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Millions Channeled to Irrigation Improvements, Leak Repairs Along Colorado River by Corporate Coalition

By
Andy Corbley
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Kijolb, CC license
Lake Mead during a period of severe drought – credit, Kijolb, CC license

On Monday, e-commerce giant Amazon announced a $20 million investment to conserve water in the Colorado River Basin that’s currently stressed by a mixture of demand and historic drought.

In launching the Colorado River Basin Collaborative, (CRBC) and joining existing organizations the Water Resilience Coalition and The Climate Pledge, the firm hopes to help create the largest corporate water conservation effort focused on a single US watershed.

The Colorado River supplies water to nearly 40 million people and more than 5 million acres of farmland across seven US states and Mexico. But 25 years of droughts have reduced annual river flow by 20%, while its two largest reservoirs, Lake Powell and Lake Mead, are now below 30% capacity.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently signed off on a management plan for the watershed extending through 2028 that will see reductions in deliveries of Colorado River water among the Lower Basin states of Nevada, California, and Arizona, of 1.25 million acre-feet in each year of the next 2 years.

Unable to pull levers on these big decisions, the new CRBC and participating companies working under the Water Resilience Coalition will help around the margins, with plans to fund a range of water conservation projects across the basin, including irrigation efficiency, canal lining, urban leak detection and repair, and groundwater recharge.

CRBC spokesmen told GNN that Amazon is currently supporting two initial projects. The first is a $2.2 million commitment over 3 years with the Municipal Water District of Orange County, which serves 3.2 million residents. The funding will expand leak detection to communities that may not have the resources to conduct this work on their own, as well as to support leak repairs.

Huge amounts of water can be easily lost through diversion to agricultural lands, both through canal delivery and through irrigation machinery.

DEALING WITH DROUGHT:

Arable, an agricultural technology company, has been backed by Amazon to identify and implement irrigation efficiency on tribal farmland in the Lower Colorado River Basin. The project uses AWS-powered sensors that give farmers real-time data on when their crops need water, helping them draw significantly less water from Lake Mead.

The initiative has already secured more than $33 million in corporate commitments, and has an eventual aim of raising $100 million. Matt Kistler, chief executive officer of the Water Resilience Coalition, said bringing companies together can help coordinate money and speed up projects.

“The Colorado River Basin is one of the most important watersheds in North America, and its future depends on collaboration at scale.”

Give Your Friends On Social Media A DRINK Of This Good Water News…

Portuguese Company Turns Cork Wood into Limitless Material, Even to Insulate Spacecraft

By
Andy Corbley
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Stacks of harvested cork oak bark - credit, Carsten Niehaus CC 3.0. via Wikimedia
Stacks of harvested cork oak bark – credit, Carsten Niehaus CC 3.0. via Wikimedia

In Portugal, a 150-year-old business making corks is showing that it’s absolutely possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

Having cultivated cork oak trees since the time of the monarchy, Corticeira Amorim have popped open the potential of this humble material, transforming it into a sustainable piece of sophisticated technology that can line the deck of a cruise ship, and even insulate a space ship.

Cork oak forests are quite the unusual sight, and the plantation at Herdade Rio Frio is one of the largest planted cork oak forests of them all. Here, this twisty, gnarly species of oak grows well in the hot, dry Mediterranean climate, and they can produce the bark layer which goes into making cork for up to 200 years.

Each tree can be harvested 9 times after they reach maturity at 25 years. Operating on such long time horizons, it’s no surprise that Corticeira Amorim has deep roots—roots the leaders of this business want to protect.

Monica Pinna traveled to Corticeira Amorim’s cork factory in Portugal to report for Euronews what bubbling up in the science of making cork products.

The multinational company has 4,000 employees, and makes some €1 billion in revenue every year. The cork from its trees make its way into some 30 products, many resembling—in no way at all—the cork one pulls from their wine bottle.

Indeed, taken from their website, Corticeira Amorim’s cork goes into making river cruise ship decking, a cork-concrete solution for the Lisbon Cruise Terminal, and the thermal heat shield for the European Space Agency’s Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) re-entry spacecraft. Aerospace applications for NASA, Boeing, and SpaceX followed the IXV’s success. Corticeira Amorim has even developed a 3D-printer-compatable material out of cork.

SURPRISING SUBSTANCES: 

“Developed to mitigate hydrocarbon spills into the oceans caused by large oil tankers, CorkSorb is currently used in numerous industries where oil leaks occur,” the company boasts regarding yet another application for this tree bark. “Cork absorbs only the crude which can be reused later in other activities.”

It’s been used throughout the applied art and design industry, and tiny cork pellets coming as a byproduct of cork production are turned by Corticeira Amorim into a new filler for artificial turf sports fields. The natural shock absorption and frictional resistance means that, if the company is to be believed, cork-turf fields see 40% fewer injuries than shredded rubber fields. Real Madrid—perhaps the most famous soccer club in the world—use Corticeira Amorim cork on their training fields.

For many of the cork oak woodworkers in the fields of Rio Frio south of Lisbon, or at the processing plant at Mozelos, not far from the city of Porto, this glitzy innovation in their ancestral craft isn’t seen. Their days carry on much as they always have, an element of protection afforded by a truly special firm, breaking barriers with a truly special material.

POP Open This Bottle Of Good News In Sustainable Industry On Social Media…

“The future starts today, not tomorrow.” – Pope John Paul II

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Good News Network
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Credit: Philippe Bout

Quote of the Day: “The future starts today, not tomorrow.” – Pope John Paul II

Photo by: Philippe Bout

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: Philippe Bout

Good News in History September 24

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Good News Network
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RM8, first production AEC Routemaster, at a bus rally in Ocean Village, Southampton - credit, Murgatroyd CC 4.0. By SA

72 years ago today, the London street scene was made all the more iconic with the introduction of the Routemaster 8 (RM8) from AEC—becoming the double-decker red bus so associated with the British capital. A pioneering design, the Routemaster outlasted several of its replacement types in London, survived the privatization of the former London Transport bus operators, and even spread to other cities in the UK. READ a tad more about this iconic automobile… (1954)

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Bikes Outnumbered Cars on Scottish Rush Hour Route for the First Time Ever

By
Andy Corbley
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Cyclists on Leith Walk's segregated bike lane - credit, Cycling Scotland
Cyclists on Leith Walk’s segregated bike lane – credit, Cycling Scotland

A combination of e-bike rentals and segregated bike lanes has boosted cycling in the Scottish capital to the point that bikes outnumbered cars during a May morning rush hour for the first time in history.

The data, analyzed by the Scottish cycling charity Cycling Scotland, identified other areas where bike traffic is growing, including multiple roads in Glasgow that recorded more bike journeys than ever before.

The Scotsman, reporting on the news, cited what it called “overwhelming popularity” in the e-bike rental program in Edinburgh as accounting for the majority of the additional bike rides.

Since its launch last September, 1.46 million trips have been made on the e-bikes

The data came from a 48-hour nationwide traffic survey in mid-May that recorded traffic of all kinds along thoroughfares all over urban Scotland. Bicycle journeys accounted for 67,000 on those two days—up 25% year-over-year.

One of the longest streets in Edinburgh, running from the city center towards its eponymous port district, Leith Walk features extensive shopping areas and vibrant character. It was here that, for the first time ever, bikes outnumbered cars between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Many, many more people are cycling in Glasgow as well, particularly on routes like Clyde Street, Garscube Road—and Victoria Road, where cycling accounted for 16% of all traffic.

“I am pleased to see Cycling Scotland’s latest figures on cycle lane use in Edinburgh and Glasgow,” said Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport Stephen Flynn in a statement.

Kristy Milton-Moir pictured here with her bike in Glasgow – credit, Cycling Scotland

“The record levels of use particularly on Glasgow’s South City Way and Edinburgh’s City Centre West-East Link demonstrates that the infrastructure we are providing is helping more people than ever travel by bike for everyday journeys.”

Cycling Scotland spoke with Kirsty Milton-Moir, a National Health Service health visitor whose role involves visiting families to check on babies’ development, about her experience using the new cycle lanes to get to work and appointments in Glasgow.

BLOSSIMING BIKES:

“I’ve found that cycling is much quicker than driving, so that’s cut a massive proportion of time from my visits. It gives you the headspace you need and allows me time to reflect and think about how best I can support the families on my caseload,” she said.

“Seeing all the people cycling on the cycle lane is amazing. I feel so much safer on the cycle lane where I know that that area is for people on bikes, and there are no cars.”

Secretary Flynn said that Scottish authorities have an additional $280 million in various infrastructure and mobility projects sill in the works, and the early success with the sheltered cycling lanes Milton-Moir spoke of was extremely encouraging.

CYCLE This Story Down Social Media’s Bike Lanes To Your Friends…

Long-Lost Gertrude Abercrombie Painting Bought by a Bargain Hunter for $30 Could Fetch $250,000

By
Andy Corbley
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Alderman Merriam's Shells - credit Freeman's Auctions
Alderman Merriam’s Shells – credit Freeman’s Auctions

At a Michigan estate sale in July, a “treasure hunter” noticed an undisturbed painting hanging in a hallway depicting a series of seashells on a dark grey and black field.

More than the shells, it was the signature located in the bottom-left corner, which read “Abercrombie ’51” that piqued his interest.

Though the hunter didn’t know it at the time, his turning over of $30 for the piece was to be one of the best bargains he’d ever secure, as the surname belonged to renowned post-War surrealist painter Gertrude Abercrombie.

In a simply delicious coincidence, not only did the buyer find the piece, hanging on the wall, ignored by other perusers, but he made a detour on a family vacation in Milwaukee to visit a touring Abercrombie exhibition called “Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery.”

Therein, he saw an archival picture of nothing less than his “$30” artwork within the exhibition catalogue. One could say he was enlivened by the discovery.

After a nationally-recognized Abercrombie expert authenticated the piece as an original, Freeman’s Auctions in New York agreed to handle the sale of the piece, with the opening bid set at $75,000.

Zachary Wirsum, the Head of Department: Post War and Contemporary Art at Freeman’s, said in a statement about the find that he himself had only just told someone at the exhibit that Abercrombie’s works still surface once in awhile at estate sales.

“Little did I know that one of those ‘once in a while’s would occur less than a month later,” he said.

MORE BARGAINS OF THE CENTURY: Woman Finds 4 Plates for $6 Made by Picasso–She Started Crying in the Thrift Store

Alderman Merriam’s Shells was completed in late 1951, and, according to Abercrombie’s own records, given early in 1952 to Dr. John Reynolds as payment for an operation.

It depicts several shells in the collection of Robert Merriam, who served as the Chicago Alderman of the 5th ward from 1947-55, which included the Hyde Park neighborhood where Abercrombie lived for most of her life, per Freeman’s Auctions.

Freeman’s lot note on the painting includes this description of the item and its resonance within Abercrombie’s life.

LOST PAINTINGS FOUND: Two Lost ‘Jungle Book’ Original Paintings Found in Family’s Home After a Century–They had No Clue What They Were

“Throughout the artist’s career, she painted rooms, usually spare and ascetic, closed and impenetrable, which resonated with her own feelings of loneliness and insecurity. Abercrombie also did many paintings in which tents, a more precarious kind of enclosure, feature prominently.”

“The shell is another kind of home, at once protective and confining, a contained space that may have also appealed to Abercrombie thematically. She even played with this idea in her compositions that depict a woman, rather than a snail, emerging from a shell.”

SHARE This Amazing Double-Stroke Of Luck For A Man And The Art World…

Scientists Pioneer Chemical Bath Method to Restore Aging EV Batteries Without Breaking Them Down

By
Andy Corbley
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A conventional battery pack - credit, Getty Images via Unsplash +
A conventional battery pack – credit, Getty Images via Unsplash +

What if instead of investing billions into battery recycling plants, you could simply take your aging electric vehicle battery back, give it a good scrub, and get all that lost range back?

That’s near the mark of what Cornell University scientists have recently demonstrated, if a little editorialized.

Indeed, the current foreseen solution to the absolute tsunami of retired lithium-ion battery packs coming towards global landfills following the US and Chinese EV boom is called pyrometallurgy, and involves shredding the batteries into a giant corrosive mess before extreme heat separates out the cobalt, lithium, nickel, aluminum, and manganese for reuse.

Typically, however, much of the tonnage that’s chucked into these pyrometallurgical circuits consist of usable EV battery packs that are charging and discharging at about 70-80% of their previous maximum capacity, making them very much usable.

Through a process called Direct Electrode-to-Electrode Regeneration, or DEER, Cornell University scientists showed that if extracted from their battery apparatus and given a electrochemical bath, the electrodes inside lithium-ion batteries can gain back up to 95% of their maximum charge.

The mechanism behind the method is reversing the process through which lithium-ion batteries lose range. Over hundreds of charge and discharge cycles, a thick substance called solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) builds up on the electrodes that impedes the flow of electrons through the battery. If dunked in a bath of 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) the SEI layer is removed, and the electrodes, having regained almost all their potential, can be replaced in the battery pack.

“This process not only reverses interphase growth, but also leaves a thin lithium fluoride layer that slows down SEI growth in subsequent cycles,” wrote Nachiket Mhatre at Slashgear.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Pinch of Gold Dust May Be Secret to Bringing Longer Lasting and Safer Batteries to Market

Batteries that were thusly cleaned of SEI took longer to lose charge than virgin batteries out of the factory. Once substantial charging potential had been lost for a second time, a second DMI bath again replenished the battery’s range, although to a lesser extent.

Batteries can lose potential for various reasons, and the DEER method will only work if the cause is SEI buildup on the electrodes. If the battery is losing capacity because of structure damage or lithium loss, DEER cannot help them.

DEALING WITH BATTERIES: China’s Dying EV Batteries and Solar Cells Are Powering a Circular Economy Worth $38 Billion per Year

DEER does cost less, however, per kilogram of batteries than traditional pyrometallurgy—running up $15.25 per kg compared with $26.31 kg. This cost can be brought down further if future applications can find a way to recover the DMI solution, itself making up around 62% of the total costs.

“This electrode-level regeneration framework provides a scalable pathway toward closed-loop battery manufacturing with substantially reduced cost, energy consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, supporting more sustainable electrification at the system level,” the authors from Cornell wrote in the study presenting the DEER method of battery refurbishment—published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science.

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Flagship Restoration Project in Brazil’s Cerrado Savannah Working to Restore 4.4 Million Acres

By
Andy Corbley
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Brazil Araticum Initiative collage - © UNEP/ Todd Brown
Brazil Araticum Initiative collage – © UNEP/ Todd Brown

A Brazilian ecosystem-scale restoration program was honored at a recent UN conference as one of the 3 most ambitious and impactful currently underway around the world.

