Today, good news comes from the Good News Network.

City Experiments with Reusable Cups at Starbucks, Taco Bell, and 30 Other Restaurants–with Return Bins all over town

By Andy Corbley – July 25, 2024

A consortium of small firms is creating a renewable revolution within the boundaries of a small city in Northern California. The city will be the testbed for a use-and-return concept for fast food drinks.

Around 50 billion disposable drink cups are used every year in the US, but in the city of Petaluma, we will see if Americans have the discipline to reduce this footprint.

The city has around 60,000 people and will participate in the Reuseable Cup Project. The aim is to furnish 30 local restaurants, from Starbucks to Taco Bell, with identical, durable plastic drink cups. Customers and diners can use these cups and then either leave them on the table or deposit them in a network of dropoff bins around the city.

NextGen Consortium, led by the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners investment firm, asked the city government for help identifying partner restaurants. A firm called Muuse will provide professional cleaning and distribution services to redeliver the cleaned cups back to the locations.

“What they’ve told us they like about Petaluma is that there’s already a spirit of sustainability in Petaluma and [an] interest in trying to reduce the amount of waste that we’re creating collectively as a city,” Patrick Carter, assistant of the city manager who oversees the program, said in a phone call with FOX Business.

“They liked the combination of kind of a denser downtown, more businesses together that are serving these drinks, these beverages, but with a smaller population.”

Located between Santa Rosa and San Francisco, Petaluma’s residents will not be charged a penny more for their drinks and are only asked to drop them off in one of the networks of bins when they are finished. A map showing the locations of the bins can be found on the project website.

Along with reducing cup waste, it should also reduce the number of throwaway hot drink sleeves since the cups themselves are more durable and less conductive to heat.

A three-month trial starting on August 5 and running into November will provide NextGen with the data it needs to understand whether such a program can be used in larger cities.

The good news in this article is that the government, community, and individuals are all working together to eliminate waste. Today’s JohnKu talks about cooperation. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Together by John W. Howell © 2024

Projects done alone,

Require increased energy . . .

Better to have help.

Today’s good news comes from the Good News Network.

Every Virginian over 30 you could hope to meet will know someone who has collided with a deer in their car: the state is in the top ten nationwide for deer-related crashes.

These two high school seniors have just received a large grant to pursue their research into a device that detects cars and deer via artificially intelligent cameras and helps both avoid collisions.

Shaurya Jain and Anmol Karan from Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax County received $15,000 after presenting their prototype.

The money came from the Animal Welfare Institute as a part of the Christine Stevens Wildlife Award, leaving the two young men feeling “honored.”

“Not everyone would trust a bunch of high schoolers with this kind of money,” Jain told WTOP.

Positioned on the side of the road, if the device detects cars and deer in the vicinity, it emits high-frequency pulses and animal sounds to deter the deer from attempting to cross at that moment. If positioned in places with high deer traffic, the boys hope it will stop them from impacting traffic, especially at night when visibility is low and deer are most active.

In 2022, 6,100 traffic collisions, or 15% of the total number in the state, involved deer, an incident ratio that left 500 people injured.

Mr. Jain says he was inspired by his religion, Jainism—which holds all animals to be sacred and carriers of souls, while Karan was moved to action by the news that his uncle had collided with a deer in his car at night in Loudon County and was severely injured.

“Seeing him caused me to just feel that there probably is some type of method that we can use to keep on these roads to prevent such accidents from happening,” said Karan.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council applauded the students’ idea and wrote letters of encouragement to them. They are still collecting data on deer injuries and hope to start roadside testing soon.

The good news in this article is that two young men felt strong enough about a problem to do something about it. Today’s JohnKu continues the theme of embracing people who are called to action. I hope you have a terrific weekend.

Action by John W. Howell © 2024

A problem exists,

Some would simply ignore it . . .

Others take action.

Today’s good news comes from the Good News Network

In humans, sauna use is so beneficial that some medical researchers are attempting to add it to the standard of care for those at high risk of heart disease.

Well, researchers in Australia have found that this same leisure activity can save certain species of frogs from the ongoing fungal pandemic called chytrid.

GNN has already reported on chytrid and ways to combat it. Documented as having infected 500 species of frog or more, it’s a massive threat to the amphibiome.

Anthony Waddle at Macquarie University in Australia built a series of “frog saunas” to see if they could help golden bell frogs and green bell frogs native to Australia recover from chytrid. The fungal pathogen thrives in cooler tropical temperatures and is unviable above 84°F (29°C).

