Today’s good news story comes from Twisted Sifter and was sent to me by Noelle Granger.

Anyone who has had their heart broken by images of dolphins or sea turtles struggling or even dying because they got tangled up in plastic waste will know exactly why single-use plastics are hated.

Not only are these materials wasteful, they are also highly polluting and difficult to dispose of. If it ever does break down, it can take hundreds or even thousands of years, after which time microplastics still remain.

And what’s worse is the sheer volume of plastic that isn’t properly disposed of, meaning that it often drifts out in our waterways and ends up in our oceans.

It’s no wonder that 99% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is comprised of plastic.

Plenty of plastic alternatives have been rolled out, and that’s definitely a good thing.

From paper and cardboard packaging replacing the plastic that has proliferated our stores for decades, to refill stores selling loose items with the ability to fill your own containers, it’s great to see manufacturers and retailers doing their bit to help our planet and its valuable, vulnerable ecosystems.

But there are still some situations in which plastic is needed, for example where liquids are involved. And thus, researchers in Japan have been working on creating viable biodegradable alternatives to plastic in order to fill this gap in the market.

And according to their paper, which has been recently published in the journal Science Advances, they’ve had a breakthrough.

Isobe et al/Science Advances

When it came to the creation of their replacement plastic product, the team were driven by the acknowledgement that even with the best intentions, some waste items are still likely to end up in our oceans. As such, they explain in their paper, they created a material suitable for this:

“To mitigate marine pollution from single-use plastics, it is crucial to transition to next-generation commodity materials that are derived from biomass and are recyclable and marine biodegradable even at abyssal depths in case of the accidental release to the ocean.”

Thus the product that they have created – known as transparent paperboard (tPB) – has been proven to fully disintegrate even in the most challenging of aquatic conditions in under a year.

But if this is the case, would it still be effective in holding liquids? Well, as the researchers explain, the transparent paperboard (which, like paper, is made of cellulose from plants) is capable of carrying boiling water for hours without leaking:

“The tPB is made entirely of pristine cellulose and compositionally identical to paper. A cup-shaped tPB can hold just-boiled water without an internal film coating because of its high wet tensile properties and anisotropic thermal properties.”

And with a thin coating, this transparent material can hold all kinds of liquids for even longer.

Isobe et al/Science Advances

The real cherry on top of their sustainable product is the fact that the product not only breaks down into harmless molecules in water, but that it is fully recyclable too:

“The spent tPB is material recyclable in a closed system, where all chemicals and water are also recyclable. Furthermore, the marine biodegradability of tPB across shallow to abyssal depths is confirmed by on-site degradation tests and metagenomic analyses. Hence, tPB is expected to serve as a key fully circular commodity material in sustainable societies of the future.”

There is one small downside to the recycling of tPB, and that is that the recycled material is a little less transparent that its predecessor.

But in a world in which our climate and all of our most vital ecosystems are at risk, is fully clear packaging really a priority?

Thanks to the hard work of this team, for whom further testing is underway, we might be a whole lot closer to being free from single-use plastics forever.

The good news in this story is that there is more work being done to eliminate single use plastics. Today’s John Ku looks forward to the day when single use plastics are a thing of the past. I hope you have a beautiful weekend.

Single Use by John W. Howell ©2025

Imagine the sea,

With no plastic any where . . .

Healthy is the norm.

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

Envisioned as a way to provide water to communities whose groundwater is too brackish to drink, the device’s real trick is adjusting its desalination activity in response to the amount of solar power it produces.

Multiple times every second, the central control module takes readings of the strength of the sunlight and pumps correspondingly more or less water through the electrodialysis membrane stack. This innovation allows the whole package to skip the necessity for battery storage for times when the panels are producing more energy than the system is using.

No batteries means much lower costs and shipping weight, making it ideal for rural communities in arid parts of the Global South or southern United States with ample yearly sunshine and brackish groundwater.

Electrodialysis is one of two methods for desalinating water, with the other being reverse osmosis. Both have drawbacks at both the micro and macro scale, and in the case of electrodialysis, it requires electricity, which is typically produced by fossil fuels. Renewables have replaced them before, but challenges persist.

“The majority of the population actually lives far enough from the coast that seawater desalination could never reach them. They consequently rely heavily on groundwater, especially in remote, low-income regions,” says Jonathan Bessette, MIT PhD student in mechanical engineering and co-author on the project.

