Good News Headlines 11/7/2023
Photo©Blake Randall/123rf
Rescuers Free Humpback Whale ‘Hog-Tied’ To 300lb Crab Pot In Alaska
by Maya Yang, The Guardian
A young humpback whale was freed by rescuers in Alaska after it was discovered hog-tied to a 300lb crab pot. The rescue, which occurred on 11 October, came after two local residents discovered the trapped whale a day earlier in the coastal waters near Gustavus, a city close to Glacier Bay national park in the southernmost part of Alaska. Researchers estimate the whale to be about three to four years old. The residents contacted the visitor information center at Glacier Bay national park and reported that a whale near the Gustavus dock was “trailing two buoys, making unusual sounds and having trouble moving freely”, the National Park Service said.
Millionaire Builds 99 Tiny Homes To Cut Homelessness In His Community–He Even Provides Jobs On Site For Them
by Andy Corbley, Good News Network
After selling his company, one Canadian entrepreneur is using his profit to build a community of tiny homes for those who need it most. In the New Brunswick city of Fredericton, his factory is now churning out 1 tiny home every 4 business days in a bid to create the 12 Neighbours gated community of 99 homes and an enterprise center to give homeless Frederictonians a real second chance. 12 Neighbours founder Marcel LeBrun had a successful social media monitoring company which he sold and is now putting his new money where his mouth was—every time he used to say something needed to be done about the homelessness problem in the city.
UK Backs Suspension Of Deep-Sea Mining In Environmental U-Turn
by Karen McVeighe, The Guardian
Britain is backing a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining, after criticism from scientists, MPs and environmentalists of its previous stance in support of the emerging industry. On Monday, the UK government announced it would back a temporary suspension on supporting or sponsoring any exploitation licences to mine metals from the sea floor until enough scientific evidence was available to understand the impact on ecosystems. Last month, dozens of scientists warned the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, that allowing industrial-scale exploitation of the seabed could have grave consequences.
EU Votes To Cut Pesticide Use In Half By 2030
by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch
The Environment Committee of European Parliament has voted to ensure sustainable use of pesticides and reduce their use by at least half by 2030. Members of Parliament (MEPs) voted to also reduce the use of “more hazardous products” by 65 percent as compared to the average from 2013 to 2017, a press release from European Parliament said. “This vote brings us one step closer to significantly reducing chemical pesticide use by 2030. It is very positive that we were able to agree on feasible compromises in an ideologically charged and industry-dominated discussion,” said MEP Sarah Wiener, rapporteur on sustainable use of pesticides, in the press release.
‘We’ve Uncovered Some Things’: Pentagon’s UFO Online Reporting Tool Launches
by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian
The Pentagon has launched an online reporting tool for certain encounters with unidentified anomalous phenomena, formerly known as UFOs, in an expansion of its effort to be more transparent about its exploration of the unknown. Only current or former federal employees, or those “with direct knowledge of US government programs or activities related to UAP dating back to 1945” are so far eligible to use the secure form, which went live on Tuesday on the website of the defense department’s somewhat blandly named All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (Aaro). An option for the public to submit reports is coming soon, officials say.
