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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, whose latest book is Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of August 1, 2026
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

 

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Neurologists say that when you vividly imagine performing an action like shooting a basketball or playing piano, your brain activates many of the same networks it uses in real practice. In other words, mental rehearsal can measurably improve your actual performance. Many athletes use this trick. But here’s an interesting twist: Such visualizations work for emotional and social skills too. We can enhance our resilience and better regulate our moods if we practice doing so in the privacy of our imaginations. I bring this to your attention, Leo, because you’re in a period when your fantasy life has extra-robust practical power. I invite you to rehearse being who you want to be in the theater of your mind.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
Your assignment: Compose a vigorous prayer in which you ask life for something you fear you don’t deserve or are not supposed to want. What is the blessing, healing, or freedom that feels “too much,” “too selfish,” “too late,” or “too impossible” for you to yearn for? Name this prize and how you imagine it might allow you to give more, love more, or live more honestly. You could begin your appeal with these words: “Dear Great Mystery, I’m nervous about asking for this, but I will ask anyway,” and then let your heart speak without editing. Do this at least once every day for ten days.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
In 1848, a Libra-born carpenter named James Marshall discovered a few glittering flakes of gold floating on the American River in California. His find ignited the Gold Rush, drawing hundreds of thousands of people westward. Alas, Marshall himself never became rich from the discovery, though many other people did. I’m hoping and predicting a different outcome when you locate treasure in the coming weeks, Libra. In this instance, you will share in the spoils.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
The lyrebird can imitate almost any sound, including chainsaws, car alarms, camera shutters, and other birds’ songs. But they don’t just mimic sounds randomly. They compose elaborate performances, weaving a variety of imitations into complex acoustic tapestries. In a sense, they are remix artists. During the coming weeks, Scorpio, I hope you give yourself permission to resemble a lyrebird. Sample freely from everything you’ve absorbed. Weave your influences into new configurations. Express your imaginative concoctions of repurposed ideas and enchantments. The voice isn’t less yours because it borrows from other voices. Originality is in part about arrangement, not just source material.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Astronauts who have orbited Earth describe the “overview effect.” Viewing the entire globe from high above triggers rich epiphanies and cognitive shifts, providing a visceral sense of the planet’s fragility and unity. Borders dissolve. Conflicts seem absurd. I surmise you are ripe for a similar blessing, Sagittarius. You’ll be able to see your current dramas from expansive vantage points that make their true scale and significance obvious. Armed with these perspectives, you will naturally clarify your priorities and allow petty concerns to fade away.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
You are the result of an ancestral crowd: two parents, four grandparents, and eight great-grandparents. Without these 14 lives weaving together in the precise ways they did, your unique destiny would never have taken shape. Their choices and challenges helped sculpt your gifts and your rough edges, your cravings and your turn-offs. The coming weeks will be a ripe astrological moment to get more intimate with this lineage. As you delve into your family’s stories, you may uncover vital clues for refreshing your views on dilemmas that have dragged on for a while. Are you daring enough to let your sense of “where I come from” evolve—and, with it, your sense of what kind of future you want to create?

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
According to my investigations, there’s a place you need to go, but fear or timidity is holding you back. Where is it? Is it a physical location, a creative risk, a complicated conversation, or a spiritual threshold? Visualize it. Who would you be if you appeared there in your full glory? What do you worry might happen if you do? What interesting future might never bloom if you don’t? I hope you formulate a feisty plan. To begin, write these words: “If I decide to go there anyway, acknowledging my fear but not being controlled by it, what first step will I take and what help will I seek?”

