Hey fam,
Happy Halloween-eve!
This might be my favorite holiday of the year, where NYC truly comes alive with everyone in a costume, spooky music blasting, candy flying, and I usually march in the parade with plenty of dancing and fully-decorated floats. This year, I’m dressing up as Snoopy and my girlfriend will be Woodstock! 🐶🐥
Plus the NYC marathon is the very next day with incredible energy as everyone comes together to cheer on the runners. Big shoutout to you if you’re running!
It’s gonna be a good weekend… I hope you have something fun planned, or at least get some extra candy in your life.
Now enjoy this recap of some of October’s best stories of progress, and I’ll see you in November for much more.
What went right in October 2026
50 solarpunk murals
My videos and our community (you) helped inspire 50 solarpunk murals to be painted in EV charging stations across India. Devbrat, who is a reader of this newsletter, told me that since people have to wait for about 20 minutes as they fill up their vehicles, these stations are the perfect spot for folks to really soak in the visions they portray.
Two colors, same species
A new poison dart frog was discovered that comes in two different colors despite being the same species. They’re separated by 40 miles over mountains in Ecuador, yet are polymorphic variants of the species.
Healing coral
Scientists touched a piece of bleached coral together with a healthy clone and their tissues fused to heal the damaged one in about two months. Coral bleaching is devastating reefs across the world as ocean temperatures rise, so victories like these offer hope that we can keep these incredible creatures alive. It is limited to genetically identical (cloned) corals, but hopefully is just the start of successful studies around this healing process.
3D printed beak
A southern hornbill broke the top and bottom of his beak, so veterinarians got to work successfully attaching a 3D printed prosthetic beak to both halves. This is the first time it’s happened on both the top and the bottom, and is allowing this beautiful bird to pick up food and preen his feathers once again. How amazing would the world be is all tech was focused on going good things like this?!
Brazil’s future
Brazil recorded its lowest level of Amazon deforestation since records began back in 1988. Then, president Lula was re-elected, meaning this trend can continue and they can inch closer to his pledge of 0 deforestation. Let’s get there!
Hilarious animals
The 43 funniest animal photos of the year were announced in the Comedy Wildlife Awards, which are perfectly timed to show off the funny side of nature. The competition raises awareness and funds for conservation, and there’s a people’s choice category that you can vote in!
Solar panels on parking spots
4,315 parking spots were covered by solar panels at Six Flags in California, which now makes it the state’s largest solar carport. It also should offset all of the park’s electricity, while keeping cars cool, and not taking up any additional land in a true win-win-win scenario.
Paid parental leave (finally)
A bunch of nurses rallied together to get 12-week paid parental leave across their entire county in Pennsylvania. This is the first county-level policy, yet still pales in comparison to many other developed nations around the world. Hopefully some day soon, this can get federal attention and we can get a required time off policy for everyone.
Halfway to 100 million trees
Wisconsin passed the halfway mark on its goal to plant 100 million trees by 2030. Not much else to add, besides this being awesome!
Our community took action
Our community members used the money from a yard sale to buy books for their community center, rescued a bird from a pool who’s almost ready to fly again, spent 6 years swapping invasive plants for native ones, and so much more.
I learn about these community wins from comments, so feel free to leave one and let us know what’s going on in your life!
+ Bonus stories!
✌️ I joined forces with Climate Power to tier-rank the best strategies to take down a dirty AI data center. Check it out!
🏥 Underrated idea from GoodGoodGood: a 15-year old developed a platform that quickly shares necessary medical information during an emergency via a QR code.
🌅 Two Indigenous communities in the Phillippines won their land back after a two-decade legal battle.
🌊 The Klamath river keeps improving two years after the dams were removed, now showing toxic algal blooms have almost fully disappeared.
What’s your highlight from this week?
Remember that we build a better future together. Thanks for joining me in replacing dread & fear with hope & action. Let’s keep it going!
Forward this breath of fresh air to someone you love, and see you next week for more.
Talk soon,
Jacob
This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. Over 1.5 million people are in our community across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by hitting reply. Brand illustration by Andrea Miralles. Thanks for helping spread some positivity, and see you next week for more.