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These Cockatoos Learned to Operate Drinking Fountains with Their Feet to Quench Their Thirst – (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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Cockatoos in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, will wait in line for a taste of drinking fountain water. Klump et al., Biology Letters, 2025
Cockatoos in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, will wait in line for a taste of drinking fountain water – credit Klump et al., Biology Letters, 2025

When scientist Barbara Klump saw some cockatoos operate a water fountain in Australia, a million questions flashed through her mind.

That’s understandable. How did they learn; why did they learn? Can all cockatoos do that and can they teach it? Why not just drink from the stream?

When it comes to displays of animal intelligence, there can never be too many questions, the answers to which Klump set out to solve through a video research project.

The ethnologist at the University of Vienna first saw the behavior in person, but she thought someone had just left the water running. Later, video footage showed how the cockatoos could use their claws and body weight to turn the spring-loaded handle to activate the water flow.

Published Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters based on research conducted several years ago, Klump and her co-authors dubbed it a form of “urban-adapted local tradition” and the first of its kind, to their knowledge, ever seen in sulfur-crested cockatoos.

“They’re so innovative and good at problem solving that they seem to eventually figure out a solution,” Klump told the New York Times reporting on the paper. “In a weird way, cockatoos constantly surprise me, but I’m also never that surprised.”

Successful operation, she wrote in her study, “requires a coordinated sequence of actions, with only 41% of observed attempts ending in success.”

Indeed, over 44 days of monitoring a single fountain, only 46% of 525 observed attempts to operate it were successful. In an “awkward body position,” the cockatoos would land on the handle, grab it with their claw and lean their body weight to twist it clockwise. They used their other claw to grip the spout.

BIRD-BRAINED BRILLIANCE: 

Questions remain: particularly why they use the fountains when a stream exists nearby. Klump believes it to be a series of motives.

They may have gotten a taste for the purer drinking water when compared with the stream, while drinking off the ground leaves them less vulnerable to being ambushed by predators like eagles. Lastly, it may be that they enjoy turning on the fountain, for the same reason that a child loves to repeat a difficult skill after getting it right the first time.

There could also be a ‘watercooler effect’ going on whereby the use of the fountain is a kind of social cohesion. While that might seem like anthropomorphizing of the birds, it is striking to watch them sit in a line on the chain-link fencing a few feet away and wait their turn.

Waiting their turn was another big question: why did they do it? Some birds would wait patiently for up to 10 minutes for their turn to drink at the fountain when the stream was a less-than-one-minute flight away.

WATCH the cockatoos use the fountain and wait their turn… 

SHARE These Clever Cockatoos With Your Friends On Social Media… 

World’s First Diamond Battery Could Power Spacecraft and Pacemakers for Thousands of Years

By
Andy Corbley
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GNN-created image
GNN-created image

An invention from the UK features diamonds in the first-ever application of the gemstone in battery technology.

Promising to last thousands of years, the microwatt power sources are seen as the perfect solution to devices in environments where neither changing batteries nor carrying around extras are options.

Developed by the University of Bristol in partnership with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the battery contains a radioactive isotope of carbon called carbon-14.

Isotopes are forms of chemical elements with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons. Some are stable, but those that aren’t are radioactive and emit radiation as they decay.

In the battery, a radioactive carbon-14 isotope is encased inside a shell of diamond, the hardest substance known to man.

“Diamond batteries offer a safe, sustainable way to provide continuous microwatt levels of power. They are an emerging technology that use a manufactured diamond to safely encase small amounts of carbon-14,” said Sarah Clark, the director of Tritium Fuel Cycle at the (UKAEA), in a statement.

Electricity via the battery is generated in a way similar to a solar panel through the betavoltaic effect—harnessing the electrons emitted by the carbon-14 and captured by the diamond matrix.

Carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5,700 years, meaning that it would be several thousand years before the diamond Duracell bunny inside would start to tire out, making it ideal for spacecraft and satellites which can’t undergo maintenance easily, or in medical devices like pacemakers which have to be implanted and which cannot for the sake of the user have a battery change on the go.

OTHER DIAMOND APPLICATIONS: Researchers Teleport Information to Be Stored Within a Diamond

“Our micropower technology can support a whole range of important applications from space technologies and security devices through to medical implants,” Tom Scott, a professor in materials at the University of Bristol, said in the statement. “We’re excited to be able to explore all of these possibilities, working with partners in industry and research, over the next few years.”

The idea gives a whole new meaning to that old adage about how diamonds are forever.

WATCH a series of interviews about the diamond battery below… 

SHARE This Story With Your Friends On Social Media… 

First Time An Invasive Python is Killed by Florida Bobcat–A Sign of Nature ‘Fighting Back’ Against the Snakes

By
Andy Corbley
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Trail camera image shows bobcat returning to python kill site – Credit: Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Trail camera image shows bobcat returning to python kill site – Credit: Conservancy of Southwest Florida

In the face of invasive Burmese pythons, even the American alligator of the Everglades is no match.

But one native species isn’t willing to roll over and let the pythons take over the famous Florida ecosystem—and it has recently been proven capable of mounting a lethal defense of its home.

Meet the American bobcat, which was recently seen in trail camera footage to have returned to the site of a decapitated python carcass identified by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida which had been tracking it as a way of locating fertile female pythons for removal.

The conservancy followed the radio signal of a collar around the 13-foot-long snake, which they had nicknamed Loki after a nefarious Norse mythological deity who was punished for mischief by being chained to the ground of a cave under a serpent whose venom slowly dripped from its fangs down onto Loki’s head.