“[U]nfortunately, this groundwater is becoming more and more saline due to climate change. This technology could bring sustainable, affordable clean water to under-reached places around the world.”

For Bessette and the team behind the invention, their biggest challenge was establishing feedback mechanisms in the system that were sharp enough to detect minute changes in sunlight, for example, if a whisp of cloud passes by.

Over months of testing and improvements, their “flow command-current control” module gradually reached the point at which 94% of the solar power generated by the panels was utilized immediately to pump water through the desalination system without any lag and any transfer of power to a battery.

During a 6-month field trial at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the system produced 5,000 liters of water per day despite large swings in weather and available sunlight.

“Conventional desalination technologies require steady power and need battery storage to smooth out a variable power source like solar,” explains Amos Winter, a decorated professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “Being able to make drinking water with renewables, without requiring battery storage, is a massive grand challenge. And we’ve done it.”

Amos and Bessette are now looking to form a company to develop the technology into a product to help water-stressed communities worldwide.

The good news about this story is that fresh water can be made without using fossil fuels. Today’s JohnKu talks about chipping away at innovation. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Perseverance by John W. Howell © 2025

Big problems exist,

Continued working on them . . .

produces results.

Today’s good news story comes from the blog #PassItOn. 

It was sent to me by Monika, the head rancher at Tales Around the Ranch blog

Teen Helps Keep 655,000 Batteries Out of Landfills.

May 13, 2025 by By Cathy Stack

EDISON, New Jersey—A 10-year-old started a nationwide movement with a campaign to keep discarded batteries out of landfills.

After watching the news with his family and seeing a waste disposal plant fire that had been caused by a lithium-ion battery, Sri Nihal Tammana decided to do some research. He learned that people discard 15 billion batteries each year, and most end up in landfills. These batteries can create toxic chemical pollution and dangerous fires.

Motivated to tackle the environmental hazard, Sri Nihal began collecting batteries in his neighborhood. After recruiting volunteers to help, the effort soon laid the groundwork for developing a full-scale non-profit program.

When Sri Nihal began his environmental movement, he collected the batteries and then took them to a retail store that offered a recycling program. To his disappointment, the store notified him that he would have to discontinue his effort due to the bin’s limited capacity.

Determined to continue the program, Sri Nihal contacted Call2Recycle to form a partnership. Call2Recycle agreed to provide free, fire-proof recycling bins for school libraries and various business offices. Encouraged, Sri Nihal then contacted his school district’s superintendent for permission to place the bins in the school district’s 19 schools, which he received. Then he recruited students to volunteer their time to distribute the bins.

The program has now evolved into a non-profit organization, Recycle My Battery, which installs the battery recycling bins in strategic public places. To date, nearly 655,000 batteries have been deposited in these bins and kept out of landfills. The organization also educates millions about the importance of preventing environmental harm by recycling batteries.

“If I can make Earth a better place to live, you can!” encourages Sri Nihal. “If you can make Earth a better place to live, we all can!”

Battery recycling provides several environmental benefits. Keeping batteries out of landfills prevents harmful elements and chemicals, such as mercury and lead, from seeping into groundwater. Recycling these materials also conserves natural resources, which helps prevent further pollution from extraction processes. It also aids in the prevention of dangerous fires.

Recycle My Battery has grown to a team of 900 passionate student volunteers. There are 1,000 bins in schools, libraries, and businesses nationwide.

Students can start a school-based battery recycling challenge by signing up on the Recycle My Battery website. Individuals can also visit the website to request a battery recycling bin or to start a chapter in their own community.

“Earth gives us so much – oxygen, food, water – everything!”– so it’s important that we give something back when we can,” Sri Nihal said.

In 2022, Sri Nihal received the CNN Heroes Young Wonder Award for his work creating Recycle My Battery.

Now 16, he continues to spread the movement. Through media news outlets, school programs and corporate workshops, he increases public awareness about the program and its impact on the environment. He has delivered two TED talks in which he discusses the hazards of battery waste and solutions to address the problem. He and his team also set a Guinness World Record for laying out the longest line of batteries.

“Through education, innovation, and advocacy, I aim to mobilize millions more changemakers and ensure a cleaner, safer planet for future generations—one battery at a time,” said Sri Nihal.

