Mid-week collection of uplifting news nuggets to get the day off to a bright start.
Success Story
Sea otters represent one of the great unsung success stories of conservation, with populations of around 25,000 in southeast Alaska and over 125,000 in the Pacific Ocean. It’s been a long time in the making, starting with a protection treaty between Russia, the US, Britain and Japan in 1911, when there were fewer than 1,000 animals left in the wild, reports the BBC.
Bone Cancer Breakthrough
A breakthrough new drug is effective in fighting all the main types of bone cancer. Current treatments are gruelling, and this new one increases survival rates by 50 percent without the need for surgery or chemotherapy. And unlike chemotherapy, it doesn't cause toxic side effects like hair loss, tiredness and sickness. The team at England's University of East Anglia has made what could be the most important drug discovery in the field for more than 45 years.
Thurloo Downs
A new national park in Australia will protect 437,394 hectares (1,700 square miles) of globally significant wetlands, as well as salt lakes and playas. The site, called Thurloo Downs, located between Bourke and Tibooburra, boasts spectacular scenery, has extensive Aboriginal cultural heritage, is home to 50 threatened species, and will become a must-see destination in a network of national parks in far western New South Wales. It's the largest acquisition of private land for a national park in NSW history.
Let There Be Light
Solar panels are to be fitted to the roof of York Minster cathedral in a bid to tackle rising energy bills. Plans to install 199 solar panels on the roof of the South Quire Aisle were approved by City of York Council and the Cathedrals Fabric Commission. The project is part of plans for York Minster to become carbon net zero.
Executive Order
In the absence of Congressional action, US President Joe Biden has issued an executive order that aims to increase the number of background checks conducted before firearm sales. It aims to move the US "as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation". Biden's executive order does not require the approval of Congress. Kris Brown, president of the gun control non-profit Brady, wrote on Twitter: "While we still need urgent legislative action from Congress, [the president's] announcement today gets us closer to universal background checks than any other President that has come before."
Canada's Big Banks
The Canadian independent federal agency that regulates banks, insurance companies, and private pension funds has released new climate change guidelines for the country’s big banks. The mandatory rules, which will be phased in over the next two years, aim to hold financial institutions and their management officials accountable for managing “climate-related risks” as the world transitions away from fossil fuels. They will also have to account for and disclose greenhouse gas emissions associated with their loans, bonds, and mortgages - a significant change for the country’s largest banks.
"My mother was against me being an actress - until I introduced her to Frank Sinatra."
Angie Dickinson
On this Day
15 March 1965: About a week after a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, was halted due to violent opposition, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his We Shall Overcome speech, in which he introduced voting rights legislation that was passed later that year - considered among the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.
Two ex-Tesla veterans are using their EV design and development skills to disrupt the stagnant RV industry, launching an uber-cool all-electric RV called Lightship. Read on...
Joseph Dituri aims to set a world record, conduct research and inspire students to conserve the oceans. Dive in...
English family was left stunned when their dog escaped only to return later that day with a ribbon won at a local dog show. Surprise!
Mood Booster
Trailer for Sir David Attenborough's magnificent latest opus: Wild Isles.