You can pick the best wildlife photo of the year!
Hey fam,
Last weekend, I went on a ski trip in upstate New York. With the wind chill, the “feels like” temperature was -28 degrees F (-33 degrees C). In other words, I was colder than I’ve ever been in my life. It’s been almost a week and I think I’m still cold. But on the bright side, the mountain was pretty! I always find that being on the top of a snow-covered mountain is a peaceful and powerful reminder of how impressive our planet is.
I didn’t take any good pictures because my fingers would have frozen in an instant, but…
If you are looking for some stunning pictures: 60,636 photos of the magical life on our planet have been whittled down to the best 24, each more magnificent than the last, for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, People’s Choice Award. (Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London)
And we’re all able to vote for the winner.
The contest started in 1965 as a magazine competition to support wildlife photography, which was pretty new at the time, and create public interest in the natural world to ultimately benefit these animals and boost conservation.
An international panel of experts and London’s Natural History Museum judged the entries from 113 countries anonymously to create the shortlist, giving every photographer from amateur to professional an equal chance.
Some are beautiful, some are powerful, and all of them are impressive captures of a tiny moment in time on our chaotic planet Earth.
And while it’s hard to pick a favorite, whichever gets the most public votes will go on to be displayed in the final exhibition.
So which is your winner?
Underrated good news I found this week:
10. The airport turning into a futuristic town
A former airport is being turned into parks and a futuristic neighborhood in Toronto, Canada, called NZD. I had the pleasure of visiting a similar project a few years ago, which was the transformation of Berlin’s Tempelhofer Feld (a giant airport into an equally giant park), and it was pretty epic biking all over it. NZD will prioritize walkability, public transit, and futuristic design reusing airport materials in this transformation, and the renderings look very solarpunk. (Soo Kim|Newsweek)
9. England to pay for kid’s transportation to cancer treatment facilities
England just announced they’ll cover the travel costs for any children with cancer aged 0-24 getting medical care, helping families focus on treatment instead of worrying about travel expenses in a new £10 million yearly program (UK Gov)
8. Africa’s 2025 solar boom
The continent of Africa is having a big solar boom per new data, as they just finished their fastest-ever year of solar energy growth. This push was led by South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria, with a 54% increase in rooftop and big utility-scale installations plus battery storage. I spy much more potential ahead! (Global Solar Council)
7. The Walk for Peace comes to an end
The 100 day and 2,300 mile Walk for Peace by 19 Buddhists monks and their rescue dog Aloka has reached Washington DC. As they approach their final destination, they were greeted by thousands of people from all walks of life sharing their vision and advocacy for peace. (Tiffany Stanley & Deepa Bharath|AP)
6. Smashing particles together to warm homes
The world’s largest particle accelerator called the Large Hadron Collider, which crashes particles together at nearly the speed of light (99.9999991%), is now reusing hot water from its cooling systems to heat local homes and businesses. This impressive place has led to some great scientific discoveries and they’re now using the hot water byproduct for good instead of just wasting it. (Kate Kahle & Anna Cook|CERN)
5. Mandatory bird bricks
Scotland voted in a law that requires new buildings to include Swift bricks which have a hole and are hollow inside to let birds rest and nest in them, in an effort to reverse declining populations for birds like swifts, making them the first but hopefully not the last UK nation to pass the law. (Patrick Barkham|The Guardian, BBC)
4. Plug-in balcony solar
24 US states are working on legislation to allow smaller plug-in solar panels on balconies and porches without needing approval from utilities or fancy electric work, following Germany’s huge adoption of over 1 million homes installing these thanks to their simplicity, low cost, and quick energy savings. (Claire Brown|NYT)
3. How to save a frog
The Valcheta frog which is so rare that it’s found only in one stream in northern Patagonia(!) has had a remarkable recovery thanks to conservationists working with locals to improve their habitat which unintentionally helped other native species, while breeding a population of 60 into 5,000, and removing invasive predators. (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group)
2. Stopping data centers
New York has become at least the 6th state in the past few weeks to propose a pause called a moratorium on data centers for the next three years. This is part of a bipartisan push to give time to study the impacts, and stop these centers from driving up electricity costs while polluting the areas they’re built in for little in return. (Molly Taft|Wired)
1. Our community took action
📸 Lauri has been sharing their forest photos from the past 6 years for free to inspire and encourage more rewilding.
🧵 drunken_archer is using their sewing skills to patch up clothing for those in need while volunteering at shelters.
🐤 Lisa turned old fencing into backyard birdhouses with their husband, while their kids painted and gifted the rest.
+ Bonus stories!
🚗 Only seven new petrol-powered cars were sold in Norway last month as the EV revolution continues.
🎿 A skier handed a petition to the Winter Olympics to end fossil fuel advertising, signed by over 21,000 people!
A coal mine has turned into a garden.
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.
Great news! I did the hour-long seated meditation with the monks with tens of thousands of people around the world. Knowing that made it so wonderful.