The Foundation and PassItOn believe that Sri Nihal is a hero. His inspiring action is a great example of making a difference. His work provides a powerful reminder that through passion, dedication, and action, we can all make a positive change in the world.

Here is a link to learn more about this effort.

The good news is that a youngster started a movement to help reduce waste. The reason this is good news is recycled batteries are processed to recover valuable materials, including metals and plastics, which are then reused in new products, including new batteries. The process typically involves shredding, sorting, and then either melting or dissolving the components for materials recovery.  Today’s JohnKu talks about involvement. I hope you have a great weekend. Thanks again for this inspiring story, Monika.

Action by John W. Howell © 2025

Some curse the darkness,

Others take action for light . . .

Which side are we on?

Today’s story comes from the Good News Network.

If the man on the street had to guess the best metric for healthy aging, they might say blood pressure, cholesterol levels, lean muscle mass, blood triglycerides, or even telomere length if they follow aging science closely.

But it turns out that one of the best is grip strength. According to Joshua Davis at the University of Derby, UK, this relatively underdeveloped conditioning area is increasingly recognized as one of the most reliable markers of human health.

Grip strength is associated with positive health outcomes, whether measuring for diabetes risk or depression, and you don’t need any expensive equipment to measure it. Davis recommends you simply pop the top off a can of tennis balls.

“Being able to maintain a maximal squeeze on something like a tennis ball for 15-30 seconds would be a good standard to strive for,” Davis told the BBC.

It’s not necessarily the case that being the one in the house whose hands are the most capable of opening a stubborn pickle jar means you’ll live the longest. Instead, it’s the case that grip strength is an efficient proxy for total muscle conditioning, which is itself an excellent proxy for overall nutrition, physical activity, and disease profiles. In other words, it’s a proxy for a proxy.

For example, the BBC report cites one study that found grip strength to be an effective predictor of sarcopenia, the decline in muscle conditioning associated with aging, strongly correlated with mortality. Another study found that of those in middle age who had their grip strength measured in 1965, the ones who lived to be 100 were 2.5 times more likely to have had grip strength results in the highest third.

Yet another paper found that grip strength has a prognostic value for human longevity that exceeds blood pressure, one of the vital signs controlled for in every hospital patient.

It’s almost certainly not the case that developing grip strength alone will protect against disease and early mortality; as mentioned above, it’s a proxy for overall muscle conditioning.

There’s an old saying in medicine: “Break your hip, die of pneumonia.”

Muscle mass is one of the best defenses against the ravages of age. It cushions the joints and bones and provides protection from falls and the subsequent fractures that gave rise to this ghastly adage. It also soaks up excess glucose in the blood to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance.

The BBC also spoke with Mark Peterson, a physical medicine and rehabilitation professor at the University of Michigan. Peterson conducted a 2022 study that found that deep down in our DNA, patterns of methylated molecules in those with weak grip strength indicated they were aging at an accelerated rate.

If you don’t have a grip dynamometer to measure precisely how much force your handshake can exert, you can always perform the tennis ball test.

The good news in this article is not the grip as an indicator of overall health, but the idea of the benefits of continuing exercises to maintain muscle mass. Is it worth it? Yes. Today’s JohnKu talks about health. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Our Future by John W. Howell © 2025

When it comes to health,

We are in charge of our own. . .

Don’t stop exercise.

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

No AC Needed in India’s Heat: Inside Gujarat’s Eco-Friendly ‘Cool House’

Western India is home to one of the hottest deserts on Earth, and the residents of the western states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have traditionally used architecture to keep cool.

Utilizing principles of thermodynamics, one house in the city of Bharuch, where temperatures can hover at 110°F for days during the summer, stays cool all day and all summer without ever needing the air conditioning switched on.

In fact, the building’s interior is a breezy, green, “introverted space” that passively cools the air inside by a whopping 18°F, all using simple science.

“We used the direction of the winds, design, and cooling materials to lower the heat of the house,” Samira Rathod, the principal architect of the ‘Cool House’ and founder of Samira Rathod Design Atelier (SRDA), told The Better India, reporting on the story.

“The plot had three buildings around it and a road on one side. The only view that the house would have was the neighbor’s building. An introverted house was a good choice in that sense. It is basically one where the house opens up when you go inside it. It would look like a rather closed structure from the outside,” she explains.

Indeed, it might even be called depressing, as its front door is hidden between two giant, 18-inch-thick facades of gray and black. But inside, a design reminiscent of a railroad track sees the rooms divided on either side of a giant split in the house, built to align with the current of the wind off the ocean.

