithium battery standing in a lake, a vaccine liquid being tested, solar panels in a field, and an aerial view of the Klamath River

Good news roundup: The world's biggest battery, faster DNA forensics, and record-breaking Paralympians

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...

A group of teachers and students work together on a rooftop, analyzing solar panels

Solar power in US schools has quadrupled in the last decade, new report finds

Tax incentives and federal investments have made solar power much more accessible for schools.

An aerial view of the Torres Strait Islands.

A new ‘beaky’ headed species discovered in Australia

It was barely bigger than a AA battery in size.

The Santa Cruz River in Arizona prior to being filled with effluent water

Scientists bring Arizona river, biodiversity back from the brink — by adding sewage water

Strategically adding effluent to the waterway has reintroduced an estimated 200 species to the local ecosystem, new research finds.