Highlights of the Best Positive News This Week
Every day, the Good Good Good team collects the best good news in the world and shares it with our community. Here are the highlights for this week!
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The Largest Floating Solar Farm in Europe is Now Operational in France
A floating solar farm, called Les Îlots Blandin, is now officially operating at the site of a former 127-hectare gravel extraction pit that shut down in 2020. With more than 135,000 solar panels, it’s the largest floating solar farm in Europe. It will generate enough power for 37,000 people and prevent 18,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Floating solar panels come with unique benefits like better performance and possibly an expanded lifespan thanks to the cooler water below. Additionally, they prevent water evaporation, which is especially helpful in areas that experience drought.
This massive solar installation is a critical step forward in the global clean energy transition. Plus, while floating solar farms work in natural bodies of water, this installation on a former industrial site that was no longer in use means there’s also no impact on marine life.
Billie Eilish Pushes Music Labels to ‘Upcycle’ 400,000 Unsold T-Shirts into New Merch
After years of advocacy from a survivor, Texas passed a new law that closes a loophole in the state’s sexual assault laws. A sexual assault survivor and advocate, Summer Willis brainstormed ways to raise awareness about sexual assault after realizing how difficult it was to prosecute cases due to a loophole in Texas law.
Lawmakers in the state had been working to pass legislation to fix this flaw, and Willis started running — and crawling — marathons to garner awareness and support. House Bill 3073, also known as the Summer Willis Act, was officially signed into law last month, amending that loophole and clarifying the definition of consent.
First Responders from Mexico Arrive in Texas to Help with Flood Rescue and Recovery Efforts
Over the Independence Day weekend, catastrophic flooding hit six counties in central Texas, where at least 80 people have been killed. In Kerr County alone, officials have reported 75 deaths. To aid recovery and relief efforts, more than 20 firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico and Fundación 911 arrived in the area and got right to work alongside the Mountain Home Fire Department.
In addition to having extra boots on the ground, the first responders are also providing drones and other technology to help locate Texans who are still missing. In moments of crisis like this, the more people helping find survivors, the better. These helpers heeded that call, even amid tense political discourse around immigration and the intensifying efforts to detain Mexican migrants in the U.S., the search and rescue team put on full display its belief in “solidarity without borders.”
An 89-Year-Old Celebrated His Birthday with a Rowing Challenge to Raise Money to Help Save Britain’s Historic Rainforests
Lifelong explorer and author Robin Hanbury-Tenison rang in his 89th birthday by rowing 22 miles to help restore Britain’s historic rainforests — land he’s long had a deep, cherished connection to. He completed his journey, raising a total of £64,030 from nearly 500 supporters for the Thousand Year Trust, a charity dedicated to tripling the amount of temperate rainforests in the United Kingdom.
While short of his goal, Hanbury-Tenison’s “game-changing” amount raised will further the trust’s efforts to restore a 5,000-year-old habitat that is under more threat than tropical rainforests.
Mayors in England Are Implementing an “Unprecedented Plan” to Help Children Walk, Bike, or Scoot to School Safely
Twelve regional mayors in England signed a joint pledge to “work together to improve our streets for everyone, for the benefit of the health, wellbeing and connectedness of our communities” by creating a “national active travel network.” The first phase of the plan focuses on helping children walk, bike, or scoot to school through the creation of a combined 3,500 miles of routes linking schools to homes, town and city centers, and transport hubs.
It’s also part of larger efforts with Active Travel England, and is backed by the country’s chief medical officer, who said it could “significantly improve” public health for an estimated 20 million people total. Not only does car-alternative transportation help people stay more active, it leads to cleaner, healthier air overall. But first, the infrastructure to get around without a car needs to exist and be accessible — England is working towards that.
Japan’s Foreign Aid Budget Has More Than Doubled in Just Five Years
In the last few months, countries like the United States and the United Kingdom have announced large cuts to foreign aid. One country is doing the exact opposite. Since 2018, the amount of foreign aid Japan has given has more than doubled, from $8.6 billion to $19.3 billion in 2023. That increase brought Japan’s aid budget to 0.44% of its gross national income — for comparison, the United States gave 0.24%.
Foreign aid saves and improves millions of lives all over the world through health programs, food aid, humanitarian assistance, and more — and a little bit goes a really long way in improving human well-being, making it an incredible investment.