Arriving at the source of the radio signals near the city of Naples, conservationists discovered that Loki the snake had lost his own head, and had been buried under pine needles nearby. Setting up some trail cams, it didn’t take long for them to identify the predator.

“A 25-pound cat killed and cached a 52-pound python? That’s a win for the home team,” says Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist with Conservancy who found Loki’s remains, to Gulf Coast News. “We all tend to like animals that punch above their weight class. Here was a native animal pushing back against an invasive apex predator.”

Bobcats have also become prey to these large snakes, showing the relationship is a mutual meal plan, but Florida panthers, black bears, and even some predatory birds, have all begun to take Burmese pythons as prey.

“There’s a bit of a pattern emerging that—and you’d expect as much—over time, the ecosystem is rebalancing itself. It’s fighting back,” Bartoszek told Live Science. “These native predators are recognizing Burmese pythons as a new food source and are able to take advantage of some of their vulnerabilities.”

OTHER STORIES LIKE THIS: Out-of-Control Invasive Crab Species Has Met its Match: Cute and Hungry Otters

It’s been around 4 decades since Burmese pythons were brought to America as part of the illegal wildlife trade in pets and released into the Everglades. They’ve decimated local wildlife, including raccoons and other mammals, and the reason Loki was radio collared was because he was a “scout.”

Wildlife biologists Ian Bartoszek (front) and Ian Easterling sit with a 15-foot female python – credit, Conservancy of Southwest Florida

In other conservation lingo, Loki would be referred to as a “Judas” snake but the principle is the same.

Breeding in the spring, a female python can lay up to 100 eggs, and so mature males are identified, radio collared, and followed during the breeding season right to the burrows of the females, who are then euthanized.

SNAKE WRANGLING: Revolutionary Antidote Neutralizes Venom of 19 of World’s Deadliest Snakes–Thanks to Man Who Immunized Himself

Hunters and locals are encouraged to euthanize or hunt snakes without a permit on public lands. Given landowner’s permission is secured, the same is also encouraged on private land. Decapitation is the best method, or simple a bonk on the head with a long heavy pole.

For those not up to the task, they can call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s exotic species hotline.

SHARE How The Everglades Is Fighting Back Against The Snakes… 

“There is no teacher equal to mother and there’s nothing more contagious than the dignity of a father.” – Amit Ray

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “There is no teacher equal to mother and there’s nothing more contagious than the dignity of a father.” – Amit Ray

Photo by: Harika G

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

Good News in History, June 6

By
Good News Network
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James Barnor in 2016 - credit, Steyn Hoogakker CC 4.0. BY-SA

Happy 96th Birthday to James Barnor, a for-years-obscure Ghanaian photographer working in London who in that obscurity amassed an astonishingly powerful collection of photographs of the city in the 1950s and 60s, of Ghana spiraling towards independence, and intimate scenes of the African diaspora negotiating post-War England. It was at age 71 that Barnor first began to be recognized for his position across history, and by 90, he had been exhibited in the Tate Modern, the V&A, and other museums, and was according the honor of being named a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, the oldest such society in the world. READ some more about this fantastic photographer… (1929)

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2 Years of Exercise Reversed 20 Years of Aging in the Heart, Says Longest-Ever Randomized Trial on Exercise

By
Andy Corbley
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Eliptical machines were sometimes used for the interval training to avoid excess load on the joints - credit, Center for Better Aging

 

Eliptical machines were sometimes used for the interval training to avoid excess load on the joints – credit, Center for Better Aging

Exercise was in the news recently for being found in an epidemiological study to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

But what should be in the news is that a study published 7 years ago is going somewhat viral on the internet thanks to the profile of a popular health influencer, Dr. Rhonda Patrick.

The study found middle-aged adults could reverse 20 years of age-related decline in their heart muscles through a 2 year exercise program, and that it effectively turned sedentary 55-year-olds into 30-year-olds when viewed through heart activity monitoring equipment.

Being that heart disease is the leading cause of death for most people in the United States, and cardiac strength is inversely correlated with heart disease, it’s probably one of the most significant studies on exercise ever carried out.

To wit, the authors describe their trial, which took 61 people and put them on an exercise regimen for 2 years, as the longest, randomized controlled trial documenting the physiological effects of supervised, structured exercise on cardiovascular health ever performed.

The results were mentioned above: 2 years of work created a heart capable of working as hard as a 30-year-old’s, as if 20 years of aging had been reversed.

– credit Jon Matthews

The training program started light and gradually grew in intensity and duration, with months 6-10 representing peak output. The second year was characterized by a “maintenance period” of moderate intensity.

ALSO CHECK OUT: This Rarely-Trained Muscle Is Recognized Worldwide as a Marker of Human Health–And the Test for Living to 100

Broken down, it involved specifically two interval training sessions per week, along with one hour of “base pace,” which focused on a fun activity like low to moderate-intensity sports, cycling, or hiking. At peak training load, participants were training 5–6 hours per week, while during the maintenance period of the latter 14 months, that was dropped to about 4 hours, and included the removal of one of the two interval training sessions.

It bears mentioning that even the lower intensity maintenance phase involved more training than typical government prescriptions of two-and-a-half hours. But as study author Benjamin Levine said on Dr. Patrick’s show, exercise should be thought of as personal hygiene—to be done with the same routine urgency as brushing one’s teeth or showering.

