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OGN Wednesday

Mid-week selection of upbeat news stories from around the globe.


Alice Morrison standing with a amel in Saudi Arabia
Credit: Alice Morrison Expedition
Female Indiana Jones

She’s neither a treasure hunter nor an archaeologist, but Alice Morrison has been called the “Indiana Jones for girls” for her extraordinary adventures. Her latest expedition? Walking more than 1,500 miles across Saudi Arabia, a trek that will take her around five months. The 61-year-old is already one month in, and she’s taking it 15 miles at a time. If she makes it, she’ll be the first person on record to walk this route - which will take her across mountains and deserts. Her most heartening discovery? She says it's how warmly she’s been treated by locals. “It’s quite overwhelming,” Alice said of the kind people who’ve thrown parties to celebrate her arrival in town or offered to house her along the way.


Indian tiger relaxing
Tiger population has doubled in India
India's Tigers

The tiger population in India doubled between 2010 and 2022 - from 1,706 tigers to approximately 3,682 - through conservation efforts focused on protecting them from habitat loss and poaching; making sure they have enough prey; increasing community living standards close to tiger areas; and reducing human-wildlife conflict, a new study has found. India is now home to approximately 75 percent of the world’s tiger population, according to estimates from the National Tiger Conservation Authority.


Ruth Slenczynska playing the piano
Credit: Decca Classics | YouTube
Hats Off to Ruth

This is Ruth Slenczynska, who has just celebrated her 100th birthday. Whilst that's impressive in its own right, she also happens to be the last living pupil of Sergei Rachmaninov and still performs wearing the Fabergé egg necklace the legendary Russian musician gifted her. Amazingly, she recorded and released a new album at 97 years of age. During her lifetime, Ruth has performed for presidents Kennedy Jr., Reagen, and Carter, and Empress Michiko of Japan. Despite her age, Ruth continues to play.


England's Farmland

Roughly nine percent of England’s farmland needs to be converted into habitats for wildlife and forest by 2050 in order to meet the country’s nature and net-zero goals, according to the UK’s environment secretary, as he announced the government’s plans for land use changes intended to balance new infrastructure with carbon reduction and nature targets. Under the new land use blueprint, grasslands used for grazing livestock faced the biggest reduction.

 


 

Data Energy

Often criticized for their energy use, a data center in Switzerland will heat 6,000 homes with recycled energy. The Geneva-based center has been recovering 100 percent of the energy it uses since November, and it hopes to point to a greener way to operate in the industry. "In the real world, data centres convert electricity into heat. With the exponential growth of the cloud, this energy is currently being released into the atmosphere and wasted.”


Clipper Eris
Credit: Solvang ASA
A World First

Solvang ASA, a Norwegian shipping company, has rolled out Clipper Eris, the world’s first ship with a full-scale onboard carbon capture and storage (OCCS) system. The system will aid in reducing emissions by 70 percent while allowing repurposing of stored carbon in the food processing industry, a press release said. The shipping industry is crucial for global trade, but powered by fossil fuels is a major emitter of carbon. Estimates suggest that shipping contributes to three percent of total man-made carbon emissions, prompting efforts to reduce this impact through cleaner fuels.


 

“I have learned that in order to bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step.” Rosa Parks

 

On This Day

Catherine the Great

5 February 1852: The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg first opens to the public with Catherine the Great's collection of 4,000 paintings forming its core collection.

 

Today's Articles




 

Mood Boosting Video

Pareidolia: One minute award winning film.





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