Good News Headlines 5/13/2024

Parley and the Australian SailGP Team are fighting against marine plastic pollution through zero-emissions racing and the removal of single-use plastics. Photo: Parley for the Oceans

Sailing Community Introduces New Platform To Fight Plastic Pollution And Climate Change

by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch

It’s no secret that humans produce and use far too much plastic. The more than 400 million tons generated each year is polluting our planet and choking our oceans. The plastic crisis is so great that 80 percent of marine debris is made from plastics, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A new initiative, SailGP vs Plastic, aims to combat the climate crisis by raising awareness through a group of individuals who have a special relationship with the ocean — the sailing community. Launched by Parley for the Oceans and the Australian SailGP Team, the campaign aims to fight plastic pollution and its connection to climate change.

More States Are Allowing Child Support Payments To Reach Children

by Eli Hager, ProPublica

It is one of the enduring myths of the U.S. child support system: that payments made by fathers actually make it to their families. And yet, every year, hundreds of millions of dollars in child support is instead intercepted by federal and state governments — as reimbursement for the mother having received welfare at some point. But that may be changing. Since a 2021 ProPublica investigation found that child support payments totaling $1.7 billion annually were taken from families and redirected into state coffers, at least six states have rewritten their laws and policies to allow the money to flow directly to kids.

Orangutan Observed Treating A Wound With A Medicinal Plant For The First Time

by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch

Biologists have observed a Sumatran male orangutan using the sap and chewed leaves of a medicinal plant to treat an open wound on his face. While there has been previous evidence of self-medication behaviors in animals, it is the first known incident of an animal in the wild treating a wound with a “biologically active substance,” a press release from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior said. “During daily observations of the orangutans, we noticed that a male named Rakus had sustained a facial wound, most likely during a fight with a neighboring male,” said biologist Isabelle Laumer, the study’s lead author, in the press release.

As Tucson Gets Hotter And Hotter, Creating More Shade In Its Most Vulnerable Neighborhoods Is Making A Vital Difference

by Marcello Rossi, Reasons to Be Cheerful

On a recent Sunday morning, the Barrio Centro neighborhood in Tucson, Arizona, was abuzz with activity. People from all walks of life were busy hauling dirt, planting saplings and building earthworks like berms and swales in the warm spring air. They were part of a community planting event organized by Tucson Clean and Beautiful, a local nonprofit, as part of a larger, city-wide effort to fill street corners and vacant lots with groves of trees. The ultimate goal: to create more shade and increase heat resilience in the most vulnerable neighborhoods. Tucson, sitting in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, is among the fastest-warming cities in the US.

Glendale 8th Grader Helps Stop School Bus After Driver Passes Out Behind The Wheel

 by Tanner Kahler, WISN

It could have ended in tragedy if not for Acie Holland III’s quick thinking. Wednesday night, the Glen Hills Middle School student was riding the bus after school when the bus driver had some kind of medical emergency, causing her to lose consciousness near 25th Street and Villard Avenue. Holland took notice. “I look up at the bus driver and she was just, like, dazed. I’m looking, and she was like her head was falling on the steering wheel,” Holland said. According to a letter from the school, the bus began to veer into the oncoming lane. That’s when Holland jumped in to help.