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
Professional athletes sometimes talk about “winning ugly.” That’s when they achieve a victory even though they haven’t played their very best. I foresee you using that phrase for yourself soon, after you notch a less-than-pretty but undeniably real success. There’s another expression you might also exemplify, too: “ugly ripe.” Officially, it’s the name of luscious heirloom tomatoes whose lumpy, offbeat forms contrast with the smooth, bland specimens stacked in most supermarket bins. In the coming weeks, it will describe the nonstandard yet succulent flavor of your life.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Aries artist Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles, France, for 15 months in 1888 and 1889. It was the most prolific time of his career. His buoyant genius overflowed, pouring out over 200 paintings, including the lavish Sunflowers series. I suspect you will enjoy your own surge of splashy productivity in the coming months. It may not be as manically generative as van Gogh, though. I think your creativity will be rather relaxed and deeply healing. Start planning now for how you want to channel all this imaginative exuberance.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
I invite you to clear out every fixed idea your mind carries about where you are “supposed” to be. Once you have made that inner space wide and uncluttered, begin a fresh inquiry into the nature of your real home. Use questions like these to navigate: 1. What’s the first place you think of when you come across the word “sanctuary”? 2. Which environments reliably bring out your brightest, truest qualities? 3. Do you have what you would call power spots? If so, how do they make you feel in your body and psyche? 4. Which locations on Earth fascinate you, even if you have never visited them? 5. Could there be a future dwelling that offers a more peak-level experience of home than the familiar place where tradition now soothes you?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
The brain doesn’t literally multitask. It rapidly shifts attention between tasks, creating the illusion of simultaneity. For many people, each interchange costs mental energy and reduces efficiency. But some brains can switch faster with a lower energy cost, making them better at sustained task-switching. I’m sure you can guess the identity of the zodiac’s number one task-switcher: you, of course! And the good news is that in the coming weeks, you will be even more adept than usual in wielding your superpower. One implication is that you will know when not to overdo it and when not to use it trivially. You will be a master of seamless, effective, and meaningful transitions.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Astronomers know that many stars don’t travel alone. Binary stars orbit each other for eons, their mutual gravity shaping each partner’s destiny. I propose we make this your featured metaphor in the coming months. It will be a favorable time to de-emphasize the notion that strength and creative power require complete autonomy. I suspect that flexible, spirited interdependence will generate far better results than lonely self-sufficiency. Which alliances and relationships will expand your orbit rather than shrink it? Invest in them.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

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Credit: Steven Depolo (CC license)

Quote of the Day: “Water, air, and cleanness are the chief articles in my pharmacy.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

Photo by: Steven Depolo (CC license)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Credit: Steven Depolo (CC license)

Good News in History, August 1

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Dune first edition cover (Copy)

61 years ago today, Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction novel Dune was published. Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which various noble houses control planetary fiefdoms, it tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of the planet Arrakis. While the planet is an inhospitable and sparsely populated desert wasteland, it is the only source of melange, or “spice,” a drug that extends life and enhances mental abilities. Dune is a landmark in science fiction; a Hugo Award winner that has sold 20 million copies in dozens of languages. And was recently made into two incredible films. READ more… (1965)

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Organizations Rally to Reunite Lost Pets with Owners Following Earthquake in Japan

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Andy Corbley
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- credit Kyushu Animal Academy
– credit Kyushu Animal Academy

An inspiring story of solidarity between pet owners comes from Japan, recently rattled by a magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

In the wake of the disaster that destroyed homes and claimed over 3 dozen lives, an organization that acts as a digital hub for lost pet notices has amplified the signal of these notices, and worked to help reunite owners with their animals.

Maigo Ken no Keijiban or the Lost Dog Bulletin Board, has 150,000 members on social media, and is a registered equivalent to an American 501(c)3.

On Tuesday, a lost Chihuahua named Leo was successfully identified, located, and returned to his owner a mile away from where he was found, all through social media—a testament to how effective methods like this can be.

Japan Times, reporting on the aid movement, added that another dog—a Shiba Innu named Go—has been sighted by members of Bulletin Board’s Kyushu island chapter. His owner, Yosuke Matsuda, is waiting eagerly for more news.

“We adopted him less than a year ago. We think he was abused before, so he’s very easily frightened,” Matsuda told the Times, adding that the earthquake likely terrified him into running away.

As organizations like Maigo Ken no Keijiban and the local government work to disseminate notices of lost animals, others like the Kyushu Animal Academy, a vocational school specializing in animal care in the city closest to the epicenter of the earthquake, has transformed several of its classrooms into makeshift pet shelters where animals can safely stay while displaced owners address the state of their houses.

MORE DISASTER RESPONSE: Thousands Donate to Help Nebraska Ranchers Who Couldn’t Feed Their Herds After Wildfires Burn Every Acre

About 20 pets and evacuees are currently housed at the school, which during an earthquake in the same city in 2016, managed to take in 1,500 people.

“Most public evacuation centers aren’t set up to house animals indoors… I think having animals with us helps keep spirits up,” said headmaster of the school, Ryunosuke Tokuda. “Pets are family, and having them close makes a huge difference.”

PET OWNERS UNITED: Community Spares No Effort to Reunite Lost Dog with Owner After Their Car Was Rolled in a Crash

“We can’t use the school as an evacuation center forever, so we’ll see how things go over the next few days until the local government takes over,” he added. “We welcome foreigners, too. Even if you don’t speak Japanese, if you and your pet need help, please feel free to reach out.”

