Feb 6, 2023
Updated: Feb 15, 2023
What better way to start the week than a global round up of good news nuggets?
Bear Necessities
Back in 1996, the addition of three bears from Slovenia launched a conservation plan to reintroduce the near-extinct brown bears in the Pyrenees, the mountain range that divides Spain and France. The EU-backed Franco-Spanish LoupO transborder project that monitors bears in the region is happy to report that the brown bear reintroduction plan is showing signs of success! The latest count identified 70 bears - a significant increase from the 52 bears counted in 2018 and the highest population recorded for a century.
Lake Superior
The five national parks along the Lake Superior shoreline will completely decarbonize buildings and vehicles within four years, a challenging goal meant to match the urgent need for climate action. The Lake Superior national parks are expected to be the first nationwide to comprehensively eliminate carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. “If you don’t set an ambitious game plan for something like this, then it just doesn’t get done,” said Tom Irvine of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation.
iPhone Auction
If you're into classic smartphones, you might be able to buy a sealed first-generation iPhone - if you have the cash. LCG Auctions has a sealed 8GB iPhone on the auction block now. This original iPhone launched almost 16 years ago, in June 2007, at a price of $599. "One of the most important and ubiquitous inventions of our lifetime," says LCG's description. "A truly remarkable piece with great appeal to both collectors and investors alike." Another sealed first-generation iPhone was sold in October 2022 for $39,339.60, so this one's expected to at least match that price. Bidding has started and ends on 19 February.
UK Environment Plan
Every household will be within a 15-minute walk of a green space or water, under a major environmental improvement plan for England set out by the British government. The long-awaited measures will include commitments to restore at least 500,000 hectares (1.2m acres) of wildlife habitat, and 400 miles of river. This will include 25 new or expanded national nature reserves and 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of new woodland along England’s rivers. A new species survival fund will target some of the most threatened wildlife, including hedgehogs and red squirrels. Whilst this is being applauded by environmental groups, the funding for the plan is not yet clear.
Slow Travel
A night train from Amsterdam to Barcelona is one of 10 new routes just approved by the European Commission, as it attempts to boost green travel on the continent. Adina Vălean, the European commissioner for transport, said the proposed services would help “break down the many barriers to cross-border rail” at a time when more people are embracing slow, low-carbon travel. Other approved routes include a sleeper train from Stockholm to Berlin, and a Prague to Copenhagen service.
Oldest Known
Archaeologists have announced a host of new discoveries at the Tombs of Saqqara in the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis, including a 4,300-year-old mummy covered in gold leaf. The mummy, the remains of a man named Hekashepes, was found in a sealed stone sarcophagus at the bottom of a 33 foot shaft. While some news outlets have described the discovery as the oldest known Egyptian mummy, that claim isn’t true. Instead, Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s famous former antiquities minister says it is actually “the oldest complete mummy covered with gold.” In addition to the layers of gold around him, the mummy wore a band on his head and a bracelet on his chest, signifying that he was a man of great wealth.
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On this Day
6 February 1952: Elizabeth II ascended the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland following the death of her father King George VI.
Mood Booster
Trains ploughing through deep snow II