Today's smorgasbord of tasty bite-sized chunks of uplifting news.
And The Winner is...
The Sony World Photography Awards, now in its 17th year, showcases the beauty of the natural world and the 2024 winners once again enhance (and entrance) our perspectives of people and planet. OGN's favourite image this year is this sublime photograph of the highest mountain in the South of Vietnam, the stunning Ba Den Mountain. At its summit stands a huge Bodhisattva statue. If you would like to see more images, take a look at 2024 Sony World Photography Awards.
B Corps Boom
UK companies are punching above their weight in putting people and the planet before profit, with a record 2,000 firms now B Corp certified. The figure has doubled in just 18 months and represents a quarter of the world’s total B Corps. To put that into perspective, there are 1,800 spread across wider Europe, while the whole of the US and Canada combined have 2,400. The certification is seen as the gold standard for sustainability.
Bio-cultural Corridor
Peru has announced its largest ever conservation concession. The new Cotuhé Conservation concession will protect 198,743 hectares (770 square miles) of Amazon rainforest, securing a bio-cultural corridor that benefits local communities. The concession also safeguards the buffer zone of Yaguas National Park, home to the largest number of normal and black jaguars in the country and some of the last populations of Amazonian manatees.
Good News For Black Dog
A pub called The Black Dog in London has been name-checked on Taylor Swift's latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, and fans are flocking to the pub. They are already having to turn away visitors as the pub constantly reaches maximum capacity. The pub said its security had been increased and expects the unexpected boom in visitors to get even more crazy during June and August when Swift is set to perform at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour. Meanwhile, The Tortured Poets Department not only became the first album to surpass 200 million streams on Spotify in a single day… it went ahead and crushed that record with over 300 million.
Clean Slate
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s first-in-the-nation plan to issue a blanket pardon for simple marijuana possession was met with the unanimous approval of the Governor’s Council. This means that anyone charged with a misdemeanor crime of marijuana possession before March 13 of this year is cleared of that crime with immediate effect.
Pocket Portraits
There are two sides to every coin, and this year the United States Mint will continue to celebrate various female figures throughout history by placing them on one side of the U.S. quarter. From Civil War era surgeon Dr. Mary Edwards Walker to salsa sensation Celia Cruz, this year will highlight women who have played significant roles in enacting positive change. These carefully designed portraits that depict five different women on U.S. quarters emphasize the way imagery shapes our understanding of people. These coins are “pocket portraits” and it's hoped that they can inspire people to continue making a positive impact in their communities.
Wind Power Surge
Installations of wind energy infrastructure were up 50 percent last year compared to 2022, making it a record year for the industry globally - according to analysis by the Global Wind Energy Council. Gathering momentum in offshore wind and promising outlooks in developing countries mean the organisation has revised its 2024-2030 growth forecast upwards by around 10 percent.
“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” J. B. Priestley
On This Day
25 April 1990: Violeta Barrios de Chamorro became Central America's first female president as she was sworn into office in Nicaragua.
Kick off your running shoes and put away your bike; the best way to tackle high blood pressure involves barely moving at all. Planking...
Mood Booster
Laughter really is contagious!