Kids Across Texas Raised Thousands of Dollars for Flood Relief with Lemonade Stands
In the wake of the devastating loss of an estimated 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, young Texans are serving up support for the camp and the families through lemonade stands. A 14-year-old raised $600, 9-year-old twins raised over $5,000, and one kid’s stand even linked to a GoFundMe — which has now surpassed $440,000 in donations — all with 100% of proceeds benefiting campers and families at Camp Mystic.
It can feel overwhelming to do something to help that seems small in comparison to a tragedy as devastating as the Texas flooding. But these seemingly small acts of generosity, where all you need is a table and pitcher of lemonade, really matter … and they add up to make a really big difference.
Scientists Host ‘Science Fair of Canceled Grants’ on Capitol Hill to Fight Funding Cuts
After decades of conservation efforts, Maryland is now home to one of the biggest populations of bald eagles in the U.S. Today, Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay is home to the highest concentration of bald eagles in the contiguous United States, a momentous milestone that has been a long time coming.
The bald eagles’ population rapidly declined in the early 1970s due to illegal hunting, habitat loss, and widespread pesticide use. They were classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1967, and those protections eventually led to their removal from the list in 2007. But local conservation efforts continued, and for the last two decades, the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership has coordinated a nest monitoring program for bald eagles in the state. Their efforts have led to the bald eagle’s population growing by over 250%.
The World’s First Malaria Treatment for Babies Has Now Been Approved for Use
While malaria treatments for children exist, there have been none specifically made for babies and small children weighing less than 10 pounds. Instead, those patients were treated with drugs designed for older children, presenting a risk of overdose. Now, this “treatment gap” is going to be filled with the world’s first malaria treatment specifically for babies and very young children. A new medicine has been approved and will be rolled out to regions with the highest rates of malaria within weeks.
The drug company that developed it plans to introduce it largely on a not-for-profit basis. In 2023, malaria was linked to around 597,000 deaths globally — almost all of them were in Africa, and around three-quarters were children under five years old. This new medicine reaching those who need it most will be life-saving.
Teen Siblings Raised $620K for Cancer Research in Just 7 Weeks, While One Was Battling Leukemia Himself
While the gender gap persists, men in the U.S. are spending a record-high amount of time on housework. In 2024, men spent an average of 100 minutes per day doing household activities like laundry and cleaning, a record-high amount as captured by the American Time Use Survey. While the gender gap persists, with women doing 40% more household work than men in 2024, that gap is slowly closing. In the first year of the survey, women worked an hour more than men on the home — in 2024, it was 40 minutes more.
If this path of progress continues, time spent on housework would be equal by around the year 2066. While it’d be great if that were more like 2026 — this progress, however slow, is better than that gap not closing at all!
More Good News of the Week
Scientists are developing menstrual pads containing nanotechnology to provide Pap-smear-free cervical cancer screening. While a new at-home, self-testing option was recently approved by the FDA, the Canadian researchers believe science can be doing even more to improve comfort and access to help women feel more comfortable, and therefore, more likely to catch cervical cancer before it spreads.
Sweden is the first country in the world to ensure all egg-laying chickens are cage-free without any laws requiring it. While the country does have stricter legislation when it comes to how many chickens farmers can raise per plot of land, this latest milestone comes on the heels of grassroots activism and public pressure from consumers, not government legislation.
In an environmental wildlife conservation success, piping plovers have made a dramatic recovery in Maine. In 1981, according to Maine Audubon coastal bird biologist Sophie Garland, the state had 10 pairs of plovers nesting on its beaches. This year, there are 174 pairs.
Astronomers and conservationists in West Texas are working to protect the world’s largest “dark sky reserve.” Recent research shows the night sky in North America is getting brighter every year — on average, researchers say, you can see about 10% fewer stars than the year before.
Supermarket chain H-E-B, which started as a little shop in Kerrville, announced its plans to support flood relief in the community — plans that are already in action. Animal rescue groups are working to recover and reunite pets lost in the floods. From baby skunks to rabbits, Austin Wildlife Rescue has saved around 70 wildlife following the flooding. Two counselors at a branch of Camp Mystic helped keep campers safe, calm, and prepared to evacuate.
A veteran-led disaster relief organization is providing rescue and recovery support in Kerr County. World Central Kitchen is providing food and much-needed supplies to first responders and people impacted by the floods.