SHARE This Solidarity Between Pet Owners With Your Friends… 

Scientists Develop Enzyme to Limit Environmental Impact of Mine Waste, Testing Underway

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Andy Corbley
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A research team member applies the enzyme solution on a mine waste deposit at the abandoned Cash Mine - credit, courtesy of Hamed
A research team member applies the enzyme solution on a mine waste deposit at the abandoned Cash Mine – credit, courtesy of Hamed

Arizona State University researchers are testing ways to neutralize mining’s biggest environmental liabilities.

At present the mining sector is experiencing a surge in interest and investment, as America has seemingly woken up to the dearth of Western supply for various minerals critical to a modern economy.

At the same time, soaring precious metals prices have rapidly increased operating margins on gold and silver mines beyond 100%, turning dozens of tight operations into some of the most profitable businesses in the country.

As part of the ASU Mining Innovation Initiative, scientists and innovators are looking for ways to stabilize mine waste and reduce environmental contamination resulting from them as America prepares to enter a new mining boom.

The largest source of mine waste in the industry is known as tailings, or tails. Consisting of crushed and milled stone mixed with water from the process of separating the stone from the valuable mineralized ore, tailings often contain deleterious elements like arsenic and lead, or even residues from the process of using cyanide in the case of gold extraction.

Often stored as a slurry in ponds or dams, tailings are the most hazardous aspect of mine infrastructure. Tailings can also be dry stacked: the ubiquitous mine-site image of a long conveyor belt depositing fine gravel onto the top of a conical mound is the visual behind this very method. Today, dry stack facilities are sophisticated, engineered sites with contingencies built in to prevent environmental contamination.

They weren’t always built this way though, and many American and Canadian mining towns are still ringed with free-standing stacks of dry tailings that exist as a constant, low-level environmental hazard.

One ASU team has created an enzyme-based treatment to stabilize these tailings and reduce the erosion that could carry contaminants into nearby waterways. The process can immobilize environmentally harmful substances, preventing them from reaching nearby rivers and groundwater. It also has more flexibility compared with other solutions.

The work is led by Hamed Khodadadi Tirkolaei, an assistant professor of civil, environmental and sustainable engineering. He and his team are collaborating with ASU professors to develop nature-inspired methods to achieve these goals.

CLEANING UP MINING: Quebec Firm Pioneers Cyanide-Free Gold Extraction and Arsenic-Capture to Clean up Mining Industry

“By using an enzyme-based process to form natural mineral bonds within the soil, we can create a protective crust that helps limit erosion and dust generation while avoiding more chemically intensive treatments,” said Khodadadi Tirkolaei, who leads the ASU Mining Innovation Initiative.

Supported by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the project is testing the enzyme treatment at Cash Mine, an abandoned mining site near Prescott, Arizona.

A WORLD OF LESS POLLUTION: ‘Mushroom Mining’ Could Be Cheap Way to Recover Rare Earth Minerals from Industrial Waste

“The treatment solution can be prepared on site and implemented without the need for specialized equipment or heavy machinery, making it readily deployable in remote areas, including many abandoned mine sites, where conventional solutions may be difficult or impractical to implement,” said Tirkolaei.

“We have also developed a plant-based biopolymer technology that can be used in situations where enzyme-based treatment may be limited, such as mine wastes with high concentrations of the heavy metals that could suppress enzyme activity.”

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Miracle as All 11 Onboard Survive Harrowing Seaplane Crash and Fire in Puget Sound’s Frigid Water

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Andy Corbley
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The seaplane's wreckage - US Coastguard Northwest
The seaplane’s wreckage – US Coastguard Northwest

Miraculously, all 11 souls walked away with their lives after a seaplane both crashed and caught fire in the Puget Sound.

Operator Kenmore Air said in a statement that one of its planes, a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter, was on route out of Seattle with 10 passengers and a pilot when “an accident” saw the seaplane go down at 5:15 p.m. local time last Thursday.

Going down on the water, the plane also caught fire, and had already sunk in the frigid water by the time the US Coast Guard first responders arrived on scene.

Again, as if by a miracle, all 11 souls on board were rescued alive; some having sustained injuries like broken bones, lacerations, and head injuries.

“The pilot probably did a really good job to set it down gently enough to give everybody a chance,” Coast Guard Lt. Commander Marshall Burtt told CBS Evening News. “A lot of things went right to get everybody out of the plane.”

3 air ambulances arrived to rush the injured, including one who was in critical condition, to safety.

MORE MIRACULOUS SURVIVAL STORIES: 

The cause of the incident is yet unknown. Recovery of the plane was undertaken in the days after the crash for a full investigation. Flight radar shows the seaplane making a 180 degree turn toward Sucia Island in the Puget Sound after passing it, perhaps seeking to make an emergency landing.

“Out of respect for those involved, we will not speculate regarding the cause of the accident.” Kenmore Air CEO, David Gudgel, said, adding that the carrier is “fully cooperating with the investigating authorities, and we will continue providing verified information as it becomes available.”

Eyewitnesses report the plane wobbling in the air not far from the surface of the water before making impact. The fire ignited afterwards.

SHARE The Story Of This Harrowing Brush With Death, Avoided… 

Climate-Friendly Heat Pumps Are Becoming Dominant Home HVAC System in America

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Andy Corbley
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Heat pump installation – Efficiency Maine
Heat pump installation – Efficiency Maine

The rapid adoption of heat pumps in the United States is becoming little short of a revolution, such that these clever HVAC devices in a few years will effectively replace previous systems.

Indeed of all new homes built last year, 46% were completed with heat pumps, just 1% below other more recognizable systems like water boilers, gas furnaces, and air conditioners.

Heat pumps use the process of changing a liquid to a gas and back again to cool and heat air that’s pumped into the house or building they service. They generate substantially fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a gas furnace or burning heating oil, and because they rely on electricity, can take advantage of renewable energy.

Previous generations relied on the kinds of refrigerants that were 2,000-times more capable of creating a greenhouse effect than CO2, but modern EPA regulations are seeing that previous fluid exchanged for ones with lower global warming potential, or even propane.

In the first quarter of this year, there were 32% more heat pump sales in the US than older home heating systems, according to a new report from the nonprofit Building Decarbonization Coalition.

That report also showed that sales of heat pumps have doubled in the last 15 years, and the heat pumps, which can both heat and cool homes, narrowly failed to overtake sales of A/C units.

“All the trends are pointing towards increased heat pump adoption, not only versus gas, but also versus just traditional one-way air conditioning,” said Kevin Carbonnier, associate director of analytics at the coalition, told Grist.

HOMEBUILDING IN AMERICA: 

“It’s not just that heat pumps are better, more comfortable, more efficient than furnaces. But also, you get the two-in-one appliance.”

A combination of climate goals, higher energy prices, and high home prices mean that both consumers and builders look to cut costs whenever possible. One method now almost universally used is electric stove tops, which when paired with an electric heat pump, means that the home builder doesn’t even need to worry about gas lines.

That can help keep energy costs (as electric burners are more efficient than gas ones) and final home prices down.

PUMP This Great Decarbonizing News Out Into Social Media…

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

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Credit: Aaron Burden

Quote of the Day: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss (from the children’s book, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!)

Photo by: Aaron Burden (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Credit: Aaron Burden

 

Good News in History, July 31

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Robert Burns portrait by Alexander Nasmyth

240 years ago today, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect by Robert Burns, the National Poet of Scotland, was published in Kilmarnock. It was a hit, and catapulted him to Scottish Stardom. Among the collection is one of his two most famous poems, To a Mouse, which is actually called To a Mouse, on turning up her nest, with the plough, November. Of Burns’ reputation as the “ploughman poet” who writes about rural life, this title is typical, but not as dramatic as The auld Farmer’s new-year-morning Salutation, to his auld Mare, Maggy, on giving her the accustomed ripp of Corn to hansel in the new year. READ some of these poems… (1786)

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The World’s First Giant Anteater Reintroduction Appears to Be Succeeding in Brazil

By
Andy Corbley
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A mother anteater carrying a baby on her back - credit, DJ Cooker, iNaturalist via CC 4.0. BY
A mother anteater carrying a baby on her back – credit, DJ Cooker, iNaturalist via CC 4.0. BY

It’s been almost 20 years since Argentina launched what was at the time the world’s first attempt at reintroducing the giant anteater to a landscape it had disappeared from.

19 years later, and the initiative has been nothing if not successful, with the local population growing from 0 to around 200 individuals.

La Fundación Rewilding Argentina initiated the project in 2007 in the Iberá Wetlands, in the province of Corrientes.