1 hour of base pace was included in the program, and typically involved recreational exercise like sports – credit Age Cymru

A key point the authors made is that a measurement of fitness in middle age is the strongest predictor of future heart failure, and men and women of middle age who have had a lifetime of exercise behind them enjoy heart health closer to that of a 30 year old. But their study showed this could still be achieved in middle age even without a lifetime of exercise—in fact, just 2 years were required.

EXERCISE IS MEDICINE: High Levels of Physical Fitness Linked to Lower Dementia Risk in Those with Genetic Predisposition

The study also points out, however, that there are limits to exercise’s abilities of age reversal and the heart’s capacity to forgive a lifetime of sedentary behavior. If moderate-intensity training programs are started age 65 or later, they do not appear to be able to overcome the damage—specifically the heart stiffening and shrinkage—from past sedentary periods.

This suggests for physicians and clinicians that middle-aged hearts retain some degree of cardiac plasticity, and may represent a more optimal time—or quite simply the last time—to intervene with aggressive lifestyle modification aimed at improving cardiac health.

WATCH the video below to hear what the training program was… 

If Your Friends Are Thinking Of Starting To Exercise, SHARE This STORY NOW…

Formerly-Incarcerated Artisans Craft Tables Designed by Women in Prison, to Benefit Them When They Get Out

By
Andy Corbley
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A craftsman at the Formr Workshop in San Francisco -Credit Formr
A craftsman at the Formr Workshop in San Francisco – Credit Formr

A natural collaboration has formed between a charity that leads design projects with incarcerated women, and a furniture retailer that hires formerly-incarcerated men.

The result? A beautiful end table made in a Japanese style using traditional Japanese woodworking techniques—the proceeds from which go to fund yet another charity that works with the formerly-incarcerated.

– credit, Kristen Murakoshi

“It’s a beautiful cycle of renewal—from discarded materials finding new purpose, to artisans rebuilding their lives, to women supported through the proceeds,” said Deanna Van Buren, founder of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, an architecture, real estate, and design firm that also advocates an end to the current prison system whilst actively envisioning its replacement.

Van Buren has used her background as an architect to lead design workshops inside prisons to crowdsource ideas for spaces for prisoners re-entering society according to those prisoner’s preferences and needs.

For the table, she and DJDS partnered with Formr, a woodshop and furniture outlet staffed by marginalized members of society: including the formerly-incarcerated, formerly-homeless, former gang members, and former soldiers.

All their products are made using reclaimed wood from condemned urban trees, construction waste, or demolished buildings. In a phrase, Formr gives things a second chance.

Deanna Van Buren of Designing Justice + Designing Spaces leading a workshop with 60 women at County Jail #2 in San Francisco in 2016 for the design of the Women’s Mobile Refuge Trailer – credit DJDS.

The design for the table was done by DJDS, and then built by the studio of Formr in San Francisco.

The Premium model ($795, 22″ diameter, 22″ height) showcases reclaimed wood finished with Shou Sugi Ban—a Japanese charring technique that creates dramatic ebony borders, highlighting natural grain patterns.

OTHER STORIES LIKE THIS: 24 Prison Inmates Get College Degrees, Graduate Together Thanks to UC Program: ‘I literally feel free’

The Accessible model ($495, 20″ diameter, 22″ height) maintains the same dimensions and sophisticated design but features sleek recycled steel hairpin legs for a lighter aesthetic at a more approachable price point. Each piece is signed, numbered, and hot-branded with the logos of the three collaborators: Designing Justice + Designing Spaces, Formr, and A New Way of Life.

A New Way of Life will receive 55% of the profit of each sale—to continue its work helping formerly-incarcerated women productively re-enter their communities and transition to single living.

MORE WAYS TO RE-ENTER: 3 Cooks in Prison Honed Creativity with Drab Ingredients–Now Out, Award-Winning Chef And Businessmen

“This collection embodies our collaborative design philosophy, where people impacted by mass incarceration are essential co-creators of the spaces and objects that support healing,” Van Buren said in a statement. “By creating objects that represent growth and resilience, we invite people to bring this powerful symbol of transformation into their homes.”

SHARE This Wonderful Collaboration On Behalf Of Those In Prison And Out… 

New York Building Proves Ice Is Nice for Staying Cool Without Power-Hungry A/C Units

By
Andy Corbley
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Eleven Madison's Met Life North Building - credit Beyond My Ken CC 4.0. BY-SA (left) Jan Antonin Kolar via Unsplash (right)
Eleven Madison’s Met Life North Building – credit Beyond My Ken CC 4.0. BY-SA (left) Jan Antonin Kolar via Unsplash (right)

Beneath an iconic Manhattan skyscraper, something very cool is going on with the way it’s handling electricity bills.

While the appliances and lights of the never-sleeping-city begin to turn off for the night, the building switches on a massive ice machine, which by morning light could have made as much as 500,000 pounds of ice.

Then, when New Yorkers rush to turn on their AC units, Eleven Madison stays cool and cost-effective by using that ice to chill the air circulating through the building.

It’s just one of 4,000 buildings worldwide that have installed one of the ice-based cooling systems from Trane Technologies Commercial HVAC, a product which offers significant advantages to traditional AC.

The ice machine freezes water at night when the cost of electricity and the demand for it are both low. During late-spring and summer days in the Big Apple, when as much as 70% of all electricity available on the grid is being consumed for cooling buildings, the Trane Tech ice machine pumps air over the ice to cool it down—drastically reducing the amount of electricity the building consumes.

