no. 162: They found Patrick from SpongeBob in real life?!
Plus US crime down across every measured category, fast fashion accountability, rediscovering a long lost coral species, and much more good news from this week...
Hey fam,
I’m so honored to say that just a week after we moved (and rebranded) this newsletter, we’re currently the #1 Rising Bestseller in the Climate & Environment category on Substack!
After spending years searching for and reporting good news stories, it’s so validating to see the positive reception this is having. I’m truly honored and forever grateful for all of your support. And most importantly, I’m excited for the impact we’re gonna have together.
Thank you all for being here and helping spread & support stories of progress!
Enjoy this week’s good news roundup, and have an amazing weekend…
Monday, August 18 (watch)
💣 Eight coal plant towers were destroyed in the biggest-ever simultaneous demolition at England’s retired Cottam Power Station, each 375 feet tall yet instantly crumbling in a beautiful moment symbolizing the end of the dirty fuel in the nation (BBC)
📉 New data showed that crime across every measured category and age group that the FBI measures was down last year in the US (Jeff Asher|Jeff-alytics)… 🦊 While separate data revealed a dramatic drop in animal fur farming over the past 10 years, as people’s opinion of fur shifted into strong opposition (Kenny Torrella|Vox)
🔭 Scientists were busy finding what might be the most massive black hole ever found, 36 billion times the mass of our sun (Daniel Clery|Science)… ☀️ While other researchers made a new solar cell that gets energy from indoor light, potentially replacing batteries for small devices like keyboards (UCL News)
🐘 Community win: I spent the past few weeks exploring wildlife conservancies across Kenya, learning there’s been no local rhino poaching for nearly 10 years, and being more motivated than ever to protect our planet!
Tuesday, August 19 (watch)
🌊 A third species of manta ray called Mobula yarae was discovered and named after an Indigenous Brazilian mythical water spirit, with Dr. Andrea Marshall first predicting the species existed back in 2009 and finally confirming it after 15 intense years of studying tiny details from photos (Marine Megafauna Foundation)
⚡️ New York is now the first state to require almost all new buildings to be fully electric, using cheaper energy efficient electric appliances instead of gas starting the last day of this year and rolling out to bigger buildings by 2029 (Alison F. Takemura|Canary Media)
👗 Italy fined fast fashion giant Shein €1 million for misleading and deceptive environmental claims, following the footsteps of France who just fined them €40 million last month as the nations crack down on false and confusing marketing (Eleanor Butler|Euronews)
🗑️ Community win: Shannon put a trash bin on their local beach with a note to call when it’s full, which has saved about 30 full bags of litter over the past year from the water and shore.
Wednesday, August 20 (watch)
🚗 There now hasn’t been a single traffic death for over a year in Helsinki, Finland, thanks to the city prioritizing public transportation, rebuilding better bike paths, and increasing safety with lower speed limits and better lighting (Kendrick Heinz|DW)
🪸 Researchers looking for a sea slug by the Galápagos Islands stumbled across over 100 colonies of a coral species last seen 24 years ago and thought to be extinct, with some of the Rhizopsammia wellingtoni coral actively reproducing as they collected samples to learn more about their impressive survival (Sarah Kuta|Smithsonian Magazine)
⛴️ A new hybrid ferry called the Harbor Charger is up and running to Governor's Island in New York City which was built to be fully battery powered once a dockside charger is installed, following a trend of electrifying ferries to make them quieter, more maneuverable, and cleaner (James Barron|NYT)
📖 Community win: Todd Medema just published his first book called How to Surf a Hurricane, described as a hopeful climate heist taking place on the high seas.
Thursday August 21 (watch)
🌊 A sea star which kinda looks like Patrick Star from SpongeBob was just discovered alongside 40 new species on an expedition to Argentina’s underwater Mar del Plata Canyon which is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon, with scientists getting a better understanding of the deep sea while inspiring millions (Schmidt Ocean Institute)
🚴 It might soon be possible to walk or bike continuously around NYC without dealing with any car traffic thanks to a newly proposed plan called “Greater Greenways” which fills in and connects existing paths into a unified network, particularly along the waterfront (NYC DOT)
🏥 An incredible 40% drop in childhood asthma visits to hospital ERs happened after a polluting coal factory was shut down near Pittsburgh, with new research validating the citizen’s health complaints that were denied and ignored by local authorities (Kiley Bense|Inside Climate News)
🔋 Community win: lauraluu95 got the “trifecta” of a heat pump, electric vehicle, and home solar to help make a better world for their babies.
What else?
💰 Companies that sell packaged goods must now pay to collect and recycle plastics in Oregon.
🎉 What if parties literally cut out the crap?
🧀 This cheese auction raised thousands for healthcare.
🐶 Maple the dog is saving the bees by sniffing out danger.
This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. Over 1 million people are in our community across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Bluesky. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com. Main illustration by Andrea Miralles. See you next week for more!