Bharuch is situated on the Indian Ocean, and despite the scorching temperatures, a breeze is present throughout much of the city at various times during the day. The narrow slit in the house leverages the Venturi effect, which states that the narrower the space an element must pass through, the faster and colder it becomes.

The principle can be seen in human breath, which emerges hot through an open mouth but cool through pursed lips. The same effect can be seen in rivers, where narrow channels cause the water to speed up and form rapids, while wide, flat lands cause the water to slow down.

The wind from the sea enters the split and hits an interior courtyard where a pool of water cools it down further. Entering the 10,500 square foot home interior, a second courtyard aids in circling it around each room, where the family lives with three generations.

“The house looks inwards and we have created courtyards with trees so it feels like you are looking outside rather than inside,” said Rathod.

GNN has previously reported on Indian architecture in this part of the country. Natural designs like envelopes, air channels, and even “wind towers” could, and probably should, become standard designs in parts of the world where temperatures are predicted to rise, such as the southwest United States or Southern Europe.

In Rajasthan’s city of Bhilwara, a “House of Arches” ensures that no part of the building is exposed to the sun thanks to a building envelope that provides shade and air circulation.

The science lies in the separation of the envelope from the house itself. Even as the sun’s rays heat the envelope, wind and moisture evaporation can penetrate the space between the house and the envelope to reduce the radiant heat that enters the living areas.

The good news in this story is that it is possible to engineer structures with features that can reduce the need for electricity for cooling. Today’s JohnKu talks about new thinking. I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Progress by John W. Howell © 2025

Demand reduction,

May be the solution at hand . . .

To solve climate change.

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

GNN has reported on multiple occasions how artificial intelligence is being leveraged to detect signs of cancer.

Now, a team of high schoolers is using AI to help their community combat one of the deadliest forms: oral cancer.

The Oral Scan app detects signs of oral cancer using a photo taken on a smartphone with an 82% success rate. If the AI finds evidence of a tumor, it can diagnose the stage with an even better 87% success rate.

Not bad for a bunch of teenagers, and even though 82% is below what most medical ethicists believe should be the threshold for outsourcing tumor identification to a machine, it’s far better than the rate of 0%, which is what many in the team’s home state of Arkansas will experience.

52,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer every year, and more than 12,000 die as a result, according to their research. Early detection of oral cancers can boost survival rates by 40%, but such cancers are detected early in only 30% of cases.

In dental deserts, these numbers are even worse. In Arkansas, for example, 90% of the population didn’t visit a dentist last year, and according to one dental surgeon the team spoke with, whole counties in Arkansas don’t even have a dentist to visit.

“We learned that current diagnosis methods are expensive, intrusive, and often inaccurate, making early detection rare,” said Veera Unnam, one of the team members, from Bentonville West High School.

Their response is Oral Scan, a free app that costs just 50 cents for each diagnosis and delivers a response in just 15 seconds.

The team designed the app to be usable in all countries on both Apple and Android IOS and ensured it. was easy and intuitive to use, showing their commitment not only to Arkansas but the world at large.

Recently, Unnam and his two colleagues entered Oral Scan into the 15th annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, empowering public school students (grades 6-12) to drive positive change in their communities by applying STEM know-how to address real-world, pressing issues.

Each finalist school receives $50,000 in Samsung technology and supplies and will compete at the live Solve for Tomorrow Pitch Event in Washington, DC, on April 28th. Three National Winners will each earn $100,000 in prizes, and one will be named the Community Choice Winner.

Celebrating the 15th year of Solve For Tomorrow, Samsung has awarded more than $27 million in resources to nearly 4,000 public schools across the US to date, and the Oral Scan team will be hoping they’re among the recent winners. However, before the winner’s announcement, Oral Scan is already getting national news headlines, and the team has been invited to speak at medical conferences to present their invention.

You can watch the student’s presentation here.

The good news about this story is that a team of students took the initiative to find a way for the unserved to check for oral cancer. Today’s JohnKu talks about youth and the future. I hape you have a wonderful weekend.

Genius by John W. Howell © 2025

Inspired young people,

Working together achieve . . .

Results called genius.