The immediate instinct might be to assume the project is taking place in the Amazon Rainforest, the largest in the world and famously threatened, but it isn’t. Rather, it centers around the Cerrado, the biologically richest savannah in the world, where more plant and animal species are found than in any other.

Yet such is the fate of grasslands around the world that half of the Cerrado has been cleared or converted for agriculture or other uses.

Now, the Araticum Initiative is working to reverse that trend by restoring 4.4 million acres of the Cerrado to its natural state, an effort lately recognized with the UN’s World Restoration Flagship award.

The award is given through the UN’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration designed under the Convention on the Combat Desertification, which estimates these flagship efforts are currently restoring 44 million acres of land worldwide, with plans to address millions more in the years to come.

The Araticum Initiative brings together more than 180 organizations, indigenous peoples, local communities, farmers, researchers, and government institutions to support restoration projects across 9 Brazilian states through natural regeneration, direct seeding, restoration, and agroforestry with native species.

The initiative has already mapped more than 50,000 acres under restoration, with additional areas being added through its monitoring platform. Seeds from more than 150 native plant species have been collected and used in restoration activities, helping build a restoration supply chain that includes seed collectors, nurseries, restoration technicians, and monitoring services.

“The recognition of the Cerrado as a World Restoration Flagship demonstrates that Brazil is rebuilding an environmental policy that combines biodiversity conservation, climate action, and development,” said João Paulo Ribeiro Capobianco, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

BUILDING A BETTER BRAZIL: Couple Plants 2 Million Trees in 20 Years to Turn Destroyed Forest Back Into a Wildlife Haven

“Restoring native vegetation is a strategic priority for the country, as it protects our water resources, strengthens the resilience of territories, creates opportunities for local communities, and contributes to the fulfilment of Brazil’s international commitments. This recognition enhances the visibility of Brazil’s restoration agenda and strengthens our ability to establish new partnerships and attract investments to accelerate its implementation.”

By 2030, the initiative aims to restore 4.4 million acres of degraded land, contributing to Brazil’s national commitment to restore roughly 30 million acres over the same time horizon.

RESTORING NATURE: Brazil’s Blue-and-Yellow Macaws Return to Rio After 200 Years: ‘A dream come true’

The UN writes that little is known about the status of the roughly 2 billion acres of land restoration commitments made to it by parties to various environmental conventions, including the Aichi Biodiversity targets, the Convention on Climate Change, and the Convention to Combat Desertification.

The organizers behind the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration hope that by highlighting these admirable successes, it will inspire and drive forward other movements outside the international spotlight.

CELEBRATE This Ambitious And Impactful Project To Restore The Cerrado… 

“Autumn wins you best by this, its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.” – Robert Browning

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Good News Network
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Credit: Timothy Eberly

Quote of the Day: “Autumn wins you best by this, its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.” – Robert Browning

Photo by: Timothy Eberly

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: Timothy Eberly

Good News in History September 23

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Good News Network
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Robert Bosch in 1925

165 years ago today, Robert Bosch, founder of the corporation Robert Bosch GmbH, was born in Ulm. One of the most important German industrialists of the 19th and 20th centuries, Bosch and the engineers at his company pioneered the high-voltage magneto ignition system that created the first commercially-viable spark plug for internal combustion engines. Bosch launched other automotive innovations like diesel fuel injection, and by 1927 was present on every continent. One of the most responsible companies in Germany, Bosch introduced the 8-hour workday and other early employment benefits, while donating all the proceeds from the lucrative munitions contracts he received from weapons manufacturing in WWI to charity. The company today is worth $91 billion, and is the world’s largest automotive parts manufacturer. READ more about the man behind this famous brand… (1861)

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Exceptional Detection Rates of Bladder Cancer Recorded in Study of Simple, Yet State-of-the-Art Test

By
Andy Corbley
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woman scientist microscope research lab test-pubdomain National Cancer Institute
Screenshot
woman scientist microscope research lab test-pubdomain National Cancer Institute
Screenshot

An observational study in the UK has just produced substantially positive results for a new, non-invasive, genetic urine test for bladder cancer.

Demonstrating extremely high accuracy for negatively diagnosing bladder cancer, it also correctly identified bladder cancer-associated genes in 71 of 77 patients who went on to develop a malignancy.

The study authors acknowledged several limitations, while nevertheless pointing out that cystoscopy, the current standard test method, is expensive and time-consuming compared to the remarkable ease with which a patient can provide a simple urine sample.

Bladder cancer is one of the 10 most common malignancies, with some 550,000 cases diagnosed worldwide every year. It’s the 6th most common cancer in the United States, and the CDC estimates that some 84,000 people will develop it this year.

