Eclectic bundle of good news nuggets to help get the weekend off to a sunny start.
Kashmir's Historic Day
Cinemas are reopening in Indian-administered Kashmir for the first time in more than 20 years. Until the early 1990s, Kashmir - India’s only Muslim-majority region - had a dozen cinemas, but an armed rebellion against Indian rule forced them to close. As the theatres began to reopen, Manoj Sinha, the lieutenant-governor of Jammu and Kashmir, called it a “historic day” and “a reflection of a new dawn of hope, dreams, confidence and aspirations of people”.
Dedication
Two women who were first in line to see the Queen lying in state have also been the first to visit her final resting place at Windsor Castle. Anne Daley and Grace Gothard booked tickets for Windsor Castle as soon as they found out it was reopening. Lifelong royal fans, they were at the front of the line as the gates once more opened to visitors. Anne, from Cardiff, said: "We queued on Lambeth Bridge to be first to see the lying in state, and we wanted to be first here too. We just want to pay our respects." Both are lifelong royalists who became friends when they met at the unveiling of the Diana, Princess of Wales statue outside Kensington Palace in July last year.
Once Believed Extinct
Colorado’s state fish, the greenback cutthroat trout was first listed as extinct by federal officials in the 1930s. Though small groups of them were found in parts of the state over the years, they turned out to be subspecies of the trout. Then in 2012, after researchers found a small purebred population of the fish, they immediately implemented a hatchery to grow and maintain the species. And their efforts have now resulted in the species naturally reproducing in Colorado's native waters. “This is just another affirmation that our conservation practices work and that we can save species on the brink,” says Kevin Rogers, an aquatics researcher for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Parking Mandates
The Assembly Bill, now signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom, eliminates parking mandates for residential and commercial developments located within half a mile of major transit stops. Minimum parking requirements raise housing costs, use up valuable land, and make neighborhoods less walkable, thus, removing parking mandates is a significant victory for housing and parking reform advocates. It’s also beneficial for the environment because it will increase public transit use. “Parking mandates create powerful incentives for people to drive, even when other modes of transportation are convenient and available.”
Lambent
Softly bright or radiant. A lambent light flickers softly, rather than being too bright to look at.
Flying Ferry
One of the world’s most advanced electric passenger ferries is set to link Belfast and Bangor in Northern Ireland. With a top speed of 69 kph, and carrying up to 150m passengers, the vessels will “fly above the water” with underwater wings lifting up like a plane taking off. The company behind the 100 percent electric ferry Artemis Technologies was founded by Olympic sailing champion Dr Iain Percy OBE. The aim of the ferries is to provide a “cost-effective public transport solution” that can cut down on “air pollution, congestion and noise,” Percy adds. It is just one of a range of zero-emissions vessels being developed by the company. The pilot scheme is due to start in 2024.
Protecting Nature
Wales will plough its own furrow with agricultural reforms designed to battle climate change by paying farmers for protecting nature. The Welsh government said its “historic” Agriculture Bill, which has been in the making since the 2016 Brexit vote, will back sustainable farming. A new subsidy scheme will be rolled out to support the sector’s role in environmental stewardship. The new Sustainable Land Management programme will reward farmers for measures that mitigate climate change, enhance ecosystems and conserve the Welsh countryside. These include tree planting, habitat protection and sustainable food production.
Quote of the Day
"Believe you can and you’re halfway there." Teddy Roosevelt
On this Day
1 October 1890: By an act of the U.S. Congress, Yosemite National Park was created.
Europe's Wildlife Comeback
Good news about the problem of what to do with batteries once they conk out, as the Strategic EV Management Act passes the Senate. Read on...
Mood Booster
Poetry reading: Ode To Autumn by John Keats.