Selection of good news snippets to brighten the day (and night).
Tonight's the night for some amazing meteorite gazing. If you've got a clear sky, you're likely to spot dozens of Geminids fizzing across the sky - as many as 50 to 100 per hour, wherever you are in the world. So, wrap up and look up!
In a move described by Greenpeace as a “watershed moment”, Denmark has announced that it will cancel all future permits for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, and phase out existing production by 2050. The Nordic country is the largest oil producer in the European Union.
Night train Nirvana for Europe: There’s nothing quite like falling asleep in one country and waking up in a completely different one - 2021 looks like being the start of a pan-European railway renaissance for night trains. Part of the plan to get us off planes and on to trains, and expected to remove 30,000 cars from the roads.
Busted! Baby elephant eating sugarcane in a field outside Chiang Mai, Thailand, decided to hide when people investigating approached. The adorable baby tried to conceal itself behind a streetlight pole, standing perfectly still, hoping no one would notice.
Modern day Davids successfully challenging Goliaths are honoured in this year's Goldman Environmental Foundation prizes, a global award for environmental activism. We should all take inspiration from the winners and realise the difference every one of us can make to the world around us.
For less than one per cent of its GDP, the UK could reduce carbon emissions by 78 percent compared to 1990 levels within just 15 years, according to a landmark report by the Climate Change Committee. If accurate, these predictions would bring forward the UK’s clean energy schedule by 15 years, a timescale that was previously unthinkable. It would also mean that the UK should meet its obligations laid out in the Paris agreement.
Ramblers aim to restore 49,000 miles of lost UK footpaths: If all the 'missing' paths were re-established as public rights of way it would increase the path network in England and Wales by around one third.
How nice is this? 73-year-old war hero Stanley Stoltz had no known living family members when he passed away, so the Good Shepherd Funeral Home in Omaha invited the public to his burial. After the home’s post went viral, hundreds of people came to honour him.
Bison now thriving in Europe: A century ago, only 50 European bison remained on Earth, and they were mostly confined to breeding sanctuaries. But today, wild bison in Europe are recovering in large numbers and playing a crucial role in establishing biodiversity.
Hallelujah! In a week when the last major US bank agreed to stop financing drilling in the Arctic, the UK taxpayer is to stop funding fossil fuel projects overseas as part of the government’s push for international action on the climate.
Every cloud has a silver lining: The Global Carbon Project, an authoritative group of dozens of international scientists who track emissions, say the locked-down world cut carbon dioxide emissions this year by 7%, the biggest drop ever. Now, of course, we need to keep things going in a positive direction.
Dancing in the air: Extraordinary video of dancers performer hundreds of feet above the street on the side of a sky scraper: