Mid-week collection of uplifting news nuggets from around the world.
Lady of the Rings
Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, is delighting tourists and locals by blowing almost perfect circles of smoke into the blue skies over Sicily. The smoke circles, known as volcanic vortex rings, are actually made of condensed gases and water vapour. They form when gases rise up from deep below the earth and escape inside the crater of a volcano. Mount Etna is one of a handful of volcanoes around the world that produces the rings, and does so prolifically, but the latest emissions are exceptional, scientists say. Want to see it in action? Here's a one minute video.
Landmark Ruling
The European Court of Human Rights says that member countries are obligated to protect citizens from climate crisis impacts. The case was brought by 2,000 Swiss members of Senior Women for Climate Protection, who had argued that their government's inadequate efforts to combat climate change put them at risk of dying during heatwaves. The court said the Swiss government had violated the human right to a private and family life, by failing to put in place sufficient domestic policies to tackle climate change. It's the first time that an international court has ruled on climate change, and could have a ripple effect across Europe and beyond, setting a precedent for how some courts deal with the rising tide of climate litigation argued on the basis of human rights infringements.
Whale 'Personhood'
Polynesian Indigenous groups in New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands have initiated a historic treaty to recognise whales as legal persons. Conservationists hope this will lead to legal protections.
Dementia Study
Thousands of people in the UK will trial blood tests for dementia, a move which experts say could usher in a new chapter in treating the disease. The five-year study involves 5,000 volunteers across 50 National Health Service (NHS) memory clinics. The tests will look for proteins and biomarkers which signal the early signs of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Experts hope it will bring the cutting-edge tests a step closer to the NHS, heralding earlier diagnoses and new drug treatments. Fiona Carragher, director of research and influence at Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It now feels like we’re on the cusp of a new chapter on how we treat dementia in this country.”
Banksy Exhibition
The world's largest collection of original Banksy artworks will go on display in London's Soho.
The Art of Banksy, featuring more than 150 pieces from the anonymous Bristol-based artist, will open at 100 Charing Cross Road on tomorrow.
Shorter is Sensible
Bands and artists haven’t just switched up how they make money because of streaming: the very way that many now write and construct songs is changing as a result of the medium too. Indeed, recent reporting from the Washington Post highlighted how Spotify’s monetizing methods, like its pay-per-play system or needing a listener to stick around for at least 30 seconds of a song, have led artists to write shorter, sharper, more attention-grabbing tunes.
Looking at some of the biggest songs on the Billboard 100 for each year since 1960, Chartr observed a similar trend, with top songs released in the last 5 years clocking in at 2 minutes and 55 seconds, compared to the 3 minutes and 59 seconds average throughout the 1990s during the golden age of CDs and the music industry more widely. When you get paid per stream, shorter is sensible.
US Emission Reductions
The rate of carbon emissions cuts in the United States has doubled since the passage of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), according to a new report by Clean Investment Monitor. The IRA has contributed to a reduction in U.S. carbon emissions of four percent annually - twice the pace of the year before passage of the law.
“Adults are always asking children what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas.” Paula Poundstone
On This Day
10 April 1872: People in Nebraska celebrated the first Arbor Day, planting more than one million trees; other U.S. states and countries later observed the holiday.
Purchases of fairly produced, sustainable goods in the UK increase despite the squeeze. Ethical shopping...
Mood Booster
Norway's majestic northern islands from the air.