Owl Wing Design With Serrated Edges Reduces Aircraft, Wind Turbine Noise Pollution

Good News Notes: “Trailing-edge noise is the dominant source of sound from aeronautical and turbine engines like those in airplanes, drones, and wind turbines. Suppressing this noise pollution is a major environmental goal for some urban areas. In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University used the characteristics of owl wings to inform…

Durg forest division plans reforestation over 2,500 acres

Good News Notes: “The Durg forest division of Chhattisgarh has launched a large-scale reforestation programme, which aims to cover 2,500 acres of land, on the periphery of a limestone mining area owned by the Bhilai Steel Plant of the Steel Authority of India Limited. Currently, the Durg division’s forest cover is over 248.59 hectares, which is 0.04…

Crisis averted after woman finds thousands of plastic balls in Lake Tahoe

Good News Notes: “An environmental crisis was narrowly averted after a woman found thousands of tiny polystyrene balls covering a beach on Tahoe’s north shore. Alison Toy, the education program manager for UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center, was on a walk on Moon Dune beach when she came across the little white balls coating…

Study shows Sweetwater Wetlands Park successful at reducing pollution

Good News Notes: “As difficult as it may be to believe, Sweetwater Wetlands Park was not built to provide a place to spot alligators and birds. It was constructed — in the shape of an alligator’s head, by the way — to restore the natural flow into Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and to clean the…

Bird species re-discovered after almost 200 years of absence

Good News Notes: “The bird in question is the black-browed babbler, and we’ve only ever had sparse information on it. The western world was first treated to specimens and a description of this bird around 1848. Attempts to find the birds since have all failed, leaving us with very little data about the species’ traits…

Surprising therapy and emotional support animals

 Good News Notes: “Though dogs are the most common therapy animal, plenty of other animals support their owners. Pet Partners told ABC News that, “dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, rats, miniature pigs, llamas, alpacas, horses, donkeys, and mini-horses” can all be therapy animals. There are important distinctions between therapy animals and emotional support animals. Therapy…