The species, locally known as yurumí, had disappeared from Corrientes in the mid-20th century due to poaching, fires, and habitat degradation.

Over the course of the operational stage of the project, 110 giant anteaters were rescued or rehabilitated for release into the wilds of Corrientes. These individuals might have been orphaned, or rescued after having wandered too close to civilization.

Of those 110 individuals, many procreated, leading to steady population growth and multiple generations of wild-born, wild-raised animals well suited to the wetlands. There are now 200 anteaters living wild there.

The Fundación said that the methodology applied for the program now serves as a basis for returning key predators and herbivores in different ecosystems, including Iberá.

CELEBRATE This Giant Success For The Giant Anteater On Social Media…

Woman’s Viral Video Raises More Than $174K for Disabled Veteran She Spotted Working at Airport

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit, LaCinda Thackery via GoFundMe
– credit, LaCinda Thackery via GoFundMe

A woman was able to help a partially disabled airport worker retire after she witnessed him hobbling across the tarmac on a flight out of Los Angeles.

Heartbroken watching him limp up to the plane she was sitting on, she captured a video of the man for her TikTok account and posted it with a caption asking if anyone knew who he was.

The footage went viral, and soon, a fundraiser did to.

James Blair is a Navy veteran, working in the military between 1980 and 1990 before reentering civilian life as a fuel mechanic. Since 2006 he’s worked at John Wayne Airport despite hardly being able to walk from a pair of deteriorated knees.

Having recently turned 64, and therefore not far from social security and presumably a military pension, he cannot retire as his income helps support his elderly mother’s hospice care.

Knowing none of this, Thackery proceeded to watch as comments piled up asking her how someone might be able to help the poor man, until finally a commentor identified him as Blair, at which point she was able to get in touch with him, having neither a smartphone nor social media accounts, through his boss at John Wayne Airport.

The boss volunteered to drive some 90 minutes to Blair’s house and help him set up a GoFundMe that Thackery would be able to share to the millions of viewers of the video on TikTok.

@boymom692 Does anyone know this man at the John Wayne Airport? Watching him work so hard, he could barely move, barely walk truly broke my heart. I know there has to be a way we can help him retire. 😭🩷 #findhim #viral #delta #retirement #empath ♬ original sound - Keegan

At publishing time it channeled $180,000 from over 6,000 donations to a sole beneficiary fund set up for Blair’s benefit.

“I was speechless because I felt like the world showed up,” Thackery told KSL News, “and I think in these times we need people like that.”

MORE FUDRAISING FABLES: Just By Mowing a Lawn, Social Media Star Raises $685,000 for Bereaved Senior Who Fell Behind on Rent

Blair said he wouldn’t have ever believed such a thing were possible, and that the unexpected blessing from a distant-seated stranger has done nothing less than restore his faith in the divine.

“I believed in God, but I didn’t really believe in God. But now, with the angel sitting next to you, it’s amazing,” Blair told Thackeray as reported by KSL. “I have a hard time working to pay bills, so other people probably have the same problems. When they’re giving money they really can’t spare, that amazes me. I’m just blown away.”

GOFUNDME-POWERED RETIREMENT: TikToker Crowdfunds $1.5 Million for 88-yo Army Veteran After Viral Supermarket Moment

“The Angel” is a moniker that has stuck, as not long after the two strangers sat down, and Thackery was able to shake Blair’s hand, then fill it with a check worth $174,000, he sent her a bouquet of flowers addressed to the very same.

Blair hasn’t retired just yet, but he has used some of the cash to buy a new bed.

WATCH the story below from KSL…

SHARE This Heartwarming, Tearjerking Story From An LA Airport Tarmac…

Global Hunger Falls Below 8% for the First Time Since the Pandemic

By
Andy Corbley
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The most impressive reductions in hunger were observed in Central Asia - credit, Far Chinberdiev, via Unsplash
The most impressive reductions in hunger were observed in Central Asia – credit, Far Chinberdiev, via Unsplash

For the 3rd consecutive year, global hunger as measured by malnourishment among continental populations has fallen.

It’s also the first time that the malnourished as a share of global population has fallen below 8% since the government-enforced business closures and supply disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reduction is driven by a steep, 5-year decline of malnourishment in Asia, and a lesser decline over the same period in the Caribbean and Latin America.

On a 3-year time horizon, Oceania also saw a drop of 0.4%. Africa remains the world’s most undernourished continent, with averages above 20% in some regions, with the worst being located in conflict zones.

Presented in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 report, 7.8% of the global population is considered malnourished.

It’s a huge improvement since 1970, when undernourishment afflicted nearly 35% of the population living outside Europe and North America.

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME: 

Since 2010, inspiring declines have been witnessed particularly in Southeast Asia and Central Asia, which saw malnourishment fall from 11.6% to 5.1%, and from 7.7% to 2.8% respectively, the latter eliminating malnutrition as much as high-income countries.

Conflict is overwhelmingly the strongest driver of malnourishment, with hotspots such as West Asia, and Central and Eastern Africa suffering the most. Though tragic, it suggests at least that advances seen in the also largely-rural Central Asia could be replicated if wars can be brought to an end.

The FAO reports that this figure of 7.8% is predicted to fall another 20% by the end of the decade, which while not fulfilling its mission of ending hunger, will represent the lowest level of hunger ever recorded among the human race.

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Spreading Crushed Rock on Newly-Planted Forests Boosts Carbon Storing and Nutrients

By
Andy Corbley
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Basalt application back in 2023 - credit, the Carbon Community
Basalt application back in 2023 – credit, the Carbon Community

A sprinkle of crushed basalt rock has turned out to be the fairy dust that newly planted forests need to develop faster and absorb more carbon.

That’s what scientists from Imperial College London are reporting in a new study from the largest field experiment studying how “enhanced weathering” and soil microbiome enrichment can potentially improve new forest establishment.

Forests are being planted in mass all around the world, with billions of trees at the same stages of life all rising in unison with the hopes that they will absorb extra CO2 emissions and restore wildlife habitat.

One of the biggest challenges is ensuring these juvenile forests develop in a way that sees them survive long enough for their carbon storage potential to meaningfully affect the current carbon cycle, and it’s well documented that mass tree-planting can go hand in hand with mass tree die offs.

In Wales, the Glandwr Forest Carbon Study is being carried out in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Carbon Community, Imperial College London, and the University of Sheffield. 25 acres of reforested woodland has seen 26,000 trees planted and monitored across 72 different plots.

The idea is to create a comprehensive case-control dataset on how trees respond to different reforestation techniques, in particular the dispersion of crushed basalt rock atop the soil, and the addition of soil microbes from mature, aged forests.

GNN has previously reported on crushed stone as a soil amendment. The idea is that as the silicate rock fragments weather away into dust, they release a compliment of minerals and change the soil pH levels in such a ways as to enhance the supply and uptake of key nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous.

The researchers studying Glandwr forests have found that this technique significantly improves aboveground carbon storage potential of the soil and tree roots—by 27% according to early results.

Next, they wanted to see whether fungi and microbes contained within the nearby natural woodland would help accelerate the development of Glandwr trees’ root systems, as they are known to do in natural forest models.

WASTE ROCK WANTED: Researchers Invent Way to Turn Harmful Mine Waste into Healthy Soil

Though some plots of trees—particularly oak and spruce—saw a measurable benefit, variation across the whole project site rendered the technique statistically insignificant.

Lastly, the collaborators tested whether combining the two techniques would produce a greater or lesser benefit than either individually. This, however, also proved to be insignificant. The team hypothesized that it is perhaps too early in the forests’ life for these interventions to take effect, and that potentially longer monitoring periods could come to show a benefit.

MORE NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS: ‘Living Breakwater’ Makes Room for Oysters and Tidal Pools In Award Winning Design off Staten Island

“Healthy new woodlands are essential for biodiversity, climate mitigation and resilient landscapes,” said Dr. Bonnie Waring, senior author of the paper presenting the results of two growing techniques.

“Our findings show that relatively simple, nature-based interventions can improve tree establishment and increase the carbon uptake of new woodlands during their earliest years.”

SHARE These Simple Nature-Based Solutions To Improve Forest Cultivation…

“I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” – Thomas Jefferson (in a letter to John Adams)

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Good News Network
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Kirk Thornton

Quote of the Day: “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.” – Thomas Jefferson (in a letter to John Adams)

Photo by: Kirk Thornton (cropped via unsplash)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

 

Good News in History, July 30

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Good News Network
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The 1930 Urugay team prepares to take the field

On this day 96 years ago, at the conclusion of the inaugural FIFA World Cup, La Celeste, or Uruguay, won the trophy. Rarely considered as favorites in the tournament’s editions these days, Uruguay was on a tear by the time the first World Cup kicked off in Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital. They had won the 1924 and 1928 Olympic football tournaments. Beating Argentina 2-1 in the ’28 Olympics, they beat their cross-border rivals again, 4-2, to win the World Cup. READ about the history of the competition… (1930)

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Montana Teen Uses Rodeo Lasso to Rescue Drowning Man on Yellowstone River

By
Andy Corbley
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Jory Thomas, 14, practices with a rope in Big Timber, Montana - credit, family photo released by Jase Thomas
Jory Thomas, 14, practices with a rope in Big Timber, Montana – credit, family photo released by Jase Thomas

From Big Sky Country comes a rescue story so cliche that even Hollywood scriptwriters would pass it over.

