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 Best Positive News We’re Celebrating This Week —
Thanks to an ambitious ‘refaunation’ project, Brazil’s blue-and-yellow macaws return to Rio after 200 years
Last spotted by Austrian naturalist Johann Natterer in Rio de Janeiro in 1818, experts say after that, blue-and-yellow macaws were almost certainly wiped out by deforestation, along with other species that once roamed forests around the city.
Now, biologists are bringing the macaws, and the forests they inhabit, back to life as part of an ambitious “refaunacation” project from a group called Refauna to restore the rainforest.
So far, four macaws have been dslowly reintroduced, with another six on the way, and longer-term plans to release 50 of them.
Why is this good news? While locals are delighted to see the iconic birds return to the city, the project is more focused on saving the forest and entire ecosystem, “rebuilding ecological relationships and ensuring that these species can once again perform their ecological roles.”
These 5 citizen science projects have actually made a real difference for the environment
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The global suicide rate has fallen by 40% since the 1990s
The global suicide rate has fallen significantly over the last three decades. According to new data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Global Burden of Disease, the rates have fallen from 15 to 9 deaths per 100,000 people since the 1990s.
The rates differ widely from country to country, with experts citing bans on highly toxic pesticides as an effective way to reduce a common method of suicide in many low-to middle-income countries.
Sri Lanka has seen the most improvement. In the early 2000s, the South Asian island country had the second-highest suicide rate in the world after Greenland. After banning the most toxic pesticides, the number of Sri Lankans dying from suicide has more than halved, saving thousands of lives every year.
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An outdoorsman launched a website to preserve national park history being erased by the Trump administration
For the past year, the Trump administration has removed or altered hundreds of signs and exhibits from national parks across the U.S. that covered topics like climate change, pollution, slavery, and Indigenous history.
Last month, a whistleblower posted a list of all of the signs, exhibits, and more the Trump administration had planned to alter or remove at national parks across the country.
Public lands advocate Mike Beebe said the while the documentation was helpful, it was difficult to sift through — so he created an interactive, searchable website called MissingParkHistory.com to preserve and document every piece of media set to be removed.
Why is this good news? People deserve to have accurate historical information, not history that’s been sanitized or cherry-picked to fit a particular narrative. We deserve to know about how climate change has impacted Glacier National Park, about air pollution in Bryce Canyon, and about slavery and civil rights, LGBTQ history, and internment camps — all histories our national parks and monuments help preserve.
Some polar bears are showing unprecedented resilience to climate change. Scientists think this is why
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Britain broke its solar energy generation record two days in a row
Solar farms in England, Wales, and Scotland generated 14.1 gigawatts of electricity at lunchtime on Monday, surpassing the previous record of 14 GW in July last year. One day later, that record was broken again, with 14.4 GW generated on Tuesday.
The back-to-back record-setting days happened as the government also approved plans for the U.K.’s largest solar farm to “bring stability and lower bills in an uncertain world” by increasing homegrown low-carbon energy.
Once complete, the newly approved project is expected to power the equivalent of 180,000 homes a year when generating at its maximum capacity.
A YouTuber and former NASA engineer invested $60M on STEM curriculum — it’s completely free for teachers
A NASA engineer turned YouTube sensation with over 75 million subscribers, Mark Rober makes creative, silly science experiments for an audience of primarily young viewers. It’s part of his mission to “get kids stoked about science.”
While he dreams of being a middle school science teacher himself, in the meantime, Rober just invested $60 million on a STEM curriculum to make it easier for teachers to implement fun, engaging lessons in STEM, without spending their own money on materials.
He just announced the final product at TED2026: Class CrunchLabs, an online STEM curriculum program tailored to grades 3 through 8 that “exceeds” state science standards — and it’s completely free for teachers.
Why is this good news? As Rober said in his TED Talk, “The reason we’re doing this is because it breaks my heart when I see teachers who get paid salaries that as a society we should be ashamed of, spending their own money on resources that totally suck.”
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In her first TED Talk, Malala shares 3 steps to keep fighting when hope feels lost
→ Read more (and watch her talk!)
