Brightening up the day with a raft of good news nuggets.
Museum Prescriptions
Brussels tests cultural visits to treat stress, depression or anxiety. Psychiatrists in one of the city’s largest hospitals are now able to offer patients “museum prescriptions”, a free visit with a few friends or family members to discover one or more of Brussels’ cultural institutions. Delphine Houba, a Brussels deputy mayor in charge of culture, believes the project is the first of its kind in Europe. She was inspired by a similar project in Canada, where doctors have been issuing prescriptions to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts since 2018.
The BBC estimates that 4.1 billion people around the world watched the footage of the Queen's funeral. That's more than half of everybody on Earth.
eHertz
In good news for General Motors and our planet, rental car company Hertz is to order up to 175,000 GM electric vehicles over the next five years, its latest move toward zero-emission models. Many more such billion dollar deals are expected across the rental market in the near future.
Spectacular Season
Green and Loggerhead sea turtles nest all over the beaches of Southwest Florida, and volunteers counting the nests have been left ‘astonished’ and ‘ecstatic,’ at the reptiles’ fecundity this year. Turtle nests can contain up to 150 eggs, and with volunteers to help ensure that as many as possible have the chance to make it to the ocean, it’s a massive support to the populations in the Gulf. “We’ve never seen numbers like this, and they are hatching really, really well," said the Principal Environmental Specialist.
Book Bans Banned
In response to proposed book bans, a Colorado town approved a measure to prevent any restrictions on resources offered at its public library. About a month ago, a group of residents in Wellington, Colorado sought to restrict 19 books from the shelves of the town’s public library - some even wanted them banned entirely. In response, the town’s board of trustees approved a measure that essentially bans any book bans at the Wellington Public Library.
Quincunx
An arrangement of five objects with four at the corners of a square or rectangle and the fifth at its centre, used for the five on a dice or playing card.
Jupiter Rising
Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in 59 years on Monday 26 September, providing a treat for sky watchers that evening. Moreover, Jupiter will be in opposition, meaning it will rise in the eastern sky as the Sun sets in the west and make the largest planet of our Solar System especially visible in the evening sky. Although Jupiter comes into opposition once every 13 months, the last time Jupiter was this close to Earth was in 1963, according to a Nasa blog. “The views should be great for a few days before and after Monday,” says astrophysicist Adam Kobelski. Grab some binoculars for a really great view on a clear night.
Money Talks
The world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, a Norwegian fund that manages some $1.2 trillion, has announced a new climate action plan requiring all 9,300 of the companies in its portfolio to decarbonize no later than 2050. “Our goal is to be the world’s leading investor in terms of how climate risk is managed,” says CEO Nicolai Tangen. Currently, only 10 percent of the fund’s portfolio companies have a net-zero target for 2050. The fund says it will help the rest of them decarbonize by setting interim targets and creating plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - both from their direct operations and their supply chains.
Quote of the Day
"Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try."
Jack Canfield
On this Day
22 September 1735: Robert Walpole becomes the first British 'Prime Minister' (actually, First Lord of the Treasury) to live at 10 Downing Street.
If that question has ever crossed your mind, you'll be pleased to know that scientists have now gone to the trouble of calculating the answer. Read on...
Taking a daily multivitamin tablet could stave off cognitive decliner an extra two years, says new research. Read on...
Mood Booster
Wonderful montage of clips from BBC Life showing the beauty of our planet and the majesty of the animals that also call it home.