She's turning shattered car windows into unique jewelry
Your weekly roundup of stories of progress from around the world...
Hey fam,
Welcome back to Friday!
This week, I competed in a climate game show hosted by the iconic Pattie Gonia. I didn’t win this time (mainly due to my inability to twerk), but with nonstop dancing, laughing, and great vibes with new friends, it really reminded me that we need to have more fun together… More game shows and shenanigans, and less panels. Who’s with me?!
I also came across a woman who finds shattered car windows and turns the shards into one of a kind jewelry. I reached out and got to hear more about her story, inspiration, and vision for the future:
Sydney Jones was walking her dog one day when she saw a pile of broken window glass, and since she’d already been experimenting with turning broken bottles into earrings, she wondered if these shards would melt in the same way.
Particularly because over 7 million metric tons of glass ends up in US landfills each year, wasting this material that deserves a second life.
So to turn an unfortunate event into something positive, she started listening in to reports of shattered car windows, known as bipping in the Bay Area, then heading over and sweeping up the rubble with a dust pan.
By bringing the little pieces home, throwing them in a kiln, and heating the glass up until it formed smooth little spheres, she created the perfect beads.
Which ended up becoming her “Street Revival Collection”, each piece uniquely made of reclaimed glass windows and windshields, joining the other Odd Commodity Shop crafts she upcycles like soda bottle candles and wine bottle vases
She told me “she aims to inspire people to repurpose materials that are already made, shift toward a more circular economy, and move away from that cradle to grave mindset.”
It might be a little strange, but maybe this is the future of reusing materials, even if they come from a crime scene?
What’s going right in the world
The beginning of the end for surveillance pricing?
Surveillance pricing, which uses personal data to change the cost of items, is set to be banned in Maryland. This new law would make them the first US state to prohibit using browsing history, location, and shopping behaviors to dynamically price necessities like groceries, in hopefully the first step toward completely banning these deceptive tactics. (Amanda Greenwood|Newsweek)
Songs to save a dying language
92-year-old Peter Salmon is the last surviving speaker of the First Nations language Thiinma (TEEN-mah), and teamed up with linguist and musician Rosie Sitorus to create songs in the language and even form a band to keep the language and his people’s culture alive. (Katherine Smyrk|ABC)
Earth Day 2026
This year for Earth Day, I teamed up with the world’s largest environmental nonprofit to tell their origin story. (Watch our sponsored collaboration post here!) A quick summary:
An old-growth forest living just outside of NYC was set to be destroyed in the 1950s to become suburban homes, until a scientist named Gloria Hollister Anable came across it. To protect life in the Mianus River Gorge, she rallied her neighbors, teamed up with a new group called The Nature Conservancy, sent scientists to document the land, and finally bought the 60 acres and made it accessible for everyone to enjoy.
With 160 preserves now in New York alone (and many more around the world), maybe we should all go together as a group some time soon? Let me know if you’d be interested in a nature social club!
A library aimed at getting you outside
A new nature library is opening up in Colorado which will let people rent gear like fishing poles, tents, and even night vision goggles in their “Tryit Kits” to get people outdoors. They’ll also have 35,000 books on the natural world and programming to learn hands-on from park rangers and interact with animals. (John Wenzel|The Denver Post)
More new species were discovered
First up we have this crocodile newt that looks like it can firebend, found in a roadside pond in China, and is surviving despite a habitat fractured from roads and development. The species has 11 distinct characteristics like only having orange on its tail and finger tips that extend beyond its snout, and it’s in the same genus as another new one found on the border between Vietnam and Laos.
Next up we have this flowering herb with a “golden tongue” found in moist and shady streams running through a forest in India’s Himalayas, which a team of botanists spotted clinging to rocks. It’s unique thanks to its bumpy yellow patch on the lower lip of its petals that I can’t decide if it looks like its mocking us or holding on to some magic powers.
And last but not least is this spiraling soft coral found on a ridge in the deep sea of the Indian Ocean. This is unique since most related species are found in the Atlantic or Pacific, yet researchers in this case discovered three similar ones together that will help increase understanding of the mysterious deep ocean.
Our community took action
🦦 We completed our third Community Mission! If you didn’t watch yet, check out the video and see what we’re funding together, fam.
👛 Becca Ross made a one-of-a-kind bag out of reclaimed materials, using buttons they played with as a kid and their grandma’s old dress.
+ Bonus stories!
Spell your name (or any word) with real satellite images of Earth thanks to NASA!
Solar power could be getting a huge tech upgrade.
Is the future of skyscrapers actually wood?
Have a win or good story to share? Join our community chat and let us know!
This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. Over 1 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.