A 14-year-old obsessed with roping cattle rescued a man who’d fallen into a river Indiana Jones-style, catching him around the neck and arm with his lasso.

Jory Thomas was spending 4th of July weekend at his grandparents house along the Yellowstone River near Greycliff, in Sweet Grass County, when he heard someone screaming for help.

4 people, in a raft and paddle board, had struck a bridge pier and fallen in. 3 managed to get to shore, but a 4th clung helplessly to a cooler, silently and swiftly moving downriver.

Thomas didn’t think twice, he later admitted. He emptied his pockets, took his lariat and waded out up to his chest. What he had planned was straight out of a western movie.

That year, the “ranch kid” Thomas had become fixated with roping, or catching cow calves with a lasso.

“I actually started really getting into roping this year. I went to brandings and started roping cattle then, and I started getting better,” Thomas told KTVQ News 2. “Every afternoon when it cools off, I go out and rope the roping dummy.”

Convincing the man to let go of the cooler, Thomas got him around the arm and neck on his first try, while a bystander on scene rushed to help the young man reel him in.

Thomas’ father, a veteran volunteer firefighter, said that he had called 911 as soon as he heard the screaming, and police records show that from the time of the call, it took just 3 minutes for a sheriff’s deputy to arrive. By then there was hardly anything to see.

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“My opinion, Jory saved the individual’s life, 100%,” Sweet Grass County Sheriff Alan Ronneberg told Cowboy State Daily, who interviews Thomas and his family some time after the KTVQ report. “Had Jory not acted, I believe the chances of this individual not making it to shore were very slim.”

That’s because, as Thomas’ father put it, the swift current on that section of the Yellowstone quickly leads to rapids, logjams, and other obstacles that can easily claim the life of anyone floating through it.

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“I felt pretty good afterwards that I knew he was okay and was out of the water,” Thomas later said. His grandmother, Sandy Thomas, was there as well.

“He comes up, and he said, ‘I think I just saved a life,'” Sandy told KTVQ.

“And we all said, ‘Yeah, you did.’”

WATCH the story below from KTVQ… 

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Africa’s Wildfire Season Is Actually Getting Shorter, Scientists Think They Know Why

By
Andy Corbley
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A changing climate seems to be shortening Africa’s dry season, resulting in less land scorched during the wildfire season according to new science.

For all the column inches devoted to the record wildfire seasons in France, Spain, or the Amazon, it is still and has always been Africa that’s the center of world wildfires.

70% of all wildfires around the globe occur in Africa during the two seasons in the north and the south, amounting to half of all global CO2 emissions resulting from wildfires—one continent, half the smoke.

Yet a new analysis from researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows that rains have trended towards later and later dates of cessation, delaying the onset of the dry season when parched grasses need only a single spark to ignite and burn for days.

The study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, examined records of rainfall complied across Africa covering a period between 1990 and 2023. The authors then compared these with satellite observations of fires between 2003 and 2022.

The result suggests that increased rainfall contributed to delayed dry season onset in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres, with the season starting approximately 1.75 days later decade-by-decade in the north, and 0.4 days in the south.

“Consistent with this mechanism, we find widespread declines in burned area across Africa from 2003 to 2022, with the strongest reductions during the peak fire months (December in Northern Hemisphere Africa and August in Southern Hemisphere Africa),” the authors wrote in a simple summary for their paper.

Interestingly, the rainfall records don’t seem to indicate that the wet season lasts any longer, or involves substantially more water, but rather that a greater share of the total quantity of rain is happening to fall later on in the wet season in such a way as to delay the land from drying out.

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The study did have some drawbacks. For example, satellite observations were considered to be unable to detect very small fires, meaning if a greater share of the same amount of fires occurred on small scales, it wouldn’t be recorded in the data.

Additionally, the analysis can’t ascertain why any fire was started, for example if it were started by a lightning strike in dried out grass, or by a farmer for land clearance.