A key symptom in diagnosing bladder cancer is hematuria, the medical term for having blood in one’s urine. Although hematuria is present in more than 90% of the patients diagnosed with cancer, only 8–19% of hematuria referrals ever result in a positive test.

This enormous shortfall between symptom and testing comes in part because of the complexity in the current gold standard testing method. Flexible cystoscopy, urinary tract imaging, and analysis of resected tissue, when combined is considered the highest quality testing procedure, but it goes without saying that these are expensive, invasive, and require in-person attendance and availability for not only the patient, but the medical facility and the urologist.

GALEAS Bladder, developed by Nonacus Clinical Services, subjects a simple urine sample to a sophisticated multimarker genetic assay of proteins and other traces of 23 genes associated with bladder cancer.

As well as being quick and inexpensive, a huge advantage with GALEAS is that it can be run with urine samples collected for other reasons, potentially revealing early signs of bladder cancer in individuals that weren’t considered at risk before.

“The most important message for the patient is that they don’t have to do anything to be part of this,” states Andy Goffe, a Lead Urology Nurse Consultant at Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust in the UK who leads the GALEAS Bladder service evaluation.

“We also explain that we’re looking for ways to replace a cystoscopy, so perhaps it is not a surprise that, to date, 100% of patients have agreed to get involved.”

ALSO CHECK OUT: Meningitis Can Now Be Quickly Spotted in Babies Thanks to New Non-Invasive Test to Replace Spinal Taps

In the recent study published in European Urology Oncology, 964 patients who were referred for urgent hematuria screening as part of a suspected cancer pathway between 2024 and 2025 had their urine samples examined and recorded.

All participants underwent standard diagnostic procedures, as well as the GALEAS test.

Out of 77 cases of bladder cancer identified through cystoscopy, GALEAS detected 71, including all 17 muscle-invasive cancers, and 35 of the 36 later-stage cancers. The negative predictive value, that is, it’s accuracy when not finding anything, was greater than 99%.

MORE CANCER TEST IMPROVEMENTS: Quick Cancer Breath Test Hailed as Most Significant Step Toward a Lifesaving Breakthrough in 50 Years

It produced 61 false-positives, and of the 6 false-negatives, 4 cases came when the cancer tumor was at a very early stage. As a triage device, the authors opined, the test demonstrated considerable reliability, efficacy, and accuracy.

“Ultimately, this could lead to a considerable reduction in the number of urgent cystoscopies undertaken in this setting, thereby reducing waiting times.”

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This Curious Bird Had Never Been Seen Before, and its Discovery Changed Ecuador–Perhaps Forever

By
Andy Corbley
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Grallaria ridgelyi, at the Jocotoco Foundation's Tapichalaca Reserve - credit, Patty McGann CC 2.0. BY
Grallaria ridgelyi, at the Jocotoco Foundation’s Tapichalaca Reserve – credit, Patty McGann CC 2.0. BY

In the late 1990s, a group of scientists were birdwatching in a remote forest in Ecuador when they heard a call like no other. Following the mysterious avian siren, they saw a fairly large bird colored grey, black, and brown standing up on stilted legs like a wading bird.

None of them had ever seen its like, and its discovery was a watershed moment for conservation in the country.

Locals called it a jocotoco, and it would not only turn out to be a completely new species to science, but a catalyst around which to summon conservation funding that would help finance a network of private land purchases within some of the most pristine and biodiverse landscapes in Ecuador.

Managed today in partnership with local communities, the Jocotoco Foundation has decisively shown what one pretty bird can do.

“Every year we discover new species, we rediscover species thought to have already been lost to extinction, and we bring species back from the brink,” the Foundation rightly boasts.

“We protect and restore wildlife habitat from Amazon rainforests to high Andean paramos, into the wet Chocó and the dry Tumbes, and across the ocean to the Galápagos.”

The Jocotoco Antpitta, the largest member of a group of avids called antbirds, was given the name Grallaria ridgelyi in honor of Robert Ridgely, the ornithologist who organized that fateful 1997 trip which resulted in its discovery.

It was first found among the eastern mountainsides of the Andes near the border with Peru, and Ridgely urgently sought funding to buy the land on which they saw it.

PERSONAL MISSIONS: 32 Species of Harlequin Frogs Were Found in Ecuador That We Thought Were Extinct

Their successful fundraising allowed them to establish the Tapichalaca Reserve, the first in what would become a network of 19 private landscapes protecting 123,000 acres, and managed together with another 200,000 acres of community-owned land—all for the purpose of conservation, reforestation, and ecotourism.

Across the reserves, 1,350 bird species have been recorded; a staggering 12.5% of all species in the world. They contain other emblematic Andean animals, including the condor and the Andean bear, and endangered species like the El Oro parakeet and the Galapagos petrel.

ECUADOR’S BEAUTIFUL: ‘Change Has Been Amazing’ For Depleted Mountain: with New Vegetation Comes Deer, Pumas, Andean Bears

“By creating a network of protected habitat ‘arks’, Jocotoco has given these remarkable species a genuine chance not only to endure, but to recover and expand beyond their remaining strongholds,” Ian J. Davidson, Americas regional director for BirdLife International, told the Guardian regarding Jocotoco Foundation’s work.

