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Extra-Large Good News Roundup for Tuesday, June 25, 2024 [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2024-06-25  

PNC, Wells Fargo take action on card late fees. Will others follow?

Thank you, CFPB and President Biden!

The article in American Banker is behind a paywall, so all I can provide is this Xweet:

x PNC Bank has quietly slashed its credit card late fees to $8, and Wells Fargo is offering a new credit card without any such fees. The moves point to early signs of capitulation by the industry despite its legal fight with the CFPB. https://t.co/TjCPBsMzBU — American Banker (@AmerBanker) June 21, 2024

Republican Hit Job on the FDIC Backfires

What a wonderful turn of events!

From The American Prospect:

When Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) blindsided fellow Democrats in mid-May by calling on beleaguered FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg to resign over a long-standing pattern of sexual harassment by bank examiners, it looked as if Republicans on the FDIC and in Congress would succeed in placing that key regulatory agency in the hands of an acting Republican chair. But now, it’s evident that Brown’s caper is likely to produce major benefits for effective regulation. After a few weeks of leaks and counter-leaks, and jockeying over who would be Gruenberg’s successor, the White House announced late last week that President Biden will appoint the most progressive and effective of the several contenders mentioned. She is Christy Goldsmith Romero, currently a Democratic commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. More importantly, she is the former special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), the program that spent $442 billion in bank bailout money after the 2008 financial collapse. She held the post for 12 years. It turns out that this background is as good a credential for being a tough bank regulator as it gets. According to SIGTARP’s latest report to Congress, the little-known agency under Goldsmith Romero’s leadership was superb at digging deep into bank scams to uncover episodes of fraud. SIGTARP investigations coordinated with the Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies to criminally prosecute 474 defendants, of whom 326 were sent to prison, including 75 bankers. The agency recovered $11.4 billion in fines and civil damages, a ratio of 27 to 1 relative to SIGTARP’s operating costs. Goldsmith Romero still has to get confirmed, but Brown, the Banking Committee chair, has issued an enthusiastic statement of support and is expected to schedule early hearings. As insurance, Gruenberg continues to serve as chair until his successor is confirmed. So Republicans and corporate Democrats lose by blocking her confirmation almost as much as by allowing it.

White House swears in first class of American Climate Corps

This is one of my favorite Biden administration successes. Make sure all the young people you know are aware of it.

From NBC News:

[On June 18th,] he Biden administration...swore in the first class of the American Climate Corps, a federal program that is meant to place young people in the clean energy, conservation and climate resilience sectors. AmeriCorps, the federal agency overseeing the new program, said it estimated that more than 9,000 members will be in their roles by the end of the month. The inaugural cohort will be sworn in over multiple events over the next few weeks, because of virtual meeting room restrictions, with the next event set for June 25. ✂️ The corps is expected to eventually include 20,000 young people working in a variety of paid positions through federal, state and local partnerships. The roles are limited, paid employment terms ranging from two months to over a year, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as money laid out in the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. Most of them focus on bolstering local community initiatives from connecting vulnerable communities to renewable energy grids and helping acquire grant funds to removing potential wildfire hazards from forests. “I think it shows how much more climate action we can take … in a small community, as a state, and then as a country,” said Chiena Ty, an inaugural member of the American Climate Corps who also works for the California Climate Action Corps.

Senate Democrats launch investigation into Jared Kushner's business

Hooray for Oregon Senator Ron Wyden!!

From Axios:

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) this month launched an investigation into Affinity Partners, the Saudi-backed private equity firm led by Jared Kushner. Why it matters: Wyden is chair of the Senate Finance Committee, and as a member of the majority could get enough votes to subpoena documents that House Democrats have unsuccessfully sought. Catch up quick: Kushner formed Affinity shortly after leaving the White House, and by the end of 2021 had raised $3 billion for a debut fund. This included a $2 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, even though PIF staff reportedly raised red flags. Overall, nearly 99% of Affinity's fund capital came from non-U.S. sources.

So far Affinity has invested in at least eight companies, including an Israeli auto services group and a California solar energy fintech. The big question is if Kushner discussed his plans for Affinity with foreign governments while still serving as senior adviser to former President Trump, or if it was some sort of retroactive quid pro quo.