A South African politician went snorkeling in a pothole to highlight her city’s infrastructure issues
Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille is a 75-year-old politician. And on March 28, she donned a wetsuit and snorkeling gear and leapt into a massive water-filled trench in the middle of a suburb.
The water has been collecting for three years due to a burst water pipe that remains broken, despite the city’s repeated attempts to fix it. It is a symptom of Johannesburg’s larger infrastructure issues, from recent electricity cuts to damaged roads.
Zille was in good spirits as she swam in the pothole to bring attention to the mismanaged policies, saying, “Here we are with a free and wonderful Saturday-afternoon snorkel.”
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In a first-of-its-kind effort, Hawaii is turning ocean plastic into roads to reduce pollution
Researchers in Hawaii are covering roads with asphalt mixed with plastic waste and old fishing nets, using marine debris for the first time ever in a plastic paving initiative.
Hawaii has a unique exposure to plastic pollution, a combination of discarded fishing gear, tourist waste, and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which engulfs the islands every few years.
About 90 metric tons of plastic trash have been removed from the waters and beaches around Hawaii, and more than a metric ton of fishing nets alone have already been paved into the state’s roads.
What’s the nuance? Researchers shared the public’s concerns about wear and tear on the roads leading to microplastics leaching into the environment. Early test results show that there wasn’t significant microplastic release compared to roads with no plastic mixed in, but this is still an important consideration to monitor.
This state ‘hurricane-prepped’ the roofs of 53,000 homes. Here’s how they held up during an actual hurricane
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Teen birth rates hit a historic low in 2025, continuing decades of decline
According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the birth rate for teens aged 15 to 19 in 2025 dropped 7% from the previous year, continuing a decline that has been underway for decades.
The current rate is about 11.7 births per 1,000 teens, which is five times lower than the same metric in the early 1990s.
Experts attribute the decline to several factors, including broader access to contraception, expanded sex education programs, and larger shifts in social behavior as young women delay relationships to pursue work and academic opportunities.
Forbes announced a new ‘True Net Wealth’ ranking that incorporates how much billionaires give away
Billionaires “all have one thing in common,” Forbes Editor-in-Chief Randall Lane said from the TED2026 stage, “Nobody likes them.” One reason for that, he said, is how little of their wealth they use to make the world a better place.
So, Forbes announced its new “True Net Wealth” list that takes into account money given away by billionaires: “True Net Worth is your regular net worth, combined with the money you’ve donated, that we appreciate like you still own it,” Lane explained.
He showed how the top-five ranking changes when you look at net wealth, and True Net Wealth, which adds Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in the number one and two slots. He also highlighted the list’s “biggest movers,” which includes billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Why is this good news? Lane said the list’s purpose is “to offer role models for billionaires, for millionaires — for thousandaires. Give while you live … [it] supports the system that makes all of us prosperous.”
→ Read more
This 13-year-old serves home-cooked meals to the homeless. He now has nearly half a million followers
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Used electric vehicles are cheaper and more available than ever
Used electric vehicles in the U.S. are more affordable than ever, dropping to the point where the average cost of a used EV is now within about $1,300 of a comparable gas vehicle.
The change comes as many EVs are coming off of leases and entering the used car market, pushing prices down across the board. EV batteries are also lasting longer than initially estimated, the cars themselves generally cost less to maintain.
This affordability shift is driving demand, with used EV sales increasing even while new EV sales have declined.
→ Read more
More good news of the week —
A new climate “Solutions Desk” shares good news about what's helping the planet. Mongabay has long stood as a trusted independent media organization reporting on nature and climate change, and now, it’s expanding its good news bureau.
A lifeguard rescued a turtle that had a fishing hook lodged in its throat. Nevaeh Vela found a massive Kemp’s ridley sea turtle buried in the sand — one of the rarest turtles in the world — and quickly called rehabilitation centers to save it.
Analysts estimate that between 30% and 50% of AI data centers planned for the US this year will be delayed or canceled. Many projects cite limits in domestic manufacturing and a lack of electrical components.