“Their work stands as a global conservation success story, an inspiring example of what determination, science and long-term stewardship can achieve for nature.”

SHARE This Great Story About Personal Passion Turned Into National Gain… 

135,000 Shelter Pets Found Forever Homes in August Thanks to NBC’s Annual Adopt-a-thon

By
Andy Corbley
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It’s been a banner year for the annual campaign run by NBC and its parent company Universal to encourage shelter pet adoption nationwide, with 135,000 dogs, cats, and more taken home from shelters.

Running from July to September, the associated fundraiser raked in $480,000 for the over 1,000 animal shelters participating in the adopt-a-thon.

In the 12 years of organizing the “Clear The Shelter” campaign, the network has helped 1.5 million pets find new homes, and over $6 million channeled to shelters—a remarkable success.

“Clear The Shelters demonstrates what’s possible when our communities come together to help pets in need,” said Meredith McGinn, NBC Local’s Exec. VP of original production, in a news release.

“We’re proud of the meaningful impact this campaign continues to have for shelters and pets across the country, and grateful to Hill’s Pet Nutrition and all our partners who help make Clear The Shelters possible,” she added.

Over 100 NBC and Telemundo stations participated in the campaign and fundraiser, which involved covering or highlighting adoption events organized at some of the 1,200 animal shelters that participated.

From across 47 states, plus DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico, the pets were put on display in a variety of ways that helped highlight to the American community what kind of beautiful souls are there to be found inside those cages, as well as outside them.

WATCH the story below from NBC… 

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Prisoners Prove Unlikely Heroes to Monarch Butterflies Thanks to Wisconsin Correctional Program

By
Andy Corbley
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Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections - provided to Corrections1
Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections – provided to Corrections1

Wisconsin prison inmates have been offered a unique way to give back to their community by raising monarch butterflies from the inside.

Set up at Redgranite Correctional Institute (RGCI), the idea first came to the program organizer while looking for something that inmates who were physically unable to participate in sports could do.

Now in its 2nd year, some 20 prisoners currently work in a lepidopterum purpose-built in Redgranite for raising and releasing monarchs, which are in decline across Wisconsin.

The Refuge for Growth, Change and Inspiration Monarch Program was launched in 2025 by Carrie Jahnke. It runs from June through September, during which the prison receives monarch caterpillars from a nearby breeding center, Monarch Watch, and the participants are divided into groups to look after them.

Responsibilities include changing or adding leaves, collecting data on eggs, and tagging the butterflies, all of which will help inform conservation activities as the butterflies prepare to migrate thousands of miles south to Mexico. Jahnke also provides other educational materials about monarchs, pollinator plants, and horticulture.

This delicate, rather dainty work, has nevertheless been popular among the inmates, and this year the program oversaw 100 caterpillars, up from 60 last year.

MONARCH STORIES: Number of Monarch Butterflies Wintering in Mexico is Way Up–Doubling the Forest Acreage Over Last Year

“I enjoy being part of this program and being able to give back to the community,” one inmate, Nathan Lecker, remembering raising monarch caterpillars as a child, told Corrections1. “We can make a big impact from the inside.”

Correctional Dept. landscapers have added a variety of monarch-friendly flower beds around the prison grounds to provide additional support to the insects when they leave the enclosure, after emerging from their chrysalises.

LAY ON HANDS: In Prisons Across Ohio, Inmates Find Meaning by Saving Orphaned and Injured Animals

It takes just 2 to 3 days of building up their strength before they’re ready for their long flight south.

“Monarch butterfly populations have been declining for years, and it’s wonderful that RGCI is getting involved with efforts to conserve them,” said Shelly Torkelson, communications director for the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, which helped build the lepidopterum inside the facility.

SHARE This Surprising Pastime For Wisconsin’s Prison Population…

“The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” – William Gladstone

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Good News Network
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Credit: Larry Alger

Quote of the Day: “The American Constitution is, so far as I can see, the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man.” – William Ewart Gladstone (Happy Constitution Day every September 17th!)

Photo by: Larry Alger

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: Larry Alger

 

Good News in History September 22

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Good News Network
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- fair use

25 years ago today, 35 American TV networks and cable channels simultaneously aired  ‘A Tribute to Heroes’, a live commercial-free benefit concert and telethon organized to raise money for victims and their families– especially firefighters– following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center. TAKE a look at the line up… (2001)

– fair use
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New AI Model Can Detect Heart Disease Markers in Simple Electrocardiogram Readings–a Breakthrough

By
Andy Corbley
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- Getty Images for Unsplash +
– Getty Images for Unsplash +

Artificial intelligence has brought about a revolution in medical screening practices, with the technology able to make detections across hundreds of scans in seconds which can be forwarded to trained pairs of human eyes.