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🍿 Repellent Republicans Rushing toward Ruin 🍿

This Slate headline is simply perfect — hands down my favorite of the week. 👏

Michigan Lawmaker Says Arrest Involving Gun and Adult Dancer Was Second Amendment Advocacy

From Slate:

On Wednesday, no less credible a source than Slate.com announced that Lansing, Michigan, is the most relevant bellwether population center in the country. Where goeth Lansing, so goeth the nation, we say. (Crucial Waukesha County can f— off!) “Not his mug shot,” quoth Slate. Hours after the publication of the piece, as if to emphasize that Lansing is “where it all happens,” a 62-year-old Michigan state representative named Neil Friske delivered what may go down as the signature political arrest of the year, getting collared at 2:45 a.m. Thursday by Lansing PD because, according to an initial report by the MIRS news service, he had “chased an adult dancer after a disagreement” and “had a gun in his possession at the time.” Authorities say the county prosecutor’s office is reviewing his case and that he may be arraigned on Friday or Saturday. According to a police spokesperson quoted in the Detroit Free Press, officers were dispatched to an area near Friske’s residence in the state capital—he represents a district in northern Michigan—to “respond to reports of a male with a gun.” Per the Freep, Friske is being held in police lockup, which did not stop his reelection campaign from releasing a doozy of a statement [I cut and pasted the Xweet in italics because embedding it cut it short]: This morning, it was brought to our attention that Representative Friske was arrested and being held. As many of us know, Rep Friske is always exercising his 2nd Amendment right. We do not have any details, besides what has the media sourced, oddly before anyone of us knew anything. It is highly suspect considering the timing of this situation: Right before absentee ballots are released.

Day after an unknown phone number conducted polling on the 107 race between Rep. Friske and our opponent with deep-state ties. We ask everyone for prayers and to stay tuned from updates directly from this campaign or Representative Friske himself. Thank you for the outpouring of concern and unwavering support we have received this morning. Clearly, Rep. Friske is over the target in this race. -Team Frisk ✂️ MIRS’s report said the dancer involved in the incident works for the Lansing location of the Déjà Vu gentlemen’s club chain, which was founded by a native of a nearby small town who began his business career by inventing the pornographic drive-in theater. Like we said, Lansing is where it all happens.

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Good news from my corner of the world

Proposed ballot measure to raise corporate taxes, give every Oregonian $750 a year likely to make November ballot

This is considered to be a baby step towards true Universal Basic Income. Of course, the usual suspects are fighting it tooth and nail. But the measure is getting support from national proponents of UBI. Stay tuned!

From The Oregonian:

Oregon voters will likely decide in November whether to establish a historic universal basic income program that would give every state resident roughly $750 annually from increased corporate taxes. Proponents of the concept say they likely have enough signatures to place it on the ballot this fall, and opponents are taking them seriously. State business advocacy groups are preparing to launch a campaign against the proposed measure, arguing that it would harm Oregon’s business landscape and economy. The proposal, Initiative Petition 17, would establish a 3% tax on corporations’ sales in Oregon above $25 million and distribute that money equally among Oregonians of all ages. As of Friday, its backers had turned in more than 135,000 signatures, which is higher than the 117,173 required to land on the ballot. The validity of those signatures must still be certified by the Secretary of State’s Office. ✂️ The initiative proposal draft states that any leftover funding from the rebate would “be used to provide additional funding for services for senior citizens, health care, public early childhood education and public kindergarten through grade 12 education.” The ballot measure campaign has received significant financial support from out-of-state supporters of universal basic income.

UO using AI to spot wildfires; the tech is expected to be a game-changer

We need all the help we can get to catch wildfires before they grow. AI’s ability to spot visual anomalies should indeed be a game-changer.