Trane says this can lower cooling costs by 40%—a big difference when cooling costs are predicted to be the highest for Americans in a decade.

“There are six million commercial buildings in the US alone, and a very small fraction of them have installations like this,” said Holly Paeper, president of Trane Technologies Americas. “So, when everyone else is using their electricity in the middle of July to cool their building or to cool their homes, it’s a big draw on the grid.”

SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS: New Sustainable Roofing Material Can Naturally Keep Buildings Cool Without A/C

It is an inescapable fact of economics in the modern age that more power is used from the grid during working hours. If this somehow weren’t the case—if power demand was closer to a flat line rather than one with peaks and valleys—the world would likely be much farther along in a transition to renewable energy.

The phenomenon of peak hours means that power input has to be scalable with demand, which means the source of power has to be both storable and deployable, hence fossil fuels.

MORE HOME-HVAC SOLUTIONS: In Frigid Maine So Many Heat Pumps Were Sold the State Passed its Clean-Energy Target Two Years Early

The more that technologies like the kind which cools Eleven Madison can be adopted, the more that peak demand can be evened out and the more sensible renewable energy like solar and wind will be.

A system like that in Eleven Madison isn’t available to the average consumer, but residential heat pumps work in a similar way and can also convey significant savings.

WATCH a report from CBS News below…

SHARE This Awesome And Rather Simple Way To Stay Cool And Under Budget…

One Man in Southwest India Taught 10,000 People to Swim for Free in a River to End Drownings

By
Andy Corbley
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- photo courtesy of Valasseril Swimming Club
– photo courtesy of Valasseril Swimming Club

Following the tragic drownings of 15 schoolchildren in his home town, an Indian man has started a swimming club that has seen more than 10,000 learn how to handle themselves in the water.

He’s narrowed down the introductory course, which focuses entirely on swimming for safety rather than for sport, to just 16 lessons that begins by removing the fear of the water and the river’s current.

It’s called the Valasseril River Swimming Club, and it now boasts thousands of members among the communities living along the Periyar river in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.

It was created by Saji Valasseril, a humble furniture shop owner who, according to the Better India, was overwhelmed with grief following the overturning of a boat carrying a school class and its teacher in 2009. He started by teaching his children to swim, then his friend, then his friend’s children, then some from the neighborhood.

Soon the news spread that free swimming classes were available and the trickle of interest turned into a torrent.

“Most drowning cases reported here are of people boating close to the banks and not in the middle of the river,” says Saji. “You only need 16 days to learn how to remove your fear of water and save yourself from drowning.”

“All kinds of people come together, young and old, men and women, from diverse professions, backgrounds and belief systems. We don’t see any of those differences. No one is looked down or looked up, there’s only teaching.”

Saji Valasseril pictured center with the flag – photo courtesy of Valasseril Swimming Club

In the water of the Periyar, swimming lanes are formed by strings of floaties or tires which are separated based on difficulty level. Deeper lanes with a stronger current are playfully called the “doctorate lanes” while those under which the student can place their feet on the riverbed are called “Kindergarten.”

ALSO CHECK OUT: Seizures Bar Him from Swimming–So He Saves a Drowning Girl with His Drone

All children have to be accompanied by a guardian who will be able to reach them from the riverbank in case something should happen. This, the Better India reports, has led to many of the guardians becoming club members themselves. Older folks, disabled, and the neurologically disordered have all learned to swim at the Valasseril club, which even attracts athletes.

Recently, one of its teenage students set a record in the Asian Book of Records for the longest open-sea swim by a minor. Another is preparing to swim the English Channel.

MORE INDIA STORIES: Man Cultivates a Giant Mango Tree with Each Branch Growing a Different Variety of Fruit–and There Are 300

Those who ‘graduate’ not uncommonly pull on a branded aquatic shirt as a volunteer teacher or lifeguard, reflecting how at 5:30 a.m. before the heat of the day sets in, and with the chorus emanating from the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary nearby, there’s no place most would rather be.

SHARE This Man’s Incredible Aquatic Impact With Your Friends… 

“Things start out as hopes and end up as habits.” – Lillian Hellman

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “Things start out as hopes and end up as habits.” – Lillian Hellman

Photo by: Shashank Sahay

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

Good News in History, June 5

By
Good News Network
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The Orient Express winter timetable promotional poster

142 years ago today, the Orient Express began its inaugural departure from Paris en route to Istanbul. The long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) operated until 2009, though by then it had ceased service to Turkey, and even Bucharest. By 2007 it was simply a service from Paris to Vienna. READ about its legacy and even its restaurant menu… (1883)

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UPDATE: Excitement Builds for Cannes Lions 2025! Celebrating Excellence in Communications Once Again

By
Anthony Samadani
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Credit: Alexander Migl (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Credit: Alexander Migl (CC BY-SA 4.0) – cropped

What a year it has been since we first reflected on Cannes Lions 2024. GNN’s momentum in launching new exciting products mirrors the industry around us—creator-led content is intensifying while advertising is becoming more about making a difference in the world.

We at Good News Network are incredibly energized as we gear up for Cannes Lions 2025. The insights from last year’s festival resonates with our mission, particularly the power of authentic partnerships in shaping impactful narratives. We’re thrilled to be heading back to the French Riviera again this month with even greater focus on using marketing to change the world through news and entertainment.