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Nevertheless, the authors add, because fire prevention and management involves precise examination of rainfall, wind direction, and other conditions, their analysis could prove extremely useful for accurately assessing fire risk during the dry season, particularly from adding in the concept of late-season rainfall which they’ve shown could very well be delaying the dry season’s onset.

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Dad Turned Weekly Library Trips with His Daughter into Beloved Community Event: Meet ‘Library Dads’

By
Andy Corbley
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Khari Arnold (center) is the founder of The Library Dads
Khari Arnold (center) is the founder of The Library Dads

Once upon a time, in a little town called Atlanta, there was a dad who decided on a lark to take his 4-month-old baby girl to the library.

He didn’t know it at the time, but the Georgia native had planted the magic bean that would grow into a giant beanstalk of brotherhood and paternity, known simply as the Library Dads.

Khari Arnold founded the group after his weekly outings with his daughter Ariah became a keystone in his relationship with her. Not only did it become their special time together, but Ariah showed signs of developing those early literacy skills so vital to success and satisfaction in all walks of life.

Arnold thought other dads might want to find camaraderie in the activity, so he began inviting fathers in the community with children of any ages to participate.

Now, when the dads descend on a local library, Arnold’s mission and message is clear for all to see: dads show up.

Bonding through books and building brotherhood, the alliterative message is simple, powerful, and a cherished chapter in dozens of Atlanta dads’ day planners.

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“It was eye-opening to see other dads like myself who are engaged, and it was motivating as well,” Kassell Scott, father to a 3-yo girl named Amahle, told CBS News Atlanta, who also heard from Mr. Derrick Lampkin

Lampkin has been bringing his sons, Dominique and Tristan, to Library Dad events for the past year, and has started bringing his 7-month-old daughter Madeleine Sophia as well.

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“We continue coming because it shows my boys that dads show up,” Lampkin said. “They’re there, and it’s a good community.”

The Library Dads events are free, but often fill up quicky.

WATCH the story below from CBS…

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3,000 Eye Surgeries Restore Sight for Thousands – Paid Forward by US and Caribbean Churches

By
Andy Corbley
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Patients awaiting their procedures - credit, South Caribbean Conference Communication Department, provided to the media
Patients awaiting their procedures – credit, South Caribbean Conference Communication Department, provided to the media

A hospital in Trinidad and Tobago was the site of an incredible, 12-day surgical marathon.

When the scrubs were finally hung up, 3,000 people had regained vision free of charge thanks to the Church of the 7th Day Adventists, who organized donated cataract and pterygium surgery work through its community hospital.

Surgery day at the Community Hospital of the 7th Day Adventists in Trinidad and Tobago – credit, Community Hospital

Day after day, between May 14th and the 26th, hundreds of islanders arrived at the hospital in the town of Cocorite, some of whom had been waiting for cataract surgery for years, or who were never able to receive it due to the prohibitive cost.

To address this unserved need, the Church partnered with nonprofits Hands International and Eyes for India, the president of the latter happened to have developed a “high-volume cataract surgery technique” which enabled the volunteer surgeons to perform a staggering 450 procedures every day.

“Our target was approximately 4,000 cataract surgeries,” said Tobago-born MD, Reynold Agard, president of Hands International. “When we replace that lens, people see again. Colors become sharper. Night blindness improves. It changes quality of life.”

The initiative also provided treatment for pterygium, commonly known as “surfer’s eye,” a non-cancerous growth frequently associated with prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, dust, and wind.

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Even with chief ophthalmologist and Eyes for India founder Jacob Prabhakar’s marathon method for cataract surgery, most of the patients arrived having never undergone pre-surgical screening procedures—again, because of cost.

Volunteers had to quickly divide patients into who had undergone screening and those who still needed it, a task which turned out to be the biggest challenge.

“Healthcare ministry remains one of the most effective ways for the church to engage communities and reveal Christ’s love in practical ways,” Alexander Isaac, health ministries director for the Christian organization known as the Caribbean Union Conference, told Intramerica. “As we care for people physically, we also create opportunities to minister to spiritual needs.”

The majority of the procedures were minimally invasive, enabled quick improvement in eyesight, and rapid hospital discharge.

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“My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth’s loveliness.” – Michelangelo

By
Good News Network
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Ivan Bandura

Quote of the Day: “My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth’s loveliness.” – Michelangelo

Photo by: Ivan Bandura

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Ivan Bandura

 

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