Now from the UK comes another example in the form of heart disease diagnostics. Trained on millions of patients, a new AI tool has been designed to detect minute abnormalities in traditional electrocardiogram (ECG) readings.

Though the ECG, which measures the natural electrical activity in the heart, has been a key part of diagnosing heart attack risk and heart arrhythmia for decades, it isn’t able to detect heart disease.

For heart disease risk, an echocardiogram, or ultrasound reading of the heart is ordered, but appointments are often months later. Now, however, an AI tool has been designed specifically to detect early signs of 2 of the most common forms of heart disease from ECG readings.

Details of the breakthrough, which could boost early diagnosis of heart disease, were presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in Munich, the Guardian reports.

“When it comes to the heart, earlier diagnosis and treatment saves and improves lives,” said Dr. Sonya Babu-Narayan, a consultant cardiologist and clinical director of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), which funded the trial.

“Technology like the AI ECG in this research, which has the potential to identify high-risk patients early, will not detect everyone with a heart condition. But it could be a solution to help fast-track the patients who are most likely to have a heart abnormality.”

Heart valve diseases and heart failure are the 2 conditions the AI is capable of detecting in the blink of an eye. Unless one is an experienced cardiologist, the first outwardly visible symptom of heart failure is cardiac arrest or sudden cardiac death.

In a clinical trial for the AI’s potential inclusion in cardiology departments and beyond, 67,000 patients in the US had ECGs they’d received analyzed. The model detected 81% of heart failure cases, and 90% of heart valve disease cases.

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The ECG is one of the most common tests conducted in cardiology, with approximately a billion ordered every year worldwide. Though a potential case flagged by the AI wouldn’t be proof the patient is about to sustain a heart attack, it’s imagined they’d use the AI-analyzed ECG to receive priority access to echocardiogram appointments.

“Patients can often wait several months for a heart ultrasound scan after being referred for one by their doctor,” said Professor Fu Siong Ng, a professor of cardiology at Imperial College London who was involved in the study.

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“This makes it exciting that our technology could identify patients most at risk of heart failure and heart valve disease, so they could be prioritized for scans faster and more urgently.”

People may have undergone ECG tests for other reasons, Professor Ng said, and a major benefit of having the AI tool there will be that it can just as easily include potential heart disease checks into any list of diagnostic markers for other conditions, revealing potential heart disease when none was thought to exist.

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Rural French Mayors Rally to Save Their Local Cafe-Bistro, and Help Reverse National Trend

By
Andy Corbley
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Bistro des Philosophes, Aix-en-Provence - credit Mali Desha, Unsplash
Bistro des Philosophes, Aix-en-Provence – credit Mali Desha, Unsplash

With the help of the mayor and local council, a small town in Burgundy has saved its local cafe-bistro, what’s been described as the “heart” of the rural French economy and society.

Au Bon Accueil, located in the commune of Saint-Martin-sur-Ouanne, had closed recently for 8 months, giving a nasty shock to locals who realized they had lost their last streetside business after the boulangerie closed some years ago.

Both Hervé Chapuis, Saint-Martin’s village chief, and the county mayor, stepped in to ensure that this most treasured local institution—disappearing all over France—would remain well-anchored inside their town.

“It’s so important to have a cafe-bistro in a village like this. We couldn’t let it stay closed,” Nadia Letellier, the new manager, told the Guardian’s Kim Whillsher on the occasion of her visit to the village. “And we’re doing well, as you can see. People seem really happy it’s open again.”

Fixed menu 3-course meals are common lunch and dinner functions for the locals, who often sit in the same seat and order the same thing every day while catching up with one another, and to get out of the house.

It’s a critical function in the depopulated French countryside, but one which Willsher reports is disappearing rapidly.

A cafe-bistro might close for any number of reasons, like declining alcohol consumption, 2% year-over-year price inflation established as a target by the French and European central banks, declining rural populations, or senior owners retiring with no one to take over after them. These have brought about a dramatic reduction in the number of cafe-bistros across France; Willsher reports it as a reduction from 500,000 to just 40,000 over the last 125 years.

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Fortunately, in Charny-Orée-de-Puisaye, the administrative district in which Saint-Martin can be found, the mayor ran a bistro for 7 years before being elected this year. He channeled €25,000 of public money to pay for renovations to ensure the bistro—which used to be called the Station Cafe—could stay open.

“I noticed the same people would come in every morning at the same time, take the same table, the same coffee or a glass of white wine,” he told Willsher. “The cafe-bistro was their point of reference. If it disappears, there is nothing for them.”

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Au Bon Accueil was not the first local eatery to be saved by the mayor, whose local authority owns another bistro, a restaurant, and 3 boulangeries.

It’s often said ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.’ Fortunately for Saint-Martin, there are enough bistro-less villages in France to show how important these places are for the fabric of rural society to those that are lucky enough to still have them.