We’re looking forward to reconnecting and forging new collaborations with some of the most forward-thinking organizations in the industry. Our agenda includes meet-ups with our partners at Whalar Group, who continue to champion the creator economy for good.

We’re also eager to connect with the inspiring leaders at Chief, the powerful network for women executives, and explore new frontiers in distribution and audience engagement with ReachTV. Conversations with industry giants like MediaLink (UTA) and the brilliant storytellers at Inkwell are also high on our list, as we delve deeper into strategies for amplifying positive content.

The core of these upcoming discussions will be centered on what we saw take hold in 2024 and what we believe is the undeniable future: impact-driven marketing and creator-led content. We’re keen to explore how these forces can be harnessed to not only tell compelling stories but also contribute to a positive, more connected, global community.

I realized last year after my trip to Cannes (see the article from 2024 below) that the industry dialogue had shifted from if brands should focus on impact, to how they can do so most effectively and authentically—with creators and influencers leading much of that charge.

Good News Network was thrilled to be part of that evolving landscape, continually seeking out and celebrating the stories of brands and people who were not just imagining a better future, but actively building it.

Stay tuned as we bring you insights and updates from #CannesLions2025. The future of media is bright as thousands gather in France to combine creativity with a genuine desire to reach people and make a difference.

Flashbacks From Cannes Lions 2024: Reflections After an Inspiring Week

It was great running into Kenan Thompson at the NBC gathering—and watching Emmanuel Kelly perform at Songtradr was a huge highlight!

Cannes Lions 2024: Where Impact and Creators Roared, Paving the Way for a Purpose-Driven Future

(July 2024 – By Anthony Samadani) – The balmy breezes of the French Riviera carried more than just the scent of the sea during the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This year, the prestigious event was an undeniable epicenter of positive change, a vibrant hub where brands dedicated to making a tangible impact converged with the revolutionary force of the creator economy.

For Good News Network (GNN), being amidst this energy, particularly through our incredible partnership with the Whalar Group, was an inspiring glimpse into the future of media and advertising – a future where doing good is not just a tagline, but the driving force behind compelling storytelling and brand success.

Throughout the week, the Whalar Group beach served as a fantastic base for GNN, offering unparalleled access to a dynamic mix of thought leaders, innovative brands, and passionate creators, all deeply invested in harnessing the power of the creator economy for positive impact. It was clear that Cannes Lions 2024 wasn’t just about celebrating creativity for creativity’s sake; it was about showcasing how brands can be powerful conduits for good, producing advertisements and branded entertainment that not only captivate audiences but also drive meaningful change.

The buzz around impact-driven marketing was palpable. We saw countless examples of campaigns that seamlessly blended brand messaging with genuine purpose, resonating with a global audience increasingly drawn to authenticity and values-driven initiatives. This focus on “brands doing good” wasn’t a niche conversation whispered in hushed corners; it was front and center, celebrated on the main stages and recognized with prestigious awards. It underscored a significant shift: consumers are demanding more than just products; they are investing in brands that align with their own aspirations for a better world.

Hand-in-hand with this emphasis on impact was the undeniable rise of the creator economy. The festival highlighted how creators are fundamentally reshaping the landscape of commercials and branded entertainment. No longer are they just an alternative channel; they are increasingly becoming the primary architects of brand narratives. Their authentic voices, engaged communities, and understanding of digital platforms offer brands a unique opportunity to connect with audiences in possibly a more impactful way. The discussions at Cannes revolved around how this synergy between brands and creators can lead to more relatable, and ultimately, more effective communication.

Our time with Whalar Group, a global leader in unleashing the creative power of creators, solidified this understanding. Their commitment to fostering authentic collaborations that drive real-world impact mirrored the overarching themes of the festival. Witnessing firsthand their dedication to connecting brands with creators who genuinely care about making a difference was both affirming and invigorating. The conversations and connections made at the Whalar beach underscored the immense potential when purpose-driven brands and visionary creators unite.

The seeds have been planted for a coming harvest – the fusion of impact-focused branding with the dynamic potential of the creator economy. The bounty we intend to produce will emphasize measurable impact, authentic storytelling, and collaborations that leverage the unique strengths of our new partners to inspire positive action while producing more content for a larger audience.

The roar of the Lions last week was a call to action, and we’re excited to answer it for GNN with trumpets blaring! #CannesLions2024

Smoking Rates Fall to Lowest Ever, Led by Our Young People and a Changing Culture

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit Muhammad Thoha Ma'ruf
– credit Muhammad Thoha Ma’ruf

Two national smoking surveys in the UK and the US which both concluded last October show that smoking rates are among the lowest ever observed.

The national smoking rates in the US based on a survey of 1.77 million people and 54,000 households are falling across the board, with the largest declines seen in America’s youth.

Places with historically lower rates of smoking saw more modest declines, while areas with higher rates saw the most dramatic declines. Seniors and those aged over 50 though were quitting at significantly slower rates than youth.

The findings were reported in a JAMA study with data collected from 1992 to 2022 to establish nonlinear trendlines that could be projected out into 2035 for the sake of informing health policy state-by-state.

Published this April, the study’s lead author, Dr. Matthew Stone, an assistant professor at UC San Diego, said that the national smoking prevalence is predicted via this data to fall below 5% by 2035 on a national level.

State-by-state, California, Utah, Hawaii, and Colorado are even projected to be significantly under the recommended target of 5% prevalence by that year.

“The rapid decline in smoking among young adults is clear evidence that the smoking epidemic will come to an end in our lifetime,” said Dr. Stone.