From The Oregonian:

Nick Maggio [now the assistant director of wildlife technologies for the Oregon Hazards Lab,] recalls standing at the nearly 8,000-foot peak of Beatys Butte in 2021, taking in the vast wilderness spread out for miles below. A helicopter soon roared overhead as it prepared to drop off 1,200 pounds of batteries for the camera tower he and his University of Oregon Hazards Lab team were about to build. ...The tower, when finished, would stream video footage of the surrounding landscape, its view reaching more than 40 miles. And it would do so 24 hours a day, every day, an unblinking eye always on the lookout for the beginnings of a wildfire. On May 3, the University of Oregon integrated the Beatys Butte camera tower — and 44 other university-owned camera towers like it on land owned by UO’s partners, including the federal Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service — with a specially-designed fire-spotting AI system created by the California-based tech company ALERTWest. ✂️ UO’s AI-integrated wildfire-detection system is one of three similar systems in the state. In addition to UO’s camera array, the Oregon Department of Forestry also operates its own AI-camera system on land under its jurisdiction, as do Portland General Electric and Pacific Power, which use a system called Pano AI. UO’s camera system is the only one that uses the artificial intelligence provided by ALERTWest. ✂️ “This ability for the system to send out a notice that it’s spotted something that it thinks is worth a human being taking a look at – that’s going to be really transformative,” Maggio said.

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Good news from around the nation

BNSF ordered to pay $400m to Native American tribe over trespassing

Rail companies have always failed to honor agreements with native tribes. It’s wonderful to see this rare victory.

From Railway Technology:

US rail operator BNSF Railway has been ordered to pay $400m to a Native American tribe after continuously trespassing on its land in Washington with 100-car trains carrying crude oil. A federal judge in Seattle ruled that the company’s actions between 2012 and 2021 had violated a 1991 agreement with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community that had set a limit of no more than 25 cars per day travelling through the reservation. Steve Edwards, chairman of the community, said: “We know that this is a large amount of money. But that just reflects the enormous wrongful profits that BNSF gained by using the Tribe’s land day after day, week after week, year after year, over our objections.” Edwards also described the ruling as “the only way to deter future wrongdoing” and repeated claims that the tribal community had tried to resolve the issue with BNSF before going to court. In court, the rail company had argued that its commitments to shippers under the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act superseded the agreement with the Swinomish community, but this argument was rejected by the court of appeals in 2020.

UAW Members at Ultium Cells in Lordstown Reach EV Industry-Defining Tentative Agreement

This looks like great news for workers who make EV batteries, and not just at Ultium.

From UAW.org:

UAW Local 1112 has reached a historic tentative agreement at Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, where workers build electric vehicle batteries for GM vehicles. The agreement marks a historic breakthrough for electric vehicle workers and a path forward that ends the race to the bottom pursued by corporate America throughout the EV transition. The local agreement builds on the successes of the national contract that Ultium workers joined as a major win of the Stand Up Strike. “Eighteen months ago, this company was on a low road path to poverty wages, unsafe conditions, and a dark future for battery workers in America,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Ultium workers said, ‘Hell no,’ got organized, and fought back. Now they’ve more than doubled their wages by the end of this contract, won record health and safety language, and showed the world what it means to win a just transition.” “We were told at the beginning of bargaining that Ultium workers would never be allowed to join the UAW’s national agreement at GM,” said UAW Vice President Mike Booth. “Not only did we prove them wrong, but we did them one better, winning a major local agreement that sets the standard for the EV battery industry.”

China’s Trina Solar Looks to Double Down on US Factory Investments

This story could also have gone in the political good news section, because Chinese investment in U.S. manufacturing is a direct result of Biden’s tariff policies.

From Bloomberg:

China’s Trina Solar Co. is considering setting up a factory in the US to produce the cells that are used to make solar panels, as Washington raises trade barriers on imports. Trina is evaluating a facility that could produce 5 gigawatts of cells a year to supply its panel manufacturing plant in Wilmer, Texas, according to Steven Zhu, the chief executive officer of the company’s North American business. The Wilmer factory is set to reach full production at the end of 2024, creating 1,500 local jobs. The Texan plant will first use solar cells from Southeast Asia, but Trina wants to act fast in building up capacity in the US in light of Washington’s push for more local production, Zhu said in an interview on Thursday. The company will make a final decision on the new factory by the end of the year, which would come online at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026. ✂️ Trina, based in Changzhou in Jiangsu province, is the world’s third-largest manufacturer of solar panels. It’s one of many Chinese firms adding capacity in the US to escape slumping profits at home, after the Biden administration’s 2022 bill to provide incentives to boost domestic clean energy manufacturing. Chinese solar equipment has been subject to US tariffs for more than a decade, which led manufacturers to set up shop in Southeast Asia. But new measures announced by the US government last month to strengthen import controls, and the likelihood of higher duties on Southeast Asian products, are prompting a rethink, and Trina is among the companies that are shutting capacity in countries like Thailand and Vietnam. The US for its part is lacking cell-manufacturing capacity, which leaves a hole to fill for Chinese firms. “The US is big enough and the demands for renewables are big enough,” Zhu said. “The customer is willing to pay higher prices if it’s made in the US.”

