Keeping the week on a positive track with today's collection of good news nuggets.
Weight in Gold
A family’s new puppy is already worth his weight in gold, after digging up sovereign coins worth nearly £6,000 ($7,564). Adam Clark bought Ollie, a lagotto romagnolo, as a surprise for his nine-year-old daughter Alicia. The breed is known for digging - especially for truffles - and on his first walk around the local English fields, the young dog stumbled upon a small fortune. To his owner’s delight and utter disbelief, Ollie instinctively dug up a total of 15 gold sovereign pieces likely dating back to the 19th century. Adam said, “The treasure is one thing, but, the fact is, I’ve bought myself my very own gold hunter, and I cannot wait to take him out again. He is obviously a very special pup and I’m thrilled with what he brings to the table - quite literally!”
Hubble's 35th
Meanwhile, millions of miles away, the Hubble Space Telescope has been capturing the most stunning photographs of space - providing astronomers with the information needed to make amazing discoveries about the universe. In honor of the telescope's 35th anniversary, NASA has released this snapshot of five galaxies called The Hickson Compact Group 40. Experts suspect the quintet is in the process of merging into a single giant elliptical galaxy over the next billion years. The image gives researchers a chance to study galactic evolution.
First in 200 Years
A pair of ospreys have made the first breeding attempt in southern England for almost 200 years. Conservationists are delighted that a pair of the birds at Poole Harbour, Dorset, have produced an egg, which they are guarding at a nest in a secret location. Thanks to nest cameras, viewers can watch the female osprey incubate her egg on a livestream. The birds of prey were once common across western Europe, but due to persecution by humans as well as habitat loss, they became locally extinct in the early 1800s.
Single-Use Ban
As the largest economy in the US, and often an economic trendsetter, California is regularly at the forefront of major environmental changes - and now, hopefully, it will be the same case with plastic waste. To tackle the issue, the LA Board of Supervisors has mandated that all takeout food containers, or other takeaway dining items from restaurants like plates and utensils, be compostable or fully recyclable by 2023. Dine-in restaurants will not be allowed to serve food on single-use dining ware. Places like food trucks and farmers’ markets will also have to abide by the new rule. This new ordinance will also ban the sale of expanded polystyrene foam, more commonly known as Styrofoam, in items like coolers, dining ware, and pool toys.
Winning the Climate Debate: Perhaps somewhat implausibly, Arnold Schwarzenegger (former governor of California) appears to have the answer to tackling the climate emergency. Don’t hype the economic damage, he says, just say we need to “terminate pollution”. The argument: emissions create pollution – and pollution is bad for our health. Read on...
Aussie Records
South Australia, widely regarded as the most world’s most advanced gigawatt-scale grid in the transition to wind and solar, set a new record-high instantaneous share of 136 percent in domestic demand. South Australia is a world leader in the adoption of wind and solar, and over the last 12 months has set an unrivalled share of 64 percent wind and solar.
Quote of the Day
"The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring."
Bernard Williams
On this Day
28 April 1947: Norwegian ethnologist and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl and a small crew set sail from Peru aboard the primitive raft Kon-Tiki and arrived in Polynesia three and a half months later.
Dive in Deeper
One of the most famous paintings in American history could sell for $20 million at auction, after hanging in the White House for 35 years. Read on...
With 5 million square miles already protected, international delegates at the 7th Our Ocean Conference in Palau raised another $16bn in funds. Read on...
Nature Mood Booster
Summer has arrived in the forests of Germany. This is the time beavers raise their young but they are wary of strangers. Will Robotic Spy Beaver be accepted into this family?