In tandem the UK has also made great progress, with smoking rates hovering around 11.5% nationally, and sitting even lower among 18-24 year-olds (9.8%). This equates to just 6 million adult smokers out of a population of 68 million.

POSITIVE TRENDS:

The question—’Do you have a history of smoking’—is almost always included on medical forms and during examinations and doctor’s visits. As a variable, it must be controlled for in all studies on the impacts of any activity on human health for the work to be considered seriously rigorous science.

This is because smoking is linked to the incidence of and/or the worsening of virtually every major killer in the West, including cancer, heart disease, and metabolic disorders.

Folks who are or have been non-habitual smokers or who can start and stop whenever they want may find the characterization of smoking as an “epidemic” slightly harsh, but the impact that commercial tobacco cigarette usage has had on national health systems and individuals and their families is so significant as to be unquantifiable.

SHARE These Great Trendlines Falling Down On Social Media… 

A Minor League Ballpark Has Revived a Struggling Downtown in S. Carolina, Becoming a Community Hub

By
Andy Corbley
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Fluor Field, Greenville SC - credit Thomson 200, Wikimedia Commons
Fluor Field, Greenville SC – credit Thomson 200, Wikimedia Commons

From a charming South Carolina city comes the story of how a local institution of the National Pastime became a keystone of community and history.

A hub of the local recreational economy, Fluor Field is home to the Greenville Drive, the minor league affiliate team of the Boston Red Sox.

That affiliation would leave any visiting Bostonians feeling somewhat at home—perhaps because of the giant left-field wall reminiscent of Fenway Park’s own famous Green Monster.

As well as having a monster wall, Fluor Field has had a monster impact on the local economy, one that’s estimated to have generated $300 million over its nearly 20 seasons of baseball.

Built by big out-of-state money, the only thing that’s corporate about it is the corporation it’s formed between itself and the city—part of an ambitious project which helped revitalize a struggling, seedy, and scary part of Greenville’s downtown west area.

“Fluor Field has become the front porch of the community. In the South, the front porch is where the family gathers. That’s very much how we operate the place,” Craig Brown, a former Manhattan advertising executive who owns both the park and the team, told CBS News for its ‘Eye on America’ segment.

Roughly 500,000 people pass through the park’s gates every year for High-A baseball games and other events. Reflecting Greenville’s rich history in the American automobile industry, the team name ‘Drive’ also pays homage to the BMW US Manufacturing and Michelin locations in the area.

BASEBALL STORIES: Entire School Surprised with 500 Tickets to a Red Sox Game–Thanks to Food Pantry’s Continuing Generosity

Since Brown bought the team, fans have enjoyed the gifts of passing alumni like pitcher Clay Buckholtz, who went on to play 5 seasons for the Red Socks, Anthony Rizzo, a power hitter and 3x All Star who helped the Cubs win their coveted World Series title in 2016, and potential Hall of Famer Mookie Betts, who in 2018 became the first player in MLB history to win the MVP, Silver Slugger, Gold Glove, batting title, and World Series all in the same season.

But the team and the beautiful ballpark they play in do more than just carry the flag for a city four states away.

MORE LOCAL INSTITUTIONS: New Bank in The Spirit of Walden Will Lend and Invest Only in Local New England Agriculture

Following the closure of several textile mills which had played a major role in the Greenville economy during the 20th century, Fluor Field repurposed many of the old building’s features and materials—not least among which were the clay bricks used to build much of the stadium and buildings—as a means of keeping the city’s heritage intact.

“This was the transformational event. Suddenly, this area close into the stadium became a place for condos and some high rises and hotels. But beyond it, residential neighborhoods were transformed, as well,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White.

WATCH the story below from CBS… 

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Rhode Island Designer Turns Seafood Shell Waste into Furniture and Building Materials

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit Shellflife
– credit Shellf life

From Rhode Island comes the story of a woman entrepreneur looking to turn shellfish into chic designer tiling and furniture that’s totally sustainable.

The Mid-Atlantic coastline produces millions of pounds of shellfish waste every year. Beloved for mussels, clams, scallops, crab, oysters, and more, this famous American cuisine is unfortunately wasteful.

Rather than letting it all go to the landfill, and rather than continue working for big design firms in Boston and New York City that crank out huge amounts of plastic waste, Felicia Neuhof founded Shellf Life to turn these shells into a resource.

Profiled in the Boston Globe, the Vermont native developed the processing method—that sees discarded shells turned into beautiful bespoke design elements and furniture—in her kitchen.

She eventually won a major design competition—the Terra Carta Design Lab Contest, overseen by King Charles III, which helped fund her R&D that has expanded the production method from a stovetop operation to a micro-lab in Providence.

Among the more striking aspects of the Shellf Life model are the numbers. Each of the Mid-Atlantic states, despite many being quite small, boast hugely productive shellfish industries.

One single Rhode Island processor, Neuhof told the Globe, produces enough shellfish waste annually to create 30,000 square feet of tiling, or around 330,000 tiles. One in Massachusetts could produce 5,000 bathroom floors worth of tile every year and one in New Hampshire could pitch in with enough for 1,000 shower surrounds.

“New England’s annual shell waste — currently headed to landfills — could tile nearly 300 homes every year,” she said.

