Good News Headlines 3/15/2023
In the Carambola Portal of the Iberá Park, in Corrientes, local entrepreneurs offer experiences in which the local culture predominates and that explore the deepest natural beauty of the estuaries. Credit: Beth Wald
How One Woman Protected Millions Of Acres
by Michaela Haas, Reasons to Be Cheerful
The first thing Kristine McDivitt Tompkins had to do when she arrived in Chile more than three decades ago was tear down fences. Demolishing 700 kilometers of barbed wire in the rough terrain that she and her husband bought was back-breaking work, but overcoming barriers in the minds of the locals was much harder. The now 71-year-old president of Tompkins Conservation and her late husband Doug Tompkins were attempting a feat of conservation never before done on such a large scale, spending more than $345 million to buy large swaths of land in Chile and Argentina, restore the grasslands, the forests, and the waterways — and then give them back to the people.
These 6 Tips Can Help You Skip The Daylight Saving Time Hangover
by Deepa Burman and Hiren Muzumdar, NPR
As clocks march ahead and daylight-saving time begins, you may be anxious about losing an hour of sleep and how to adjust to this change. Even though it’s technically just one hour lost due to the time change, the amount of sleep deprivation due to disrupted sleep rhythm lasts for many days and often throws people off schedule, leading to cumulative sleep loss. Many studies have demonstrated that there is an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure associated with sleep deprivation. Workplace injuries increase and so do automobile accidents. Is there something to be done to help to deal with this loss of sleep and change of body clock timing? Of course.
How Norway Can Help Cure America’s “Range Anxiety”
by Whitney Bauck, Reasons to Be Cheerful
When Trondheim-based Magnus Korpås bought his first electric car in 2019, he settled on a Tesla—the model of car that offered the most charging stations available to him at the time. However, in just a few years, Norway built out its charging infrastructure so quickly that no matter what type of electric vehicle (EV) you choose, there’s virtually always a charging point nearby. For the past three decades, Norway has doggedly endeavored to electrify its vehicle fleet, using a mix of infrastructure investments, subsidies and regulations to nudge people into electric cars. Norway was the first country in the world to see EV car sales begin to outpace fossil fuel car sales. Today, 80% of new cars sold in Norway are electric.
UN Disarmament Official Lays Out Path To Reverse ‘Dangerous’ Nuclear Trends
by Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams
The head of the United Nations disarmament division warned of the need for urgent global action to eliminate atomic weapons, especially during the current heightened tensions between the United States and Russia. Addressing attendees of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ “ICAN Act On It” Forum in Oslo, Norway, United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu linked the concept of “humanitarian disarmament” with international agreements including the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Anti-Personnel Landmine Ban Convention, and the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The Green Jobs Boom Is Benefiting The People Who Need It Most
by Michelle Ma, Reasons to Be Cheerful
Before he joined the Civilian Climate Corps, Robert Clark assumed building and electric work was all low-skilled labor, akin to “working at McDonald’s,” he said. That was before he learned to install electric heat pumps, maintain electric vehicle charging stations and perform 3D image modeling of spaces about to get energy upgrades. The apprenticeship program has been life-changing, Clark said. Clark is one of 1,700 New Yorkers who has gone through the Civilian Climate Corps, which was developed by BlocPower. The program, launched in 2021 has a heady dual mandate: develop a workforce that can help the city meet its ambitious climate goals and bring those jobs to neighborhoods affected by gun violence.
