Today's eclectic global round up of tasty good news nuggets.
ACC Now Funded
​The White House has secured funding for the American Climate Corps (ACC), a federal program aimed at employing thousands of young Americans in clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience. The program, set to launch its first cohort next summer, draws inspiration from President Franklin Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps and will engage young people to discuss priorities and implementation strategies based on regional climate realities, reports NBC News. According to the White House, nearly 50,000 people from every state and territory, including Puerto Rico, have signed up to learn more about joining the ACC since it was first announced.
Streaming Record
Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You breaks Spotify record for most streams in a day, bringing in nearly 24 million streams on Christmas Eve.
Landfill to Ecosystem
Between 1968 and 1996, an estimated 80 million tons of garbage were dumped into the largest landfill in Latin America, polluting the bay nearby as well as surrounding rivers. First attempting to limit the amount of pollution dumped there, the Rio de Janeiro later officially shut the landfill down in 2012. Then, it began efforts to recover and restore the area to a thriving mangrove ecosystem - removing garbage, building a drainage system, and replanting mangroves. And it’s working: Just a decade later, the mangrove is thriving with crabs, snails, fish, birds, and more. Beyond restoring this local ecosystem, mangroves are incredible in the fight against climate change because of their immense capacity to capture and store large amounts of carbon dioxide. Experts say they can store more carbon than a tropical rainforest.
You Couldn't Make It Up
Three "gun-wielding" masked bandits who allegedly robbed a Colorado business got a taste of their own medicine when their getaway vehicle was stolen "before they could escape", said the BBC. Police said two suspects had been "chased down and arrested" after the raid, on Hi Lo Check Cashing in Commerce City, took an "unexpected and ironic twist". And the getaway car may have "already been stolen", cops added on the department's Facebook page. "We don't know." The irony of "the Shakespearean-like coincidence" wasn't lost on other social media users either, with one asking if this was a story from "Grand Theft Auto".
Quitting Fossil Fuels
​Denmark’s largest bank announced it would end all fossil fuel financing. The bank determined that 99.9 percent of its own carbon footprint came from financing fossil fuel projects - so it’s not doing it anymore.
Autonomous Diner
At the new CaliExpress by Flippy in Pasadena, opening soon, you'll order on a screen, then watch as robots work the burger grill and fry baskets to serve food - without a single pimply human having to drag itself out of bed and pretend to be happy to see you. It's the robo-restaurant of the future, celebrating a transaction that will proceed from soup to nuts without any forced personal interaction. "Flippy" robot arms on rails will scurry from station to station, filling fry baskets, shaking and banging them as they lower them into the oil. It all ends with a conspicuously non-autonomous looking pair of gloved human hands actually sticking the burger in a box, as the transaction comes to a close at the "world's first fully autonomous, AI-powered restaurant."
On Track
The US government is investing $16.4 billion into rail infrastructure between Boston and Washington, which Railway Age says is the largest rebuilding investment since the tracks were laid in the mid-19th century. The funding will help rebuild tunnels and bridges; upgrade tracks, station power systems, and signals; and advance projects to increase operating speed.
"Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin." Dwight D. Eisenhower
On This Day
28 December 1982: Jamaican Post issues commemorative postage stamp featuring reggae singer Bob Marley.
Scientists discover that reindeer are able to eat and sleep at the same time. Saving precious time...
Mood Booster
A photographer’s beautiful timelapse showing the onset of winter took him five years to shoot.