Good News Headlines 8/6/2024
Photo courtesy of Tomorrow Never Knows/Flickr
Felled Sycamore Gap Tree May Live On After Green Shoots Appear On Stump
by Mark Brown, The Guardian
The felling of the Sycamore Gap tree brought forth an outpouring of emotion last year, with local people and tourists alike left bereft by pictures showing it on its side. But the latest stage of the saga has brought some “astonishing” green shoots of recovery, the National Trust has said – in a literal and metaphorical sense. Signs of life and regrowth have been spotted on the stump of the tree, on Hadrian’s Wall. The trust said eight new, desperately fragile shoots measuring between 2cm and 4cm had been discovered at the base of the tree’s stump, near the roots, giving hope that it will live on.
3 Newly Freed Americans Are Back On US Soil After A Landmark Prisoner Exchange With Russia
by Eric Tucker, Dasha Litvinova and Matthew Lee, AP
Gershkovich, Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with dual U.S.-Russia citizenship, arrived on American soil shortly before midnight for a joyful reunion with their families. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also were at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to greet them and dispense hugs all around. The trade unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Biden trumpeted the exchange, by far the largest in a series of swaps with Russia, as a diplomatic feat.
How Four Cities Are Cooling Down Creatively
by Valeria Morales-Soto, Reasons to Be Cheerful
In the middle of a summer of record-breaking heat, just stepping outside is enough to remind us that the world is experiencing rising temperatures due to climate change. Experts project that heat waves like the ones that so many of us have been experiencing will become more frequent, long-lasting and deadly. As temperatures rise, so too will our need for cooling. Air conditioning is predicted to double greenhouse emissions by 2050, and the urban heat island effect — when pavement and buildings retain heat — is only making people that live in cities more vulnerable.
Third Grade Teacher Crocheted Mini Versions Of Every Student In Her Class For End-Of-Year Gift
by Good News Network
An elementary school teacher crocheted a miniature version of all the pupils in her class to honor each individually with a personalized gift as the year ended. Sara Shabir started the project in May and presented the tiny lookalikes to her third graders this month when classes ended at Tyndale Community School, in Oxford, England. Each of the 30 keepsake dolls took her around eight hours to create—a total of 240 hours. The 32-year-old took up the hobby during COVID-19 lockdowns—and when the end of term was approaching this year, she had so much love for the kids in her class, she wanted to give them something special to remember their time together.
Wind And Solar Energy Overtake Fossil Fuels To Provide 30% Of EU Electricity
by Ajit Niranjan, The Guardian
Wind turbines and solar panels have overtaken fossil fuels to generate 30% of the European Union’s electricity in the first half of the year, a report has found. Power generation from burning coal, oil and gas fell 17% in the first six months of 2024 compared with the same period the year before, according to climate thinktank Ember. It found the continued shift away from polluting fuels has led to a one-third drop in the sector’s emissions since the first half of 2022. Chris Rosslowe, an analyst at Ember, said the rise of wind and solar was narrowing the role of fossil fuels. “We are witnessing a historic shift in the power sector, and it is happening rapidly.”
