Good News Worth Celebrating
- Editor OGN Daily
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
A quick summary of all last week's top good news stories from around the globe.
Nature & Conservation
Rights of Nature: An English chalk stream has been given legal rights - including the right to be pollution-free. Technically, the chalk stream can now sue.
New National Park City: Breda in the Netherlands has been declared the world’s fourth national park city following local efforts to bring nature into the urban realm. The distinction is granted by the UK-based National Park City Foundation, a movement to make cities “greener, healthier, and wilder”.
Green Infrastructure: Delhi has created seven biodiversity parks spanning 820 hectares by rehabilitating severely degraded lands. These parks function as essential green infrastructure, providing carbon sequestration and flood mitigation, and reducing pollution. The model has proven so successful that India has launched a nationwide program to replicate it in other cities.
Nature Restoration: Foresters and conservationists have restored over 10,000 hectares of native vegetation in Brazil's Cerrado, in what may be the largest-ever restoration initiative in the region. The project creates nearly 40,000 hectares (approx. 160 sq. miles) of connected habitat in one of world's most biodiverse seasonally dry ecosystems.
Health & Wellbeing
Gamechanger: Scientists have developed an “ultra-rapid” test that can diagnose brain tumours in as little as two hours - a massive improvement on the six weeks that it currently takes to receive a diagnosis. The test has already been used in 50 operations at England's Nottingham University Hospitals, where it had a 100 percent success rate in diagnosing tumour types.
New Hope: A paradigm shift in the way we treat spinal injuries is now in sight, with the world's first regenerative cell therapy being granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration for a registrational Phase I clinical trial. It's a historic milestone that could successfully treat what has, until now, been an incurable condition.
New Antibiotic: The first new antibiotic in 50 years to tackle a common superbug will be tested on patients. The drug, which targets one of the bacteria considered to pose the biggest threat to human health, has been hailed as an “exciting” development in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, has announced that it will take zosurabalpin into the third and last phase of testing on humans.
Digital Healthcare: India is putting its money where its mouth is: this year's budget promises broadband for all rural schools and primary healthcare centres. And India's free telemedicine service now provides 300,000 telehealth consultations a day, and has served 330 million patients.
Forest First Aid: Chimpanzees in Uganda have been observed using medicinal plants - in multiple ways - to treat open wounds and other injuries.
LA Medical Debt: Los Angeles county is eliminating the medical debt of 134,820 residents, with no strings attached. There’s no application process - those chosen will simply receive a letter confirming that their debt has been taken care of. "This kind of debt often gets bundled and sold to debt collectors for pennies on the dollar who then go after families aggressively for the payment. But we asked ourselves, what if instead of collection agencies buying that debt, Los Angeles county bought that and what if instead of collecting it, we forgave it? And that's exactly what we've done."
Hats Off to Guyana: Out of 186 countries, only Guyana produces enough food to self-sufficiently feed all its citizens without foreign imports, according to new research. The study investigated how well each country could feed their populations in seven food groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, plant-based protein and starchy staples.
Renewables & Sustainability
Global Green Economy: A new analysis shows that, as of April 2025, the global green economy, if considered as a standalone sector, accounts for 8.6 percent of listed equities with a combined market capitalisation of US$7.9 trillion. This makes it the world's fourth largest sector by market capitalisation, after technology, industrial goods and services, and healthcare.
Youth Climate Lawsuit: 22 Americans aged seven to 25 allege that the Trump administration is engaging in unlawful executive overreach by pushing fossil fuels, and are suing accordingly.
Hats Off to Portugal: Portugal's renewable energy domination continues with 83 percent of electricity generated from clean sources between January and April 2025, leaving fossil fuels to provide just 8 percent of electricity, reports APREN. This remarkable transformation is driven primarily by wind and water, and a growing share of solar.
Hungary Takes Crown: Hungary has emerged as a global leader in solar, which provided 25 percent of its 2024 electricity, more than any other country at any time in history. The solar surge has cannibalised coal power, which dropped from 15 percent to 6 percent, while helping Hungary achieve 74 percent low-carbon electricity generation with a 90 percent target by 2030.
EV Sales Accelerate: Electric vehicles will make up more than one-quarter of global car sales in 2025, according to the IEA. China dominates with 14 million sales, which alone surpasses total global EV sales from 2023. The first three months of this year have seen 35 percent year-over-year growth, signalling accelerating adoption despite regional policy variations. Emerging markets like Southeast Asia, Brazil, and India are now seeing growth rates of between 30-45 percent.
Circular Economy: The world's first large-scale facility for recycling polyester-cotton blends will be built in Saint-Avold, France, processing 70,000 tons annually by 2028. The US company chose France over dozens of global sites, citing EU green industry support, financing incentives, and regulatory backing amid US clean-tech funding cuts under Trump. The plant will separate difficult-to-recycle fast fashion materials into reusable fibres, helping brands meet waste responsibilities, reports Bloomberg.
And Finally...
Bookshop Boom: Earlier this year, Barnes & Noble announced that it is opening 60 new stores. But it isn’t the only book business making a comeback - independent bookshops are also gaining steam, thanks to a new wave of literature lovers opening pop-up shops and brick-and-mortar locations in their neighborhoods. Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association told the Associated Press. “I don’t think any of us would have predicted this a few years ago.” Since 2016, the trade group has grown from 1,244 members at 1,749 locations to 2,863 members at 3,281 locations, with more than 200 additional stores currently in the process of opening their doors. According to the latest research this heartening trend isn't just confined to the US, but continues around the world, with half of all retail book sales, whether in Germany, India, or Britain, coming from local bookshops.
Today's Articles
Nancy Astor's Tiara: Cartier tiara, owned by first woman to take a seat in Britain's House of Commons, is heading to auction.
Brontë Birthplace: The small house where the Brontë sisters were born opens to visitors - and you can even stay the night.
Respair: Life-affirming words we should bring back into use to help cultivate happiness and boost wellbeing.