Starting the week with a collection of upbeat, positive news snippets.
N. S. Rajappan, 69, has been plucking plastic bottles from Vembanad Lake in Kerala for decades to earn a meager living. Paralyzed since the age of five when he was struck with polio, his daily routine has kept the waterways clear of plastic - all from the seat of his small boat. The other day, an amateur photographer published his story on social media. Now Mr Rajappan has been gifted a new boat (with a motor), a sturdy new home beside the water and, best of all, a heavy-duty motorized wheelchair. “Somebody should remove the waste from the water… I am doing what is possible for me,” he told a local news outlet. Hats off!
Raise a glass to Kane Tanaka, the world's oldest person, who at the tender age of 118 is planning to carry the Olympic torch this May in Japan. Tanaka, who has twice survived cancer and lived through two global pandemics, will take the flame as it passes through her home prefecture of Fukuoka. She'll get a push from her family while in her wheelchair, but she's determined to walk at least a few steps at the end. Tanaka is almost as old as the games themselves. She was born in 1903, just a few years after the modern Olympic Games began in 1896.
Porsche to Make Clean Fuel: Its eFuels will "permit the almost climate-neutral operation of combustion-engine vehicles." The carmaker says it eFuel will CO2 emissions by more than 85% and is cleaner than an electric vehicle when factoring in the environmental impact of battery production.
In the immediate aftermath of the strongest cyclone to ever make landfall in the southern hemisphere in February 2016, reefs around the islands of Fiji were reduced to rubble. But four years on, to the delight of scientists, the coral reefs of the Fijian archipelago are vibrantly resurgent and once again teeming with fish and colour.
Why do flamingos stand on one leg? Even for experts, this hasn’t been an easy question to answer, with zoologists offering several theories across several decades. However, one explanation now stands head and shoulders above the rest.
With streetside billboards not attracting many ads in recent times, one thoughtful media agency decided to give away some billboard spaces and invited artists to submit ideas and designs to promote positivity. The only rule was that it couldn’t be selling anything. So lots of uplifting billboards now fill the streets of London. Love it!
Perfume from recycled CO2: Yet another planet saving idea as the world's largest maker of fragrances starts using a new source to make the ethanol in its perfumes: carbon emissions.
A quick heads up for Brits: don't forget it's mothering Sunday on 14 March.
Craving a sweet treat? Dates offer multiple health benefits as well as satisfying your sweet-tooth craving.
With the vaccine rollout gathering pace around the globe, and the previously grim statistics now all travelling in the right direction, and Spring on its way - it really feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer an oncoming train! So, let's celebrate the promise of returning to our 'Wonderful World' with David Attenborough and Louis Armstrong in this delightfully uplifting, sublimely reassuring, video. Enjoy!
Have a great day!