Students Invent Leaf Blower Silencer Attachment–Corporation Expects to Be Selling Them Soon

Most of you know how much I hate the noise of leaf blowers. This is great news!

From Good News Network:

Engineering students at Johns Hopkins have created a silencer module for the campus leaf blowers, reducing the overall noise pollution of the devices by 37%, while they succeeded in almost completely removing the high-pitched whining that annoyed them the most. The design is patent-pending and Stanley Black & Decker, who sponsored the students, expects to be selling them in two years. ✂️ At the moment, the Johns Hopkins campus uses battery-powered leaf blowers which are already quieter than gasoline-powered ones. Since last September, Palacio and his team members Michael Chacon, Leen Alfaoury, and Madison Morrison have been examining the devices in depth—how many sounds are there, and what is causing them. Overall they workshopped more than 40 versions of a leaf blower silencer. Many of them worked but diminished the power of the air coming out. They eventually came up with an easy-to-secure suppressor that functions much like the ones fitted to firearms. “Our product takes in a full blow of air and separates it,” Alfaoury told Johns Hopkins. “Some of that air comes out as it is, and part of it comes out shifted. The combination of these two sections of the air makes the blower less noisy.” “It ultimately dampens the sound as it leaves, but it keeps all that force, which is the beauty of it,” adds Chacon. x YouTube Video

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Good news from around the world

Thailand passes landmark bill legalizing same-sex marriage

I know this story has already appeared in the GNR, but I wanted to make sure you saw the beautiful statement from the Thai Prime Minister.

From The Washington Post (gift link):

Thailand’s Senate voted Tuesday to pass a marriage-equality bill, putting the country on track to become the first in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The legislation, which passed with 130 senators in favor, four opposed and 18 abstaining, allows any two people, regardless of gender, to get engaged or married. It was approved by the House of Representatives in March and now must be endorsed by King Vajiralongkorn, which is considered a formality. Once it is published in the official journal of the Thai government, the law will go into effect after 120 days. “We celebrate the successful passing of the marriage equality bill and we celebrate the beginning of equal love,” Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wrote on X on Tuesday. “‘Diversity’ is not ‘difference.’ May every love be beautiful and powerful.”

The deal was finally sealed on a historic European nature law

Great news for the land, waters, and creatures of Europe!

From Positive News:

An 11th hour change of heart by Austria’s Green party climate minister this week saw the EU pass landmark biodiversity legislation, which requires member states to begin restoring a fifth of the bloc’s land and oceans by the end of the decade. Leonore Gewessler ended a months-long deadlock by defying the Austrian chancellor – and opposing farming lobbies – to back the Nature Restoration Law, which also aims to mitigate climate change and the effect of natural disasters. Regions with the most potential to capture and store carbon will be prioritised under the legislation, as well as habitats in poor health and in Natura 2000 sites: an EU-network of protected areas with at-risk species or ecosystems. Environmental activists welcomed the move, with Greenpeace hailing it a “ray of hope for Europe’s future”. The #RestoreNature coalition, consisting of BirdLife Europe, ClientEarth, The European Environment Bureau and the World Wide Fund for Nature EU, said in a statement: “We are jubilant that this law is now reality – this day will go down in history as a turning point for nature and society.”

Norway discovers Europe’s largest deposit of rare earth metals

This will be a huge boost to the global shift away from fossil fuels and will help the West end its dependency on China for these vital materials.