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Korean Drone Rescue Program Helps Mozambique Achieve Zero Fatalities During Worst Flood in Decades

By
Andy Corbley
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A Mozambique pilot learns to pilot a drone from an experienced South Korean operator - credit, African Development Bank, released
A Mozambique pilot learns to pilot a drone from an experienced South Korean operator – credit, African Development Bank, released

In January, a community in northern Mozambique experienced one of its worst floods in decades, yet the raging waters failed to claim a single life.

This miracle was made possible thanks to a small squadron of drones and their pilots tasked with informing search and rescue efforts in real time.

The story, shared by the African Development Bank, centers around Marracuene, a district just north of the capital, where the Incomáti River burst its banks after weeks of rainfall.

As it would happen, in April 2025, the Bank’s South Korea–Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Trust Fund had launched a program to train 30 public sector experts from the meteorology, road mapping, water management, and disaster response agencies in the use of drones in emergency response.

Called the Drone-Based Disaster Management Project, January’s floods came halfway through the piloting course, where students were not only learning how to fly the drones, but also to operate sophisticated equipment like LiDAR instruments and data platforms that could transmit information about disaster areas in real time.

Marracuene and the Incomáti River became the equivalent of a final-year exam.

“Before this project, I had absolutely no experience with drones,” says Kátia Manjate, one of the new pilots.

Under Korean instructors, she learned to run the entire pipeline, “from data collection all the way to the final product… the processing and understanding what results we can draw from it all.”

– credit, African Development Bank

That early expertise was vital as the Incomáti totally forgot where its banks were, and submerged hundreds of square miles beneath murky water. 8 months before their training was set to finish, the government ordered the project’s team to the district, where they got to work successfully “locating stranded families, mapping washed-out roads, and streaming live imagery to rescue teams who had no other way to see what the water had done.”

LiDAR imagery showed how deep each brown pool was, and could successfully guide rescue vehicles through door-high flood waters.

DRONES OR ANGELS:

Their work ensured that not only were there no recorded fatalities among the population, but none among the rescuers as well.

In August, the 30 pilots graduated from the program, 10 of whom with licenses to train further drone operators. Local councilwoman Márcia Moiane noted that the significance extends well beyond this flood when she spoke with a press team from the African Dev. Bank.

“This project marks a major leap forward — not only in technology but also in how we respond to emergencies. It means we can act faster and smarter, saving more lives.”

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Historic Philanthropic Gift Will Expand Veterinary Care Access to Millions of Americans and Their Pets

By
Andy Corbley
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- credit, Jonatan Bustos via Unsplash
– credit, Jonatan Bustos via Unsplash

Hoping to allow millions of pet owners to access critical veterinary care beyond their budgets, a philanthropic organization has announced a groundbreaking $250 million commitment over the next 5 years

The initiative represents one of the largest, private philanthropic investments ever made in American history to expand access to nonprofit community veterinary care, and it was made by the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation.

Success in building and delivering innovation at 6 enterprise software companies, including PeopleSoft, Workday, and today, Ridgeline, has allowed billionaire software engineer, Cornell alum, and philanthropist Dave Duffield to give away heaps of the proceeds to charitable causes close to his heart, and to that of his wife, Cheryl.

These have included gifts totaling half-a-billion dollars to Cornell University’s school of engineering, and more than $300 million to companion animal support and welfare organizations.

As founders of Maddie’s Fund, the Duffields built the largest private foundation supporting companion animal organizations, with a particular focus on shelters.

Their latest check writing takes that total past $500 million with the “Big Bet for Pets,” an initiative that builds on this legacy by addressing the veterinary care gap in America, which the Foundation estimates impacts 50 million dogs and cats nationwide. This gap is largely the result of financial barriers to care, leaving millions of pets without routine, preventive, and lifesaving veterinary services.

“Pets are members of our families, and they need veterinary care to live long, healthy lives,” said Dave Duffield in a statement. “For too many families, that care is not easy to find or afford. Big Bet for Pets is our way of investing in a stronger, more accessible safety net for these special animals.”

The Duffield Big Bet for Pets will support community-based organizations working to expand access to veterinary care for family pets, invest in research and other strategies to advance progress in closing the gap in the access to veterinary care, and amplify the vital work of organizations providing veterinary services to pets in need. The initiative will roll out multiple investments and grant opportunities over the next 5 years, and the first 2 launch today.

GOOD PHILANTRHOPY:

Duffield Boost Grants is a collective $2.5 million grant opportunity that will provide 250 grants of $10,000 each to nonprofit community veterinary care providers nationwide. Expanding Access Grants will establish a $10 million pool for significant, multi-year grants for established nonprofit community veterinary clinics that are ready to expand their capacity to reach more pets in need.

“The lack of access to affordable veterinary care is one of the most urgent and actionable challenges facing pets and the people who love them,” said Amy Mills, vice president of access to care at the Dave & Cheryl Duffield Foundation. “Through Big Bet for Pets, we are investing in a future where every pet has access to the veterinary care they need and every family can care for the animals they love.”

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