Good News Notes: “Trains may be an old technology, but they are still remarkable machines—operating with roughly four times the energy efficiency of semitrucks driving on a highway. However, over the past several decades, railways have been working against themselves. To compete with semis, they’ve ceded shorter deliveries. Instead, railways have doubled down on long-haul shipments of…
Author: Tony Cowger
A New Carbon Capture Method Turns CO2 Into Solid Carbon ‘In an Instant’
Good News Notes: “A new decarbonization technology developed by RMIT University researchers in Australia instantaneously turns CO2 into solid carbon, a press statement reveals. The team claims their method is commercially viable and that it could soon be deployed in aid of global efforts to reduce the ongoing effects of the climate crisis. A ‘radically more efficient’ method…
Rare, pristine coral reef found off Tahiti coast
Good News Notes: “Deep in the South Pacific, scientists have explored a rare stretch of pristine corals shaped like roses off the coast of Tahiti. The reef is thought to be one of the largest found at such depths and seems untouched by climate change or human activities. Laetitia Hédouin said she first saw the…
Packing peanuts to be banned in NJ under new law
Good News Notes: “More recycled plastic, glass and paper will be used in everyday products — from trash bags to beer bottles — under anew law Gov. Phil Murphy signed Tuesday. The law also prohibits the sale of polystyrene packing peanuts in New Jersey within two years — a move supporters say will help keep the easily blown…
French Fry Oil-Powered Fast Charger Makes It Possible For EVs To Cross Australia’s Vast Emptiness
Good News Notes: “Australia is a lot like the U.S. — a large country with major cities on the coasts and vast stretches of nothing in between. And, much like in America, convincing car buyers that an EV can handle driving through such large empty stretches has proven a challenge. A retired engineer partnered with…
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone Has Become Haven for Endangered Eagles, Study Finds
Good News Notes : “The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has become a haven for a rare species of endangered eagles, a study has found. The study, published in the journal Restoration Ecology, found that although Greater Spotted Eagles were completely extinct in Western Europe before the nuclear disaster in 1986, they have now colonized the exclusion zone and…
Archaeologists Have Unearthed a 4,000-Year-Old Board Game. Now They Just Have to Figure Out the Rules
Good News Notes: “Archaeologists in Oman have found 4,000-year-old stone board game at a Bronze and Iron Age settlement site near the village of Ayn Bani Saidah in the northern Hajar mountains’ Qumayrah Valley. “Such finds are rare, but examples are known from an area stretching from India, through Mesopotamia even to the Eastern Mediterranean,”…
Casa Bonita Paying Employees To Perform Community Service During Renovation Period
Good News Notes: “While Casa Bonita remains closed for renovations, the iconic restaurant and entertainment venue in Lakewood’s workers are staying busy. Since November, several dozen employees have been paid to serve the community in the Denver metro area full time. On Tuesday, the wait for a helping hand stretched dozens of cars deep in the parking…
Longhead darter: Species believed locally extinct rediscovered
Good News Notes: “…Fish management crews captured two of them this fall during Ohio River electrofishing bass surveys, signaling their return to the state. “Who dis? Believe it or not, it’s a longhead darter,” wildlife officials wrote in a social media post. “Why are we so excited? This striking creature, native to Ohio, was thought to…
Recycling Soda Bottles Into Filament To Print Smaller Soda Bottles
Good News Notes: “…Soda bottles are usually made out of PET plastic, or polyethylene terephthalate, which is one of the most popular thermoplastics in modern society. A soda bottle can be cut into a continuous long, thin strip with the use of a simple hand-operated machine that slices the bottle with a blade. This strip…