From CNBC:

Mining firm Rare Earths Norway says it has discovered Europe’s largest proven deposit of highly prized rare earth elements, potentially reflecting a watershed moment for both the Nordic country and the broader region. One of the few deposits not owned or controlled by China, the discovery of continental Europe’s largest rare earths deposit is considered a welcome boost in Europe’s bid to break China’s rare earths dominance. Demand for rare earths and critical minerals is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years as the clean energy transition picks up pace. Rare Earths Norway said in a June 6 statement that its Fen Carbonatite Complex in the southeast of the country boasts 8.8 million metric tons of total rare earth oxides (TREOs) with a reasonable prospect for economic extraction. Within the TREOs, which are considered vital to the global shift away from fossil fuels, the company says there is an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of magnet-related rare earths which can be used in electric vehicles and wind turbines. The discovery eclipses a massive rare earths deposit found last year in neighboring Sweden.

Repair Shops Form a Flourishing Subculture Fixing Toasters, Electronics, Coffee Makers and Lamps

Changing the culture from “buy a new one” to “fix the old one” has really taken hold in the UK. I hope we Americans will follow suit.

From Good News Network:

Despite the UK being the world’s second-largest generator of electronic waste per capita, a flourishing sub-culture of ‘Repair Cafes’ and other social groups is helping to balance out the island’s wasteful side. A featured story from The Guardian reports that 580 such repair cafes are hosting regular events where volunteer fixers and tinkerers spend several hours sitting with people to troubleshoot, diagnose, and repair a litany of household items. Author Sally Howard interviewed over half a dozen participants and organizers, and found the benefits to be legion: helping old people stay involved in the community, keeping undegradable waste out of the landfills, keeping carbon out of the atmosphere, disseminating knowledge on repairing electronics, keeping old skills like tailoring and cobbling alive, and even combating loneliness.

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Good news in medicine

Why the best diet for you is also good for the planet

If you’d like to read the study, here’s the link: Planetary Health Diet Index and risk of total and cause-specific mortality in three prospective cohorts.

From The Washington Post (gift link):

Can you eat a diet that’s good for your health and good for the planet? A new study suggests that it’s possible. It found that people who ate mostly minimally processed plant foods such as nuts, beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and olive oil, along with modest amounts of meat, fish, eggs and dairy, had lower rates of premature death from heart disease, cancer and other chronic diseases. At the same time, their diets had a smaller environmental footprint because they consisted of foods that were grown using relatively less land and water and that were produced with fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The study, published [on June 10th] in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was inspired by a landmark 2019 report from the EAT-Lancet Commission, which designed a “Planetary Health Diet” capable of sustaining 10 billion people and the planet by 2050. The planetary health diet, in broad strokes, encourages people to eat more plants and whole foods alongside small portions of meat and dairy. It was designed to be flexible and adaptable to different cultural, culinary, and personal preferences. The new report is among the first large studies to examine how eating within the contours of the planetary health diet affects a person’s likelihood of dying prematurely from major diseases. The study analyzed data on more than 200,000 men and women in the United States who were followed closely for over three decades.

Millions Who Suffer Back Pain Can Ease Symptoms Simply by Walking More–For ‘Huge Benefits’

This is pretty amazing news, but it makes immediate sense to me. I’ve been walking about two miles a day for the past four years, and I haven’t had any lower back pain for at least three years.

From Good News Network:

Millions of people who suffer back pain can ease their symptoms simply by walking more, claims new research. Adults with a history of lower backache went nearly twice as long without a recurrence if they walked regularly, according to the findings of the first-ever study of its kind. Around 800 million people worldwide suffer low back pain which in 7 out of 10 people tends to be recurring, and therefore a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. ✂️ Senior author Mark Hancock, Macquarie University Professor of Physiotherapy, says the findings, published in The Lancet, could have a “profound” impact on how back pain is managed globally. “The intervention group had fewer occurrences of activity limiting pain compared to the control group, and a longer average period before they had a recurrence, with a median of 208 days compared to 112 days,” said Hancock. “Walking is a low-cost, widely accessible and simple exercise that almost anyone can engage in, regardless of geographic location, age or socio-economic status.” “We don’t know exactly why walking is so good for preventing back pain, but it is likely to include the combination of the gentle oscillatory movements, loading and strengthening the spinal structures and muscles, relaxation and stress relief, and release of ‘feel-good’ endorphins,” he added.

