Good News Notes: “A tortoise found in the Galapagos Islands in 2019 has been determined to belong to a species that scientists believed was extinct. DNA testing has confirmed that the female tortoise found on Fernandina Island is a member of the species Chelonoidis phantasticus. It had been “presumed extinct since 1906,” according to the Turtle…
Month: May 2021
St. Albans students unveil sustainable greenhouse, hydroponics system on campus
Good News Notes: “A local high school group working toward a sustainable future took a big step forward on Friday. St. Albans High School AP biology teacher Caitlyn Dixon and her students unveiled their sustainable greenhouse and hydroponics system on campus Friday. The group has been working during the past two years to design and…
Nonprofit FoodCycle LA makes sure excess donated food does not go to waste, using ChowMatch app to route food to those who need it
Good News Notes: “Food insecurity exploded during the pandemic. Many who had never been to a food bank, suddenly couldn’t survive without one. So then why is 40% of the food we produce just dumped in the trash? “Back last March, both husband and wife lost their job on the same day. And they were…
Man blind for 40 years partially regains sight with new gene therapy: “A major breakthrough”
Good News Notes: “Scientists for the very first time say they have partially restored the vision of a man who has been blind for 40 years — and they did it using algae proteins. It marks a major milestone in the treatment of genetic blindness. In a breakthrough study published this week in the journal Nature Medicine,…
Tasmanian Devils Born on Mainland Australia Offer Hope for a Species at Risk of Extinction
Good News Notes: “Roughly 3,000 years ago, Tasmanian devils disappeared from the wilds of mainland Australia—instead only surviving on Tasmania Island, the landmass from which they got their common name. But now for the first time in millennia, a mama devil living outside of captivity has given birth to a litter of joeys, in this…
Environmental nonprofit acquires 1,000-acre Santa Barbara ranch for regenerative agriculture center
Good News Notes: “Environmental nonprofit White Buffalo Land Trust acquired a 1,000-acre ranch in Santa Barbara that it will use to create a research and education center focused on regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture focuses on improving, rather than simply sustaining, agricultural land. That in turn regenerates topsoil, captures carbon, increases biodiversity, and improves water cycles,…
High school student designs working boat from recycled plastic water bottles
Good News Notes: “Andrew Karafa dreams of designing boats professionally one day. In the last year, he saw a trash problem he could use to his advantage and get a head start. “It’s 1,154 12-ounce water bottles, two gallon jugs and 33 two-liters,” says Karafa. “I call it the S.S. Boattle.” The junior at Forest…
‘A huge surprise’ as giant river otter feared extinct in Argentina pops up
Good News Notes: “It was a huge surprise,” said Sebastián Di Martino, director of conservation at Fundación Rewilding Argentina. “I was incredulous. An incredible feeling of so much happiness. I didn’t know if I should try to follow it or rush back to our station to tell the others.” The cause of the excitement was the…
Nile fishermen protect stocks by pulling plastic from river
Good News Notes: “For 17 years, Mohamed Nasar has supported his family of five by fishing in the Nile River near the banks of the tiny island of Al-Qursaya close to central Cairo. But the 58-year-old says fishermen like himself catch fewer fish every year as the Nile has become clogged with plastic bottles, bags…
Once Nearly Extinct, The Florida Panther Is Making A Comeback
Good News Notes: “Brian Kelly, a panther biologist for the state of Florida, opens a creaking gate near Fisheating Creek, a narrow ribbon of preserved land just west of Lake Okeechobee. The path leads from trucks rumbling by on U.S. Highway 27 to a world of towering oaks, cypress heads and a tannic-stained creek that…