Mexico’s Senate unanimously approved a nationwide ban on dolphin and other marine mammal shows. The legislation was the result of a three-year effort sparked by public concern and outrage over animal welfare violations, and was personally prioritized by President Claudia Sheinbaum, who called it essential to prevent animal abuse.
Surgeons in the U.S. completed the first-ever fully robotic heart transplant. The patient recovered quickly thanks to reduced surgical trauma and lower risk of infection, and the procedure marks a significant leap in robotic cardiac surgery, offering new hope for patients with advanced heart failure.
The River Seine in Paris reopened to public swimming for the first time in a century. The long-polluted waterway is finally opening up as a summertime swim spot following a 1.4 billion euro — $1.5 billion — cleanup project that made it suitable for Olympic competitions last year.
Family and friends reunited at the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea for the first time in five years. Separated by the closed border since the outbreak of the 2020 conflict and political tensions, the move to reopen a section of the border was organized by local activists and community figures without the official backing of the authorities on either side.
Women are leading a construction boom in Somalia, as its capital city rebuilds after decades of war. Two young women engineers, for example, are overseeing the construction of a 10-floor apartment complex, issuing instructions to their team of workers, who are all men.
In a “breakthrough” for the technology, Norway launched a flagship large-scale carbon capture and storage project. The technology has struggled to find a viable economic model, but is still seen as crucial to curbing climate change. This project will prevent 400,000 tonnes of CO2 from escaping into the atmosphere each year and be a model for other projects.
Spain announced sweeping ocean protections that aim to balance marine conservation with sustainable development. The announcement includes two new large-scale Special Protection Areas for Birds and proposals for important Community Sites of Interest, protecting 3,180,882.91 hectares, with 2,965,913.24 of them previously lacking any environmental protection whatsoever.
After years of delay, South Korea ratified an international treaty meant to safeguard international adoptions. The significant policy shift comes decades after sending tens of thousands of children to the West through an aggressive and poorly regulated adoption system.
Portugal’s capital city launched a citywide reusable cup scheme to reduce plastic waste. With the potential to remove 25,000 discarded cups every night, Lisbon is the first European capital to implement an initiative that aims to combat plastic waste, reduce emissions, and introduce a smart reuse model in the city’s restaurant sector and bustling nightlife.
Michael Jordan opened his fourth free clinic for people who are uninsured or underserved in his home state. Located in East Wilmington, North Carolina, this fourth Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinic is 7,300 square feet and boasts twelve patient rooms and was built in partnership with Novant Health.
One of the last sea lions impacted by a toxic algae bloom was released in California. In the spring, Southern California experienced one of the longest toxic algal blooms on record, which sickened at least 1,500 animals in the region and the Marine Mammal Care Center took in nearly 400 sea lions and dolphins in just a few months.
Olivia Rodrigo paid for her entire band and crew to have therapy while on tour. Studies show people working in the music industry are “more prone to mental health problems than the general population”, with musicians being “up to three times more likely to suffer from depression” due to factors like financial pressures, isolation, hectic schedules, addiction, and more.
A new implantable device could save diabetes patients from dangerously low blood sugar. For people with Type 1 diabetes, when glucose levels become extremely low, it creates a life-threatening situation for which the standard treatment of care is injecting a hormone called glucagon, and this device could be especially helpful at night or for children.
The result of a “comprehensive, evidence-based public safety strategy,” Baltimore has had its fewest homicides in 50 years. Historic reductions in violent crime have led to a 22.7% decrease in homicides and a 19.6% decline in non-fatal shootings, and the city’s mayor acknowledged “that there is much more work to do and our success makes me commit even further to doing it.”
A secret population of one of the most endangered animals in South America was just discovered in Chile. The stout, shaggy-coated huemul deer is highly endangered in the southern hemisphere, but a recent helicopter mission revealed that they are thriving in a future national park.
For the first time, renewables generated more electricity than coal in Poland. It’s a major milestone for the company’s clean energy transition progress, as Poland still ranks among the world’s most emitting economies both per unit of GDP and energy consumption.
In a bipartisan effort, Minnesota legislators funded $800,000 in outdoor education grants for grade school students. Minnesota joins states such as Oregon, Washington, and Maine in passing similar legislation, and the money will be available to the state’s five accredited outdoor schools to fund overnight outdoor learning experiences for students.