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Good news in science

Summer officially arrives with the earliest solstice in more than 2 centuries

I had no idea that the dating of the solstice was so complicated!

From NPR:

The timing of the summer solstice naturally fluctuates between June 20 and 22. But it’s an especially big deal this year, as it hasn’t happened this early since 1796. That summer solstice happened on June 20 at 1:24 p.m. “Local Mean Time,” according to The Weather Network. It says LMT — used before the U.S. introduced standard time in the late 19th century — is close enough to ET that the comparison is valid. ✂️ What explains the solstice’s extra-prompt arrival, these 228 years later. The shortest answer is quirks in the calendar. A typical year has 365 days, but that’s not exactly how long the Earth takes to orbit the sun — it’s more like 365.24. To account for that extra quarter, the Gregorian calendar adds a day to February every four years: leap day. The way the math works, solstices (and equinoxes) drift about 45 minutes earlier every four years. By the 2060s, leap year solstices will be earlier than anything in the 1700s, astrophysicist Ethan Siegel writes in Big Think. That pattern is due to continue until 2096, which will see the earliest solstice of the century at 2:32 a.m. ET on June 20. “It will be the only summer solstice that people in the Pacific time zone of the Americas will experience on June 19 for several hundreds of years!” Seigel adds. Then, the calendar will reset. That’s because 2100 won’t be a leap year, since it’s one of those fun Gregorian exceptions that are divisible by 100 but not 400.

Scientists Puzzling Over Bright White Rock on Mars – the First of its Kind, Never Seen Before

I’m really interested to see what they find out about this rock. It certainly looks out of place.

From Good News Network:

Scientists are puzzling over a bright white rock, of the type never before observed on Mars. NASA’s Perseverance rover spotted the 14-inch-high boulder starkly standing out in a large field covered with dark rocks in a region named Mount Washburn, inside the massive Jezero crater. Nicknamed Atoko Point by researchers, the boulder is 18 inches wide and has speckles on a light-toned surface. Instrument analysis by Perseverance’s SuperCam and Mastcam-Z indicates that the rock is at least partly composed of the minerals pyroxene and feldspar. “In terms of the size, shape, and arrangement of its mineral grains and crystals—and potentially its chemical composition—Atoko Point it is in a league of its own,” said NASA in a news release. “The diversity of textures and compositions at Mount Washburn was an exciting discovery for the team, as these rocks represent a grab bag of geologic gifts brought down from the crater rim and potentially beyond,” said team co-leader Brad Garczynski of Western Washington University. ✂️ Some of the Perseverance scientists speculate the minerals that make up Atoko Point were produced in a subsurface body of magma that is possibly exposed now on the crater rim. Others on the team have suggested the boulder may have been created far beyond the walls of the Red Planet’s 28-mile-wide Jezero crater and transported there by the “swift Martian waters” eons ago. “Either way, the team believes that while Atoko is the first of its kind they’ve seen, it won’t be the last,” says NASA.

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Good news for the environment

The UK warmed to ‘inexhaustible’ geothermal energy

I hope that geothermal energy takes off in the UK and that the U.S. will be inspired to expand our geothermal capacity, too. Once up and running, it should be very inexpensive.

From Positive News:

A new not-for-profit launched in the UK this week, aiming to champion geothermal energy’s role in the drive for net zero and catalyse collaboration between the public and private sectors. The National Geothermal Centre (NGC) has been funded by The Net Zero Technology Centre, Durham University, SHIFT Geothermal and The Reece Foundation. The partners say that expanding the UK’s geothermal capacity could create 50,000 jobs and save an annual 10m tonnes of planet-warming emissions. “Geothermal energy is the foundation of energy security in the UK. It is an inexhaustible source of clean heat and power beneath our feet,” said NGC director Anne Murrell. “Already in the UK, geothermal projects are providing stable, low-cost, green energy to homes and businesses. With its expert stakeholders from industry, academia, finance and government, the NGC will expand geothermal development, at speed and at scale.” The move builds on recent news of the UK’s first operational deep geothermal well in almost four decades.