What’s more, the tiles are simply gorgeous. Providence mussels create a texture similar to granite, while its clams look more like unrefined sea salt. Further afield, and demonstrating the reproducibility of Neuhof’s idea, Kyoto abalone shimmers in dozens of colored flakes anchored in a sand-colored medium, and limpets from the Azores glitter in mother-of-pearl.

– credit, Shellf Life

Another key aspect anchoring her operations are her partnerships with local restaurants and aquaculturalists. At the City Island Oyster Reef, she’s working to help create concrete for use in the shellfish farms and sea walls from the very creatures they farm.

WASTE NOT WANT NOT: Group Celebrates 20 Years of Steering Surplus Office Furniture Away from Landfill and into Communities

Among the city’s restaurants, she’s made shell collection as easy as possible. Shellf Life-branded bins are given to partnering locations, and Neuhof comes to collect them herself. She hopes to introduce these bins at city collection points so those enjoying a clam bake in their backyard can chip in.

“My goal has been to develop a system so refined that making a tile is as easy as flipping burgers, opening up manufacturing opportunities to anyone regardless of educational background,” she said.

MORE CIRCULAR ECONOMIES: China’s Dying EV Batteries and Solar Cells Are Powering a Circular Economy Worth $38 Billion per Year

GNN has reported on restaurant waste being used to make design elements before. In Milan, coffee grounds and orange peels—thousands of pounds of which are used every day during the city’s breakfast rush, are collected by Krill which has a patent on a 3D-printing gel which they call ReKrill, and which corporations like San Pellegrino and Four Seasons are already using their products.

In Taiwan, “sea wool” is a unique textile created with an additive derived from the pulverized shells of bivalves like mussels.

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Lovelorn Tortoise Found a Year After it Escaped in Search of a Mate at 0.00012mph

By
Andy Corbley
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Sarah-Jane Muirie and Ginger the tortoise - credit, Sarah-Jane Muirie, released
Sarah-Jane Muirie and Ginger the tortoise – credit, Sarah-Jane Muirie, released

Ginger was a lonely female tortoise who escaped from her home one year ago to try and find love.

Single for the first time in years, Ginger dug under the garden fence and made a slow getaway across countryside fields following the death of her longtime companion, Fred.

Her dancing days might have been behind her, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying to find someone to share her golden years with.

Ginger’s owner, 51-year-old Sarah-Jane Muirie, is now celebrating the return of her beloved pet, who she has owned since she was a 10-year-old girl and that was found last week by a horse rider in the rural English county of Gloucestershire.

Muirie had put up signs around the area following Ginger’s disappearance last June, but said she’d given up hope after nearly a year without a single sighting.

“We had another tortoise called Fred who we lost a couple of years ago and a vet friend of mine believes she went looking for a mate,” Muirie said. “It’s that time of the year and she’s always had Fred so she’s dug herself out under the garden fence and through next doors before getting into some fields.”

“She is that well camouflaged we thought there’s no chance we would ever find her but we put up missing posters anyway.”

RANDY REPTILES: 90-Year-old Tortoise Becomes a Father For the First Time With Partner of 29 Years –Triplets!

Ginger was discovered behind the Mount Inn pub, a good mile away from her home, with Muirie speculating she had just come out of hibernation.

“A woman in the village from Greece first spotted her but thought nothing of it as they are native to Greece. But obviously its an unusual thing to see in the UK and it was a horse rider who spotted her the following day,” she told the Southwest News Service.

MORE MISSING PETS COMING HOME: Speedy Desert Tortoise is Finally Safe After Covering 3 Miles and Entering a Highway Following Ranch Jailbreak

“Amazingly, somebody remembered the posters we put up nearly a year ago and we then got the call. At first I thought it couldn’t be Ginger but then realized there’s probably not too many people around here with tortoises.”

Muirie said since coming home, Ginger has been enjoying the sunshine and found herself a little area where she can sunbathe and eat food. To have a pet for 40 years, she says, is so special. It wasn’t just a tortoise that came home last week, but childhood memories.

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“Unless we remember we cannot understand.” – E. M. Forster

By
Good News Network
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Alexander Mils For Unsplash+

Quote of the Day: “Unless we remember we cannot understand.” – E. M. Forster

Photo by: Alexander Mils for Unsplash+

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

Alexander Mils For Unsplash+

Good News in History, June 4

By
Good News Network
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Fall of the Berlin Wall at Brandenburg CC 3.0. SA Lear 21

36 years ago today, in the first modern elections in Poland, Lech Walesa’s Solidarity Party of trade unionists won 160 out of 161 seats in the government, triggering the Revolutions of 1989, and quite simply, the fall of Communism, freeing Eastern Europe to pursue self-government and market capitalism. READ a bit about this momentous occasion… (1989)

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Hydrogen Gas Blend Will Reduce Power Plant’s Emissions by 75%–as it Helps Power 6 States

By
Andy Corbley
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The Intermountain Power Project - Photo provided to ENR by Intermountain Power Agency
Photo provided to ENR by Intermountain Power Agency

A coal power plant in Utah is set for a green transformation having reached its decommissioning year, as billions are being set aside to use modernize it with hydrogen gas.

A rare geologic feature underneath the plant will allow them to store the gas in copious amounts, making it the perfect place for that transformation to bear fruit.

For four decades, the Intermountain Power Project (IPP) has kept the lights on for hundreds of thousands of Americans in six states. But with an eye on an energy transition to reduce carbon emissions, its contracts for supplying electricity will very soon come to an end.

