Mid-week round up of good news snippets from across the globe.
California's Governor has announced an executive order to reserve 30 percent of state land for conservation by 2030, requiring state agencies to boost and maintain soil health, restore wetlands, manage forests to reduce fire risks and create more parks and green spaces for cities. This reflects similar positive pledges already made in Europe.
Model Village for Alzheimer Patients: “It takes a village to raise a child” says an old African proverb, and this concept is now being reflected in southwestern France in a new village-style community that's been created for its 105 residents - all of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s in varying stages. Residents say it's very good news.
UK Government’s allocation of £257m in funds to support arts organisations and venues has been welcomed as a game changer for struggling venues. It's confirmed that 1,385 arts organisations across England had been successful in their applications for funds designed to secure venues and arts organisations until April 2021.
Getty Museum, Los Angeles: With more than 6,000 years worth of creative treasures, the Getty is one of the best places for art on the country. And the good news is that it offers a “museum view” tool to look inside gallery spaces, with clickable artworks presenting further information. Time for a cultural fix?
Wave Energy - Ready, Steady, Go: There's been much hope and a promise on this subject, but is it now the moment for ocean waves to generate commercially viable renewable power?
Singapore has launched a new nature park that covers 400 hectares (990 acres), in an area that serves as a refueling site for migratory birds. The initiative is part of a larger effort to plant 1 million trees across the city-state by 2030. Researchers say reforestation will also help sequester carbon and lower the temperature of the city.
Boy Scout Lights the Way: This is a reminder that good things are still being done during challenging times! Ryan Sutliff, a 17-year-old aspiring Eagle Scout from Massachusetts, is one of those bright spots. Literally.
A tiny "teapot" found during a lockdown clear-out has sold for £390,000 at auction. The Chinese wine ewer may have belonged to an emperor was found in Derbyshire by a very lucky middle aged man as he went through boxes in his garage. He nearly took it to a charity shop, and now plans to buy a metal detector.
Partly due to lockdown and partly due to The Clean Water Act and the Mammal Protection Act, Humpback whales have made a comeback in New York City.
Word of the Day: Sisu. Ask a Finn to define the national character, and it’s the word most still reach for.
Reef Cam Underwater Live Feed: From the bottom of the sea direct to your screen. Reef Cam is Australia’s first ever rocky-reef, live-feed, combined under and above water webcams. It only operates during local daylight hours but recordings will be shown when the live feed is offline. It's delightfully calming in today's crazy world. Enjoy!
Good news for retro music format fans as sales of cassettes take off. The revival of the format, once considered obsolete, has continued with 100,000 tapes bought by UK music fans so far this year. What are they playing them on? Apparently the revival is being led by Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, with support from rockers AC/DC. Could 2020 get any stranger?