Saturday's uplifting collection of good new snippets.
Six climate activists and two environmental NGOs have taken Norway to the European Court of Human Rights, arguing the Nordic country’s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic are harming young people’s futures - violating Norway’s constitution, which guarantees the right to a healthy environment. The case is regarded as likely to succeed, following the recent ruling by a Dutch court to order Royal Dutch Shell to cut its global carbon emissions by 45 percent from 2019 levels by the end of 2030.
Researchers in the misty mountains of the Ecuadorian Andes have discovered a new species of terrestrial frog and named it after the pioneering British rock band Led Zeppelin: Pristimantis ledzeppelin. Why? For no other reason than the two scientists who made the discovery are big fans of the 1970s group.
How to avoid putting unwanted cotton clothes into landfill: shred them and put them back into the soil. And what if, in a world of perfect circularity, that soil was on a cotton farm? Well, that exact idea is being trialled on a cotton farm in Australia. We'll let you know how they get on.
The much anticipated summit in Geneva saw two leaders argue about whose country had the worst reputation, with aides confirming Putin and Biden could not come to an agreement on this. Elsewhere, Donald Trump was said to be on his 6th tub of ice-cream in a bid to cope with seeing Putin with another US president.
Americans gave a record $471 billion to charity in 2020, according to the latest annual report from the Giving USA Foundation. That's almost a million dollars every minute!
Concerned about the environmental harm caused by mounting plastic pollution in Malawi, Gloria Majiga-Kamoto fought the plastics industry and galvanized a grassroots movement in support of a national ban on thin plastics, a type of single-use plastic. As a result of her dedicated campaigning, in July 2019, Malawi’s High Court upheld the ban on the production, importation, distribution, and use of thin plastics.
The UK supermarket Asda announced this week that it will roll out packaging-free shopping at more of its shops, following a successful trial in Leeds. Customers will be able to refill their own containers with grains, detergents and other goods.
A nuclear fusion start-up backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has picked Oxfordshire, England, for its pilot nuclear plant in a bid to create a new source of abundant clean energy. General Fusion's demonstration plant will cost $400m and is expected to be ready in 2025. Christofer Mowry, chief executive, said: “This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy.”
Middle school teacher, Trey Payne, had left his basketball shoes in his classroom and someone stole them. When his students found out what had happened, they came together to raise money and replace Mr. Payne’s stolen Nikes. "It's more than a pair of shoes, it's about doing things to build everyone up around you," a tearfully grateful Payne commented. "I try to show my kids this and I think the lesson has sunk in for many, in turn, reaffirming my purpose and my ideals."
It's the fourth edition of the increasingly popular OGN Sunday Magazine tomorrow. Don't miss it!
Dive in Deeper
Passive rewilding: Over half the trees in two new woodlands in England planted not by landowners, charities or machines, but by jays. [2 mins] Remarkable...
Important discovery: 5 million years of climate change records found by scientists in Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan. [1 min] Missing link...
New holiday: Today has just become an official federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in America. [1 min] Juneteenth...
Funny signs
Somebody has kindly put together a video of all the funny signs put up by the local gas station to entertain passers-by. Guaranteed to make you chuckle.