Wrapping up the week with Friday's bundle of good news nuggets.
Among mammals, no species besides humans have been known to use rhythm or song - until now. Researchers in Madagascar have documented lemurs using rhythm and even singing together in groups. The 12-year study followed specifically the Indri indri species (also called the babakoto) in the rainforest. The endangered lemurs were observed singing harmonized duets and choruses.
Restoration of an island in Louisiana's fragile coastal area is proving wildly popular with the birds it was rebuilt for, their numbers exploding on the recently added land. Pelicans, egrets, herons, ibis, terns, and other colonial water birds built about 6,100 nests on Rabbit Island - more than 16 times the number biologists had expected, a news release from the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority said.
Heartwarming instagram post: It’s so hard to put into words how meaningful this adoption is to all of us so we are going to let the pictures speak for themselves. Introducing Bentley and his new puppy. At 2 years old and with surgeries already under his belt for his cleft lip, Bentley found his match today in this tiny pup who also has a cleft lip.They instantly loved each other. We wish many years of joy as this special pair grow up together!
Austria has introduced its Klimaticket, or ‘climate ticket,’ an annual ticket with unlimited access to all public transportation for the price of just or €3 ($3.50) per day. The implementation of the Klimaticket comes just after the country announced a strict new carbon tax. The government hopes that the accessible and affordable public transportation option will encourage more people to ditch their cars in favour of trains, buses, and trams.
SOS Fruits is a Yverdonnoise association in France which offers a voluntary harvesting service to fruit tree owners via its website, as some orchard owners do not have time to collect all of the crop. Approximately three tons of apples are harvested by SOS Fruits every season - apples that would not oterwise have entered the foodchain. The harvested fruits are distributed equitably between the owner, the volunteer and the association. "It's an excellent idea and everyone is a winner," says volunteer Christine Dumouchel. "It's almost revolting to think all this would have gone wasted."
Group of 20 countries could make a deal to end the financing of international coal projects this week in Rome, marking the biggest step governments have taken collectively to phase out the dirtiest fossil fuel, reports Bloomberg. Such an agreement could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 230 million tons a year, said Christine Shearer, program director at the Global Energy Monitor. The vast majority of the savings would come from China. As of September, it was set to back 44 of the world’s 50 planned, state-financed international coal projects. Fingers crossed!
There's a boat driving dog, a sneeky lunch guest, a posing cat model (when aren't they??) a singing dog and lots and lots of smiling, happy, playful pets that we have enjoyed, thanks to all of you who entered - say the organizors of the 2021 Comedy Pet Photography Awards. If you would like to checkout the 40 finalists, click here. The winner will be announced on 7 December.
One of the world’s largest pension funds, ABP, is selling its €15bn holdings in fossil fuel companies, including Royal Dutch Shell. Corien Wortmann-Kool, the chair of ABP, the Dutch pension fund for civil servants and teachers, said it would no longer invest in producers of oil, gas and coal, and that it would dispense with its current investments in those sectors by the first quarter of 2023.
The utilitarian electric cargo bike is poised to transform the way city streets look, sound and even smell. Sales are booming: more than 100,000 bikes have hit the streets across Europe since 2018, and numbers are expected to grow by 60 percent in the UK alone in the coming year. It's no surprise: a raft of new studies show that when it comes to deliveries, e-bikes have numerous advantages: they glide quickly through the city streets, able to deliver packages 60 percent faster than their van equivalents, and they’re cleaner and quieter, too, saving around 90 percent in carbon emissions. And of course, they cut congestion – a cargo bike uses a fraction of the road space of a typical delivery van. Some are even being used to ferry people!
Fun Fact: California may have a long coastline, but it doesn't come close to Alaska's; in fact, more than half of America's entire coastline is located in Alaska. The state's coastline, including its islands, is 47,300 miles.
Dive in Deeper
Lake Awakening
Enjoy this calm and quiet summer morning watching a lake slowly come to life. Two minutes of beautiful serenity.