What better way to start the week than with some good news nuggets?
Fête du Citron
Paris may have the honour of hosting the 2024 Olympics, but one of France’s smaller locales is getting in on the action as well. In Menton, on the French Riviera, revellers welcomed the upcoming Summer Games through a 90-year-old tradition: the Lemon Festival. Fête du Citron, as it’s called in French, was launched in 1934 to celebrate Menton’s status as one of Europe’s leading lemon producers. Over 200,000 people flock to the small town to take part in the carnival, which sees more than 140 metric tons of lemons and oranges transformed into incredible floats that are designed around a specific theme. This year, it’s From Olympia to Menton.
Remarkable Achievement
In 2001, reports CRPE, 40 percent of Grade 3 students in the Brazilian city of Sobral could not read a single word. To improve literacy, authorities initiated a series of reforms, and within 12 years, Sobral went from being ranked 1,366th to first among Brazil’s municipalities for education quality, for both primary and lower secondary education. With 85 elementary schools and almost 34,000 students, Sobral now dominates national assessments - outscoring even affluent students in Saõ Paulo, Brazil’s financial centre.
Sisters in The Mist
Renowned primatologist Jane Goodall just turned 90, and to mark the occasion, 90 female photographers have put their work up for sale for 90 days. There are currently more than 30 images for sale, as part of The Nature of Hope: 90 Years of Jane Goodall’s Impact campaign that started on 1 April, with the work of 10 more artists being released each week, according to the website of sale host Vital Impacts, a women-led, non-profit organization that uses art to support those protecting the planet. From an old Asian elephant strolling through a forest to a little parade of blue-footed boobies, all of the images are inspired by Goodall's legacy and celebrate the natural world. The Jane Goodall Institute, which works to protect chimpanzees and their habitat, will receive 60 percent of the proceeds.
Protection Restored
The Biden Administration has restored several protections for US species that were weakened under Trump. Thanks to the amendments, species classified as ‘threatened’ will have the same blanket protections as ‘endangered’ listings, and economic impacts will not be considered when deciding if animals and plants need protection, says Inside Climate News.
Skiing in Sydney
All photos courtesy of Winter Sports World
For residents of Sydney, skiing requires more than just a hop, skip, and a jump to Australia’s alpine resorts. The biggest resorts are both a five-hour drive from the city - meaning less dedicated first-timers have few options for trying the sport before committing to a multi-day trip. But Winter Sports World, a $400 million dollar indoor ski resort in Western Sydney, is aiming to change that - even though its location reached a record high of 120 degrees Fahrenheit in 2020 (the hottest place on the planet that day). Despite the high temps outside, developers say the building will be carbon neutral through its multiple renewable energy sources. The project received approval in January and will start construction shortly. The project’s founder, Peter Magnisalis, says the building is basically a giant “Esky,” an Australian portable cooler brand. “It’s perfectly insulated, perfectly sealed. It provides a perfect environment for the snow, and it’s very efficient because we don’t lose or gain heat.”
Unwanted Visitor
Every now and then you see a photo of an incident and wonder how it could possibly end up looking like that. This pic of a house with a (flying?) car lodged in it in south west London is one such. Happily, the people in the property and the driver escaped unscathed.
World Population
Most people assume that population growth will continue at ever-increasing rates into the foreseeable future, and that it will necessarily have detrimental impacts to people and the planet. However, the global total fertility rate has more than halved over the past 70 years, from around five children for each woman in 1950 to 2.2 children in 2021. A new study published last month in The Lancet now estimates that the world could fall below the replacement level of 2.1 as soon as 2030.
Caught in The Act
Astronomers had already discovered two planets forming in the disk of gas and dust, or protoplanetary disk, around the infant star PDS 70. Now, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have seen hints of a third world taking shape around the fledgling star located around 400 light-years from Earth. "PDS 70 is special, as it is the only protoplanetary disk so far where all astronomers agree that we have found forming planets caught in the act," says astrophysicist Valentin Christiaens said. "Detailed study of this system has thus allowed us to learn a lot about planet formation." It remains a fascinating system for astronomers because the protostar and its protoplanetary disk are estimated to be no older than 5.5 million years - a cosmic infant compared to our 4.5-billion-year-old solar system.
If you're lucky enough to be one of the millions of people in the US who will see the total eclipse today... enjoy! If you're not, here's how you could watch it the whole way along its 115 mile path.
"Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible." Colin Powell
On This Day
8 April: On this day most practitioners of Buddhism in Japan celebrate the birth of the Buddha, who lived in India sometime between the 6th and the 4th century BC and founded Buddhism.
Mood Booster
Dolphins love playing with bubble rings.
תגובות