Man With Unyielding Depression Starts Picking Up Litter–And Helps Clear 13 Tons of Trash with Family and Strangers

What a lovely win-win!

From Good News Network:

Mike Scotland with some of his group, Community Clean Up A 32-year-old began picking up litter to help his mental health and now his whole family spends quality time together on the clean-ups, while helping their community. Mike Scotland began experiencing depression in his late 20s. After struggling for some time, he found himself by the bank of the River Don in his hometown of Aberdeen, Scotland, surrounded by litter and ready to take his own life. Thankfully, his mind was changed—but whenever Mike would pass the river, a known local dumping ground, the rubbish would remind him of that dark day. So he decided to take matters into his own hands. “I was in a really dark place,” Mike told SWNS news. “I was saved by a phone call that stopped me there and then—but after that, whenever I’d walk past that area, I felt like a dark shadow was haunting me. One day, I took three black bags and went down to the riverside and just started picking up litter. There was a person on a bike that stopped me and asked me what I was doing. I told him I was litter picking and he asked if I wanted a hand. He parked his bike, and me and this guy ended up spending the next couple of hours picking up litter together and having the most open and honest chats about anything and everything.” Before Mike headed home, he told the stranger that he was going to start a litter-picking group. True to his word, the next day Mike started the group Community Clean Up, and over the next few months they gathered weekly to beautify the land around the river. To date, they’ve collected almost 30,000 pounds of litter (13,500kg), and pulled a whopping 5,500 pounds of metal (2,500kg) from the river bottom.

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Good news for and about animals — and introducing Margot!

Brought to you by Rascal and Margot, and the beautiful spirits of Rosy and Nora.

Rascal and Margot — and Rosy and Nora, in spirit

Margot says “Hi, Gnusies! I’m the fourth black cat to live in arhpdx’s home (well, fifth if you include the one she had when she was little). I was taken to a shelter because my previous cat parents needed to move in with family, and the family had a cat that didn’t like me. I was very sad about that for a while, but then this really nice couple came in to the shelter, and I ran over to them and headbutted them and rubbed against them and purred until they understood that I’d chosen them. So now I’m home and we’re all happy! They kept my shelter name because it just seems to fit me.”

Sweet Margot, whose green-golden eyes and white chest adornment catch everyone’s eye, is a little over 4 years old. She has a very thick silky coat and a large vocabulary of conversational meows. I imagine she’ll have a lot to say here after she learns the ropes of being an animal reporter. This week she’s content to learn from Rascal and read the notes left by Nora. (BTW, Rascal is delighted to have a cat friend again and has been saying “puss puss” a lot. Getting Margot used to being around a bird has been easy, because she’s not a high jumper like Nora was.)

Now on to animals in the news! Rascal’s favorite bird story of the week is a May-December romance:

One of the World’s Oldest Penguins Hatches a Chick with New Boy Toy 26 Years Younger

From Good News Network:

A great-great-great grandmother Humboldt pengiun in England’s blustery eastern coast has brought a member of yet another generation into the world after she shacked up with a bird 20-plus years her junior. Windy surprised everyone at the zoo when during the last breeding season she paired with 4-year-old Nacho. A pairing doesn’t guarantee that mating will occur. But despite the fact that Windy’s first egg was laid before Y2K had been disproven, and Nacho had only recently reached adulthood, the two produced a healthy young chick. Windy has produced 23 offspring, but for Nacho it’s the first time. ...Even more remarkable about this pairing is that Windy might be the oldest penguin parent in the world. ✂️ “Windy was paired up with male penguin, Jet, for a long time, and produced more than 20 chicks together,” said Dan Trevelyan, Senior Bird Keeper at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. ”When Windy lost her partner, we didn’t necessarily expect her to pair up with another penguin, but Nacho started courting Windy last year, and the two have been devoted to each other ever since.” Windy’s 24th penguin chick

CLAWS!

Nora was a big fan of the OwlKitty videos, so Rascal thought that since sharks have been in the news lately, he should include this one to welcome Margot. Margot loves it!

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