Consisting of unshaded black brick structures with narrow holes inside an artificial greenhouse habitat with water and plants, the frogs quickly made themselves at home inside the saunas.

Four healthy frogs were used as controls for a study group of eight frogs, half of which were infected with chytrid. Some habitats were shaded, and others were left uncovered to test a range of temperatures. Infected frogs who frequented the unshaded structure, where temperatures could climb as high as 97 to 100°F, had milder infections, but access to any sauna helped the frogs fight off the disease.

Once they recovered via the saunas, the bell frogs were 23 times less likely to die from a repeat infection with chytrid.

Bell frogs “used to live in people’s toilets and letterboxes and everywhere before chytrid,” Waddle told Science News. “Setting up these habitats where they still persist might give them enough of a boost that you could see a population increase.”

Building these simple structures in a garden could help frogs survive chytrid outbreaks and help the local population develop resistance.

Not all frog species enjoy roasting, however, so saunas are limited to warm-weather species. Another solution needs to be found for those who enjoy cooler temperatures.

The good news in today’s story is that folks are working on eliminating a threat affecting a whole animal species.  Today’s JohnKu talks about those folks. I hope you have a terrific weekend.

Heroes by John W. Howell.© 2024

It’s hard to define,

What actions are heroic . . .

The frogs could tell you.

Today’s good news story comes from the Good News Network.

Pioneering Zero-Emissions Hydrogen Fuel-Cell-Powered Ship Successfully Tested in Japan

A consortium of Japanese firms has successfully demonstrated the first-ever zero-emissions ship above 20 gross tons.

Sailing 30 kilometers between the Port of Kokura and the Shirashima Offshore Wind Farm, the HANARIA was powered entirely by hydrogen fuel cells.

An island nation, 10.25 million tons of carbon emissions from Japan’s transportation sector came from coastal shipping and transport. In 2015, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga outlined carbon neutrality by 2050 as a major component of Japan’s development strategy, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, and significant steps must be taken to achieve that.

The Nippon Foundation, a research and development fund dedicated to passing the riches of the sea intact to future generations, worked in tandem with manufacturers and shipping operators to develop a suite of hydrogen-powered, zero-emission vessels for use in shipping and coastal transport.

Hydrogen is manufactured by using an electrical current to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The pure hydrogen can then be used as a substitute for heavy engine fuels like diesel and kerosene in a fuel-cell vehicle. If the hydrogen is manufactured with green energy, it’s known as ‘green hydrogen.’

A passenger ship, HANARIA spans 108 feet (33 meters), weighs 248 gross tons, and is equipped with a hydrogen fuel system. She is expected to transport personnel to the offshore wind farm and conduct site tours.

During the demonstration, she registered zero CO2 emissions using hydrogen fuel from her departure to her arrival and return.

“The realization of a hydrogen society requires not only technological development but also city and social design, and we look forward to moving ahead with all parties involved,” said the project’s chief leader, Yoshihiko Hamamura, who also holds a post at the Toyota Motor Corporation’s Hydrogen Factory which supplied the hydrogen tanks for HANARIA.

The Nippon Foundation has been carrying out the Zero Emission Ships Project since January 2022. The project plans to test two other vessels by the end of fiscal year 2026, including a yacht and a hydrogen-powered tanker.

The executive director of the Nippon Foundation, Mitsuyuki Unno, said that they hope to help Japan lead the world to zero-emissions shipping.

The good news in this story is that real advancements are being made with hydrogen-fueled vehicles. Today’s JohnKu talks about technology advances. I hope you have a great weekend.

Technology by John W. Howell © 2024

Every day, there’s more,

Great minds working to advance . . .

Stewardship of Earth.

Today’s good news is from the Good News Network.

The Rewilding Europe organization is thrilled to announce the arrival of a small herd of bison in a large valley in Portugal.

Believed to be the key to preventing catastrophic wildfires, invasive species spread, and promoting endemic biodiversity, it’s the first time bison have been present in Portugal since the last Glacial Maximum.

From Poland to Romania to the UK, European wood bison are now firmly recognized as one of the best tools for returning what little wilderness Europe has left to as wild a state as possible.

Once upon a time, all of Europe was covered in forests or scrubland, through which the European bison and the steppe bison roamed. Today, nations across the Old World are trying to reintroduce these large grazers into wild areas to help improve native ecosystems.

In Portugal, a country smaller than Pennsylvania, the gradual abandonment of the Greater Côa Valley has presented an unprecedented opportunity for rewilding.

