Ensuring February gets off to an upbeat start with today's selection of good news nuggets.
Emperors Discovered
A newly discovered emperor penguin colony has been spotted, using satellite images of one the most remote and inaccessible regions of Antarctica. The colony, home to about 500 birds, makes a total of 66 known emperor penguin colonies around the coastline of Antarctica, half of which were discovered by space satellites. Emperor penguins are the only penguins that breed on sea ice, rather than land, and are located in areas that are very difficult to study because they are remote, inaccessible and experience temperatures as low as -60C (-76F).
French Robin Hood
Amid national strikes in the energy sector, some workers in France have found a novel way to protest. Recently, "Robin Hood" operations - unauthorised by the government - provided free gas and electricity to schools, universities, and low-income households throughout the country.
Good Call
Sometimes a hunch pays off; and when the English painter John Craxton recognised a work of genius for sale in a London antiques shop, he made very much the right call. Craxton parted with £250 ($300) for an unusual chandelier he suspected was by the great sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Now that chandelier, made in the late 1940s, may sell at Christie’s in a few weeks’ time for as much as £7m ($8.6m). Pieces by the revered Swiss artist are amongst the most expensive sculptures to buy at auction, and his work regularly breaks sale room records.
Record Investment
As of late, most years bring record investment in the rapidly growing clean energy sector. 2022 was no different with an all-time high $1.1 trillion invested in climate-friendly technologies worldwide. This alone is good news. But 2022 was particularly notable in that, according to a new report from BloombergNEF, global clean energy investment at least equaled that in fossil fuels for the first time ever. 2023 will almost certainly be the first year that clean energy investment surpasses that of fossil fuels.
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Fender's Blue
The Fender’s blue butterfly has made a remarkable recovery. The butterfly is found only in Willamette Valley in Oregon and was believed to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1989. The species’ recovery is thanks to the Endangered Species Act, and the thousands of Kincaid’s lupine plants, which the butterflies depend on, planted in the region to help increase their habitat. In 2016, there were an estimated 29,000 Fender’s blues - up from just 4,000 in 2000.
Once in a Lifetime
A comet not seen for 50,000 years is making its way across the sky - and humans have a once in a lifetime chance to see it. Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), also known as the 'Green Comet', will make its closest pass to our planet today! Like other comets that have long-orbital periods, it won't be back in any of our lifetimes. It's already reported to be visible to the naked eye, against very dark skies, according to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. Why not wrap up and look up? Look towards the constellation Camelopardalis, bordered by Ursa Major, the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper.
Pilgrims of Peace
Citizens of the world’s youngest nation will welcome the head of one of the world’s oldest international institutions this week when Pope Francis visits South Sudan. The Pope is joining the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Church of Scotland Moderator, Iain Greenshields, on an “ecumenical pilgrimage of peace”.
“A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kickboxing.” Emo Philips
On this Day
1 February 1884: The first of 10 volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary was published in London, the final volume being published on 19 April 1928.
Rare 170 year old Indigenous Canadian jacket has turned up in the UK. Can you help return it to its original community? Read on...
Wine Glasses Are Shrinking: According to a major UK retailer, wine glasses are getting smaller. Drink up...
Mood Booster
In memory of Sylvia Syms, here she is in Carlsberg's 'Worth Waiting For' advert, adapted from the movie Ice Cold in Alex.