In 2015, the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA), a union of 23 municipalities that together own both the plant and its grid connection assets, began examining whether or not it would be feasible to replace the coal burners with Mitsubishi gas turbines which could run on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen gas.

7 years later, work began on just such a project, with the idea that 30% of the gas blend would come from hydrogen created by water through electrolysis powered by renewable energy: a true zero-emissions fuel.

Advantages exist to using hydrogen fuel rather than renewable energy. Hydrogen gas is already in a storage form, meaning more can be burned or less depending on a community’s needs, compared to something like solar which has to power something as soon as it’s generated, be stored in a battery, or be lost.

$1.7 billion has been set aside for work around the new generating units at the plant, and $2.7 billion will be spend upgrading IPA’s Southern Transmission System. Three large contracting firms have been brought onboard for the renovations, one of which is The Industrial Co. (TIC) whose project manager Petar Willhite told Engineering News Record that 2,000 employees have put more than 5 million labor hours combined into the project so far.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Old Coal-Fired Power Plant Found the Key to Solving America’s Biggest Clean Energy Challenge

Part of the construction work will involve drilling access tubes down into two vast caverns which together could hold the liquid equivalent of 4.5 million barrels of oil. These will hold the hydrogen and natural gas blend on site, and offer that storage capacity to other partners and plants which may want to transition to hydrogen.

“Through a stroke of good fortune, the original Intermountain Power Project was constructed directly above a geologic salt dome that is uncommon in this part of the country,” says IPA spokesman John Ward.

“That salt dome presented a unique opportunity to develop long-term, large-scale energy storage in addition to the new generating capacity.”

MORE HYDROGEN-POWERED STORIES: Pioneering Zero-Emissions Hydrogen Fuel-Cell-Powered Ship Successfully Tested in Japan

The Dept. of Energy is providing a $504 million loan guarantee for the estimated $1 billion salt dome project called the Advanced Clean Energy Storage Delta. Its initial design will allow it to convert more than 220 MW of renewable energy to 100 metric tons of green hydrogen daily, according to Mitsubishi Power, which is one of the firms behind the Delta project.

All tolled, the renovations not only offer an unprecedented opportunity for energy sharing in the form of the ACES Delta project, but, on the bottom line, will reduce the operating emissions of the plant by 75% as soon as the hydrogen can enter use. If better ways of synthesizing hydrogen gas at scale can be achieved in the future, that number will only climb.

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Thanks to MRI Mistake Second Tumor Is Found on Woman’s Spine: a Pioneering Procedure Removed Both

By
Andy Corbley
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Karla Flores following her surgery which removed the tumors highlighted in red - credit Karla Flores (left) - University of Maryland Medical Center (right)
Karla Flores following her surgery which removed the tumors highlighted in red – credit Karla Flores (left) – University of Maryland Medical Center (right)

Struck by one of the rarest cancer diagnoses possible, a young woman has recovered from a never-before-performed surgery and radiation therapy to come out disease free.

Diagnosed with two bone tumors, the hospital only found the second one because somebody performed an MRI scan at a spot that was lower on her spine than they were supposed to.

The story begins when Karla Flores, 19, began to experience double vision. The diagnosis was a chordoma, a bone tumor that afflicts the spinal column diagnosed only 300 times a year in a country of 330 million people.

Referred to the University of Maryland Medical Center’s department of neurosurgery, Flores was told by the doctor set to lead the effort to remove the chordoma that the malignant tumor was pressing on the cranial nerve, which was causing the double vision.

While planning for the surgery, Dr. Mohammed Labib ordered an MRI to ensure he had the best view of his quarry, only to discover that Flores had a second chordoma wrapped around her vertebrae from the front of her spinal cord. For determining the chances of such a thing occurring, one’s imagination is perhaps the only source.

For the first chordoma, Labib developed a complex surgical plan to remove the tumor with two surgeries that wouldn’t damage the delicate nerves, but as far as second one, the surgery team was left scratching their heads.

“I spoke to colleagues, and one of them said ‘You’re not gonna cure her from this,’ basically, maybe she should be more of a palliative care patient,” Dr. Labib told CBS News. “I wasn’t very enthusiastic about that.”

The following account of the surgery contains descriptions of human anatomy which some readers may find gruesome, but there’s a happy ending.

Dr. Labib’s eventual plan was nicknamed the “third nostril” approach, and it would involve accessing the tumor, which sat right at the top of the spine under the skull, through both the right nostril and the nose-side periphery of the left eye following the removal of a piece her cheekbone and eye socket membrane.

Weeks were spent studying and practicing on skull models while Dr. Labib’s surgical tools were modified for the approach.

It began when facial reconstructive surgeon Dr. Kalpesh Vakharia cut through the cheekbone, allowing Dr. Labib to reach the tumor site, which head and neck surgeon Dr. Andrea Hebert approached from behind via drilling through the vertebrae.

JAW-DROPPING SURGICAL SUCCESSES: 

Including the replacement of the facial components, which utilized bone from Flores’ hip, and left no external scarring, the surgery took 20 hours to complete. When it was finished the tumor had been completely removed.

A spinal surgeon stabilized the affected vertebrae, radiation therapy confirmed Flores to be cancer free one year later, and therapists are helping her recover the movement in her eye.

“I keep reminding myself to take one day at a time and know that each step is an accomplishment. I’m also glad I stood my ground and kept looking for help until I found it,” Flores said in an emailed statement.

Dr. Labib believes the third nostril approach could become the standard procedure for reaching tumors for patients in Flores’s situation.

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