The government has already set aside a quarter million acres of land for conservation, boasting an exciting mix of natural and semi-natural habitats of scrub, Mediterranean dry forests, and steep gorges.

The Iberian wolf is present on the land in the form of a small pack, and the area acts as a refuge for roe and red deer, wild boar, eagles, and an ancient cattle breed that’s left to roam wild as its ancestor, the mighty auroch, once did across Europe.

The arriving European bison will be managed in cooperation with the Rewilding Portugal team, who received the individuals from the forests of northern Poland, where over 4,000 bison roam wild.

“We are viewing this translocation as a pilot,” explains Rewilding Portugal team leader Pedro Prata. “The bison will be closely monitored to see how they acclimatize to the local landscape and climate. This is the first time the Rewilding Portugal team has managed bison, so it’s also a learning process for us. Members of the team will receive training in bison management.”

It won’t just be new for the team but also for Portugal. The remains of the European bison have never been discovered in the country or on the whole of the Iberian Peninsula.

Scientific evidence has to look back 10,000 years to find a bison in Portugal—the steppe bison—a predecessor of the modern European bison. However, studies of translocated bison in Spain have shown they are at home in the hot, dry climate.

Through their grazing, foraging, trampling, and fertilizing, bison help to maintain biodiversity-rich mosaic landscapes of forest, scrub, and grassland, as well as numerous micro-habitats, which host a wide range of plant and animal species.

Studies in Europe and North America have highlighted this with regard to the related American bison. These same interactions can boost the capture of atmospheric carbon in both vegetation and the soil.

This report is good news since the rewilding of any area is a step closer to the naturalization of the planet. Today’s JohnKu talks about replenishment. I hope you have a super weekend.

Replace by John W. Howell © 2024

Emptying resource,

Is a dangerous action . . .

Replace what you take.

When a severe water shortage hit the Indian city of Kozhikode in the state of Kerala, a group of engineers turned to science fiction to keep the taps running.

Like everyone else in the city, engineering student Swapnil Shrivastav received a ration of two buckets of water a day collected from India’s arsenal of small water towers.

It was a ‘watershed’ moment for Shrivastav, who, according to the BBC, had won a student competition four years earlier on the subject of tackling water scarcity, and armed with a hypothetical template from the original Star Wars films, Shrivastav and two partners set to work harvesting water from the humid air.

“One element of inspiration was from Star Wars, where there’s an air-to-water device. I thought, why don’t we give it a try? It was more of a curiosity project,” he told the BBC.

According to ‘Wookiepedia’ a ‘moisture vaporator’ is a device used on moisture farms to capture water from a dry planet’s atmosphere, like Tatooine, where protagonist Luke Skywalker grew up.

This fictional device functions according to Star Wars lore by coaxing moisture from the air through refrigerated condensers, which generate low-energy ionization fields. Captured water is then pumped or gravity-directed into a storage cistern that adjusts its pH levels. Vaporators can collect 1.5 liters of water per day.

If science fiction authors could devise the particulars of such a device, Shrivastav must have felt he had a good chance of succeeding. In 2019, he and colleagues Govinda Balaji and Venkatesh Raja founded Uravu Labs, a Bangalore-based startup.

Their initial offering is a machine that converts air to water using a liquid desiccant. The desiccant absorbs moisture from the air, and sunlight or renewable energy heats it to around 100°F. The captured moisture is released into a chamber, where it’s condensed into drinking water.

The whole process takes 12 hours but can produce a staggering 2,000 liters, or about 500 gallons of drinking-quality water per day. Uravu has since had to adjust course due to the cost of manufacturing and running the machines—it’s just too high for civic use with current materials technology.

“We had to shift to commercial consumption applications as they were ready to pay us, and it’s a sustainability driver for them,” Shrivastav explained. This pivot has so far been enough to keep the start-up afloat, and they produce water for 40 different hospitality clients.

Looking ahead, Shrivastav, Raja, and Balaji are planning to investigate whether the desiccant can be made more efficient. Can it work at a lower temperature to reduce running costs, or is there another material that might prove more cost-effective?

They’re also looking at running their device attached to data centers in a pilot project that would see them utilize the waste heat coming off the centers to heat the desiccant.

The good news in this article is that smart people are exploring ideas that seem more fiction than reality to solve real problems. Today’s JohnKu talks about the potential of the human brain. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Ingenuity by John W. Howell © 2024

An idea born,

From a sci-fi writer’s brain. . .

Is now feasible.