Good News Worth Celebrating

Quick summary of all the top good news stories from last week.

Woman celebrating some good news by leaping in the air — Celebrating the good news

In a week when the gold Omega Speedmaster belonging to Neil Armstrong - who made history on 20 July 1969 when he became the first person to walk on the moon - was sold for $2.1 million, with a “substantial portion” of the proceeds going to charity; and, Wrexham became the first football club in history to be promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football - you may recall that the then lowly club was acquired by Hollywood heart throb Ryan Reynolds and his friend Rob McElhenney in 2020 - and has achieved the "impossible dream,".... it's good to know that there are plenty of other upbeat, positive news stories to celebrate too.

Health & Wellbeing

Superbug-Killing Paint: In a breakthrough with wide-reaching implications for infection control, scientists at England's University of Nottingham have developed a new paint-on coating that kills harmful bacteria and viruses on contact, including stubborn pathogens like MRSA, influenza, and even Covid-19.

Food Allergies: In a landmark UK trial by Kings College London, two-thirds of participating adults with a severe peanut allergy were desensitized thanks to oral immunotherapy. While oral immunotherapy has previously been successful in infants and children, this is the first study to provide evidence that adults can also benefit from the medical treatment - and it nods to a bright future for treating food allergies more broadly.

Wildlife & Conservation

Tiger Numbers Double: India has achieved a remarkable milestone in wildlife conservation, doubling its Indian tiger population from 1,706 in 2010 to approximately 3,682 in 2022, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

Tree Growth Acceleration: A breakthrough in tree growth acceleration could transform how we fight climate change through reforestation. The acceleration technology - potentially boosting forest growth by 30 percent - works by returning native fungal communities to tree roots before planting.

Conservation Success: After five decades of restoration work, the native trout population of Lake Champlain, one of the largest lakes in the United States - which straddles the states of New York and Vermont - is now self-sustaining. This success offers a model for restoring top predator species in large freshwater ecosystems.

30 x 30: Maryland has become the first U.S. state to reach its pledge to protect 30 percent of the state’s land - six years ahead of schedule. Part of a global initiative to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s land and waters by 2030, nine U.S. states joined the “30 by 30” effort on a local level.

New Detroit Forest: Arborists are turning vacant land on Detroit’s eastside into a small urban forest, not of trees indigenous to the city but giant sequoias, the world’s largest trees that can live for thousands of years. They will improve air quality and help preserve the trees that are native to California’s Sierra Nevada.

Sustainable Energy

Sustainable Aviation: Finland announced a landmark €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) aviation fuel facility that will transform the Arctic region into a hub for green aviation technology. The plant aims to fuel approximately 160,000 medium-haul flights each year, marking Finland’s entry into the growing sustainable aviation fuel market.

One Million Homes: The first of 64 gargantuan wind turbines is up and spinning in the North Sea. Once all 64 are installed, the wind farm will be able to power one million homes in Germany. Each turbine is so large that a single spin of their giant blades could power a house for a whole day.

Top Performer: CNN reports that the world’s largest electric vehicle battery producer - CATL of China - has unveiled a battery that can go 320 miles on a 5-minute charge.

Pakistan's Solar Success: By the end of 2024, Pakistan quietly rocketed into the top tier of solar adopters, importing a jaw-dropping 22 gigawatts worth of solar panels in a single year. That’s the kind of number that turns heads at IEA meetings and makes policy analysts double-check their databases, reports CleanTechnica. It’s more solar than Canada has installed in total. It’s more than the UK added in the past five years.

Electric Ferry Link: A Spanish ferry company will establish the first completely electric ferry service between Spain and Morocco in 2027, creating a pioneering green corridor between the two continents.

Electric Nepal: Nepal is a global leader in electric vehicle imports with more than 70 percent of four-wheeled passenger vehicles imported into Nepal in 2024 being were electric - one of the highest rates in the world. And there’s a new hope emerging as a result of the increasing popularity of EVs, both two- and four-wheeled: reducing chronic air pollution in Kathmandu.

China Renewables: China's renewable surge displaces coal power in first three months of 2025, reports Climate Energy Finance.

Solar & Biodiversity: A new study from RSPB and the University of Cambridge shows that well-managed solar farms can make significant contributions to nature while delivering renewable energy, reports the BBC. Researchers discovered that solar farms had a greater number of bird species and individual birds per hectare compared to the surrounding agricultural land. Particularly noteworthy was that solar parks managed with a mix of habitats, where grass was left uncut and hedges preserved, had nearly three times more birds than nearby farmland.

And Finally...

Wealth Tax Surprise: In 2022, Massachusetts voters approved a 4 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million or more, which was projected to bring in $1 billion in income for the state - but critics feared it would make wealthy people leave the state. In fact, the opposite happened: Researchers found the number of people making $1 million or more annually has increased by nearly 40 percent since it the tax went into effect, reports MassLive. Additionally, the number of ultra-wealthy residents - making at least $50 million or more annually - has also grown, from 1,954 in 2022 to 2,642 in 2024. And the added revenue surpassed projections, generating $2.46 billion in 2023 alone. Revenue from the tax is going to “fund essential programs that expand economic opportunity for all,” like free school lunches and free community college for state residents.