Lawmakers in Rhode Island and Virginia are making it easier for victims of gun violence to sue gun companies. A landmark case in New York has inspired other states to hold weapons makers and sellers accountable for dangerous business practices.
Canada aims to double the size of land and water protected from development by 2030. The plan will fund up to 14 marine protected areas, 10 national parks, and 15 national urban parks.
Big Bend National Park staffers photographed and discovered a new plant species while on the job. Further investigations concluded that the plant is so distinctive that it is not just a new species, but is best classified as an entirely new genus within the daisy family.
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave an unrestricted $70 million donation to Meals on Wheels. The organization said it came “at a time when nearly 14 million seniors worry about having enough food and 56% feel lonely, a declared national epidemic, negatively impacting their health and well-being.”
Colorado just enacted the nation’s first law banning arrests based solely on the results of colorimetric drug tests. Popular because they’re cheap, portable, and can screen for drugs in minutes, the common drug tests also lead to false positives at alarming rates.
Europe’s leading drugstore chain confirmed that it will cease all sales of krill products. Krill are a keystone species in the Southern Ocean, converting energy captured by phytoplankton into a food source that sustains whales, penguins, seals, and countless other species.
Researchers turned recovered car battery acid and hard-to-recycle plastic waste into clean hydrogen. The researchers say that their method, which uses a solar-powered reactor, could help address the global mountain of plastic waste.
Two congressmen resigned from Congress this week following allegations of sexual misconduct. One of them, Eric Swalwell, also ended his campaign for governor of California.
A makeshift university in Gaza is giving students a chance to resume their academic studies. Scholars Without Borders, a U.S. nongovernmental organization, established the solar-powered halls of “University City” to bring students back into lectures.
A new vaccine designed to prevent fentanyl overdoses began human trials after years of research. Similar to the flu shot, the vaccine stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies.
A stem cell transplant led to the seventh documented cure of HIV in history. After the procedure, the patient — a 60-year-old man based in Berlin — has no signs of the virus in his immune system.
The African Road Safety Charter just replaced vague guidelines with new laws that aim to halve road deaths by 2030. The charter marks Africa’s first continental and legally-binding road safety governance.
In response to protests, Etsy will ban animal fur sales starting in August. In addition to prohibiting the sale of products made from animal species that are threatened or endangered, Etsy will also ban all products made from or containing natural fur from animals killed for their pelts, “regardless of age or origin.”
A New Orleans aquarium rescued and rehabilitated 35 of the world’s most endangered sea turtles. Audubon Aquarium Rescue of New Orleans released 29 cold-stunned sea turtles back into the Mississippi Gulf Coast, while the others are continuing their recovery at the aquarium.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins developed a new intranasal vaccine for tuberculosis. The experimental vaccine combines two genes that target tuberculosis’s most stubborn bacterial defenses.
The Netherlands just made it illegal to generate nonconsensual nude images using X platform’s Grok. The new court order imposes hefty fines on those who use Elon Musk’s AI tool to create nude images without consent.
A new portable tool uses smartphones to test for water contamination in under one minute. With the help of a smartphone camera, the test strip emits light when it encounters a compound linked to human and animal waste.
A 72-year-old artist is giving families impacted by the LA wildfires their homes back. Ruth Askren grew up in the Palisades, and began volunteering with Homes in Memoriam, a collective of artists who paint free home portraits for families displaced by the wildfires.
The St. Louis Blues became the first NHL team to broadcast a regional game in American Sign Language. It was part of St. Louis’ ASL Awareness Night, a result of the widespread success the Blues had last season with forward Jake Neighbours designing ASL-themed hats.
Tens of thousands of Brazilian inmates have reduced their prison time by reading books. Through the reading program, detainees can shave off their sentences by up to 48 days per year.
In the Ecuadorian Amazon, scientists teamed up with Indigenous communities to replace traditional boats with solar boats. The innovation greatly reduced noise pollution, leading to ecological recovery.
Fishermen are using temperature sensors to collect climate data as they catch fish. Nearly 150 fishermen from Maine to North Carolina are part of a new nonprofit program that measures the ocean’s ever-changing conditions. (Gifted link)
