Sep 10

Just Good News Tuesday

An eclectic global round-up of concise, positive news stories to brighten the day.

Chile's Villarrica volcano — Francisco Negroni | European Photography Awards

Winning Image

Francisco Negroni's Lord of the Volcanoes has won the Overall category at the European Photography Awards. In the image, Chile's Villarrica volcano - the most dangerous in the country - is surrounded by an electrical storm, with several lightening strikes illuminating the summit.

End of UK Coal Power

In 2015, the British government announced that all coal-fired power stations would close by 2025, a date later brought forward by a year, saying: ‘It cannot be satisfactory for an advanced economy like the UK to be relying on polluting, carbon-intensive 50-year-old coal-fired power stations.’ Clearing dirty coal away would not only help Britain hit its emissions targets, it would goad the electricity companies into pursuing a greener, clean agenda. The industry picked up the gauntlet. The year before the announcement, there were still 14 plants across the country, accounting for a fifth of power consumption. Last year coal supplied just one per cent of electricity in the UK. At the end of this month Britain's last coal-fired power station will shut.

the Colm la Runga corridor, Switzerland — Roman fortress site in the Swiss Alps

Sky High Fortress

The ancient Roman army didn’t seem to be afraid of anything, but they definitely weren’t afraid of heights, as evidenced by the discovery of a 2,000-year-old Roman military camp located 7,000 feet above sea level in the Swiss Alps. As archaeologists continue to explore the history of the Roman army in what is now Switzerland, a volunteer unearthed a previously unknown military camp in the mountains, strategically positioned to have tactical views of the surrounding valleys and mountain passes. Not only did archaeologists discover the ditches and a wall of the camp, but they also found lead sling bullets bearing the stamp of the Roman 3rd Legion. That’s a helpful giveaway.

Clever Solution: Solar panels disguised as ancient Roman tiles to match the city skyline is one of the innovative solutions adopted by the archaeological park of Pompeii.

Bistro’s Phone Ban

While the French government pilots a smartphone ban in schools from this week, a bistro in Alsace is one step ahead. Petits Plats de Mamama in Rothau barred diners from using smartphones last year amid concerns that it was ruining the dining experience. A year on, its owners say the ban has “worked brilliantly”. Sandra and Olivier Holtzmann, who run the bisto, told The Times that they were selling more desserts because diners are hanging around to finish conversations they were previously too distracted to have.

Panoramic view of Alaska forest, mountains and river

Good News For Alaska

In a win for Alaska wildlands, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland finalized a decision to retain protections for 28 million acres of public lands across the state, reports NRDC. These treasured lands support Alaska Native communities, cultural traditions, subsistence resources, commercial fishing, and outdoor recreation and tourism, as well as provide refuge for caribou, moose, bears, all five species of Pacific salmon, migratory birds, and countless other wildlife. Known as D-1 lands, they have been protected for decades until the Trump administration proposed, but never finalized, opening the land to extractive industrial development, including mining and oil and gas drilling.

Lily pads at Missouri Botanical Garden — Credit: Missouri Botanical Garden

World's Strongest Lily

The results are in for the international “water lily weigh-off.” Yes, it's a thing. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Victoria water lilies were crowned the strongest, with one pad holding so many weights without sinking that the garden officials had to go out and find more. The final count? Drumroll please: It held a jaw-dropping 142.1 pounds (64kg / 10 stone). As for how the plants got so strong, horticulturists at the St. Louis garden explained that heat helps. “We’ve had a really long, hot summer, so the water lilies have been beefing up and prepping for this all year.”

World's Biggest

Mingyang Smart Energy has installed “the world’s largest single-capacity offshore wind turbine” in a project in Hainan, China. The turbine delivers a power output of up to 20 MW - that's said to be enough to power housing for 96,000 residents annually. With its massive wind rotor diameter of 260-292 m (853-958 ft), it has a maximum wind sweeping area of 66,966 sq.m - that's more than 12 NFL football fields.

"Self-esteem comes from what you think of you, not what other people think of you." Gloria Gaynor

On This Day

10 September 1846: American inventor Elias Howe was granted a patent for his sewing machine, which revolutionized garment manufacture in the factory and in the home.