Today’s good news story comes from the Ass0ciated Press

With tears and tail wags, San Quentin inmates reunite with puppies they raised into service dogs

By  OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ – Updated 3:17 PM CDT, April 1, 2025

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — Hugs, tears, barking, and tail wagging abounded at San Quentin’s prison when two black Labradors reunited with the incarcerated men who helped raise them to be service dogs.

The emotional reunion brought Chase Benoit, Jared Hansen, and the 2-year-old dogs they helped train Wendel and Artemis. It was the men’s first time seeing their former canine companions again and their first time meeting the dogs’ disabled handlers in person.

The encounter Friday in San Quentin’s main courtyard brought Benoit and Hansen full circle after helping launch the prison’s puppy training program in April 2023.

“Being in this program, it’s given me something that I think I’ve searched for my whole life,” said Benoit, who is serving 15 years to life for second-degree murder. “And that was meaningful purpose, doing something that’s good, better, bigger than myself and feeling like I’m part of something great.”

“He remembers me, for sure, I could tell when he came in. I’m so happy that you love him and that you have a bond,” Benoit told Quigley through an American Sign Language interpreter.

“He’s with me 24/7. He’s very gentle and good with people,” answered Quigley, a recent college graduate who took Wendel home in November after the black Labrador and golden retriever mix completed another six months of professional training outside prison.

Teaching pups the fundamentals in prison

Benoit and Jensen were part of an initial group of four incarcerated trainers who shared their 4-foot-by-10-foot cells with the 4-month-old puppies. The men divided the responsibility of caring for and teaching the dogs foundational commands for a year.

Canine Companions, a nonprofit based in Santa Rosa, runs the program and provides free service dogs to people with disabilities. It has built the San Quentin program to 16 trainers and two dog sitters who, as of this week, are training eight puppies.

Artemis, a black Labrador, was matched with Benjamin Carter, a veterinarian from Portland, Oregon, who uses a wheelchair and traveled to California for the reunion.

Like proud parents, Carter and Hansen shared notes on Artemis’ calm and loving personality and penchant for cuddles.

“Seeing him in action and actually serving somebody in the community, it’s just … I’m at a loss for words right now. It’s amazing!” said Hansen, who has been in prison for 15 years for bank robbery.

Artemis, or Artie, pushes door plates, pulls doors open, fetches things around the house, and does many other tasks that would be hard for Carter alone.

First work, then cuddles

“He is responsive when he’s working. He is cuddly when he is off the clock. He’s an amazing companion. And all that structure, love, and trust was built from these guys here, so I’m just super grateful to them,” Carter said.

The puppies are placed with incarcerated trainers when they are between 2 and 4 months old and stay with them until they are about 16 to 17 months old. Every three months, the puppies are taken out for socialization experiences like interacting with children, riding in cars, or going to the grocery store.

The incarcerated men teach the dogs about 20 skills, including fetching, sitting, and walking on a leash. After the dogs leave the prison, they train for several more months with professional trainers.

People incarcerated at San Quentin and who participate in the program have been convicted of crimes that include bank robberies, gun offenses, and murder. Only those in an “earned living unit,” where residents participate in an array of self-help programs, are allowed to apply for puppy training. Inmates with records that include any animal or child cruelty crimes are not allowed to participate, said James Dern, national director of puppy programs for Canine Companions.

The value of time

Dern said dogs trained in their prison programs have a 10% greater success rate at becoming service dogs than other candidates because of the amount of time and care that incarcerated puppy raisers put into their dogs.

“Being given something to care about other than themselves and the opportunity to give back and to sort of start to make amends for the things they have done in their lives can be life-changing,” Dern said.

San Quentin was once home to the largest death row population in the United States. The puppy training program started the year it transformed into a lockup where less-dangerous prisoners receive education, training, and rehabilitation. Since then, another 11 correctional facilities have joined the nonprofit for a total of 24 prison institutions, Dern said.

Speaking to a crowd at the prison chapel gathered to celebrate the program, Benoit credited Canine Companions with bringing out the humanity, love, and caring in the incarcerated community. “Instead of keeping it to themselves within their small community of professional trainers or even volunteer puppy raisers, they shared this with us in prison. I think that’s huge,” he said.

The good news in this story is that people who have made grave mistakes can find a new path by helping others. Today’s JohnKu talks about second chances. I hope you have a delightful weekend.

Another Start by John W. Howell © 2025

Should a mistake mean,

That one is damned forever?

Or can good works win.