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 —
Texas saw a new record number of endangered sea turtle nests on its coastline
As of mid-June, biologists in Texas have documented 383 Kemp’s ridley turtle nests — breaking the previous record of 353 set in 2017. Last year, there were only 340. Nesting season is still underway, so that number could end up being even higher.
Most of the world’s Kemp’s ridley turtles nest on a beach in Mexico, but Texas has become an important nesting ground thanks to joint conservation efforts.
Decades of collaboration, patience, and the involvement of “thousands of people” volunteering to help have helped raise the number of nests.
Why is this good news? The Kemp’s ridley is the smallest and most endangered sea turtle on the planet. The commitment of both Texas and Mexico, along with local coastal communities, to aid their recovery demonstrates the importance of dedicated conservation efforts.
Jamaica’s ‘crocodile guardian’ has spent four decades fighting to save the island’s last remaining crocs
Jamaica’s American crocodile population long dominated mangroves and coastal lagoons on the island. More recently, its numbers have ben decimated due to illegal hunting, habitat loss, plastic pollution, and killings based on lingering fears among locals.
Known as the “Crocodile Guardian” on the island, Lawrence Henriques is on a mission to change that and has been working to save the feared predator for four decades.
He runs the Holland Bay Crocodile Sanctuary, a grassroots conservation project located on the edge of what he says is one of Jamaica’s last viable crocodile habitats.
After USAID cuts hit Jane Goodall’s reforestation initiative, an internet search engine stepped in to fill the gap
In 2019, the Jane Goodall Institute received funding support from USAID to create its Landscape Conservation in Western Tanzania initiative, a five-year, $29.5 million program that would help mitigate threats to chimpanzees and their ecosystems and uplift surrounding communities.
The program officially launched in 2023, but under the Trump administration’s budget cuts, lost its funding, threatening the future of the entire initiative, but one particularly crucial reforestation effort in Tanzania’s Gombe Masito Ugalla biosphere reserve.
So, Ecosia — the search engine that donates 100% of its profits to climate action and has planted over 200 million trees across the globe — stepped in, providing $100,000 in support over the next three years to help save the Gombe reforestation project.
Why is this good news? Preserving critical ecosystems around the world impacts all of us — whether we’re nearby or far away. While short of the full funding amont, Ecosia’s support will plant 360,000 seedlings, protect 20 existing nurseries, and preserve local jobs overseeing the care of these trees.
Providing a safe place to play, a summer camp in Ohio hosted wounded children from Gaza
Three dozen wounded Palestinian children and their families got a break from the war raging in Gaza at a summer camp in Ohio’s Mohican State Park.
They were hosted by HEAL Palestine, which helps the youngest victims of the war in Gaza, running field hospitals and food kitchens, and providing educational programs.
After realizing they were confronting “the largest population of child amputees in modern history,” the nonprofit organized the summer camp for the dozens of children they’ve brought to the U.S. to receive specialized care.
Why is this good news? All children deserve to laugh, play, and grow in safety, peace, and stability. At the camp, the children could experience all of those things alongside others like them, in a space designed for them.
Elementary schoolers invent remote-control ‘orca’ robot to clean up beach trash
Charitable giving grew to nearly $600 billion in 2024
An annual report found that U.S. charitable giving increased 3.3% to US$593 billion in 2024, the second-highest level on record after adjusting for inflation.
Giving grew at the fastest pace since 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic led many Americans to make larger-than-usual donations. It was also the first time since then that growth in giving outpaced inflation.
The report found that a strong economy, which grew 2.8% in 2024, bolstered individual and corporate giving and allowed foundations to maintain historically high levels of giving. Additionally, stock markets performed well that year, personal income rose, and inflation eased.
An Interior Department policy asked national park visitors to report ‘negative’ content — they’re complimenting rangers instead
Even after funding and staffing cuts, the national parks were hit with a new Interior Department policy: posted signs asked visitors to report not just maintenance needs or service improvements, but “negative” history.
Fortunately, the new signs had the opposite effect. A review of hundreds of comments submitted found that the vast majority of visitors used the feedback forms to praise park programs, rangers, tour guides, and more.
“The park rangers and volunteers at Catoctin are fantastic and go above and beyond to tell the full American story,” one visitor commented from the Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland.
Why is this good news? National parks and monuments are beautiful, no doubt — and they tell the whole truth about the country’s history. National parks and monuments help us remember even the dark parts of U.S. history, like the Underground Railroad and slavery, and the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
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‘America In One Room’: Study put 200 voters together for days — they changed each other’s minds on hot-button issues
Over 5,000 people expressed interest in running for office following the New York City mayoral primary
Now officially the nominee for the Democratic Party in November’s general election for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani’s win in the primary election last month saw a range of reactions.
But there’s one that goes beyond any one city or election. A week after the primary election, Run For Something shared that it had seen a total of 5,000 new prospective candidates — its “biggest candidate recruitment surge ever.”
While Run For Something does specifically promote progressive values, reduced civic engagement and participation impacts all Americans. The organization also specifically works with Gen-Z and millennial candidates, potentially pointing to a renewed sense of hope and faith in the electoral process among young Americans.
More good news of the week —
Horses on a Kentucky farm are helping men live sober, train for jobs, and reunite with their families. After struggling with addiction himself, Frank Taylor’s idea for the Stable Recovery program was born out of a need for help on his family’s 1,100-acre farm that has foaled and raised some of racing’s biggest stars in the heart of Kentucky horse country.
Scientists discovered a new butterfly species that’s been “shaped by 40,000 years of evolutionary solitude.” The important discovery was given the common name of “curiously isolated hairstreak,” and there was “no evidence of contemporary or recent gene flow” between another hairstreak species, indicating that it had evolved in isolation.
In a groundbreaking partnership, Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe is working to protect environmentally significant lands for wildlife. The tribe says it has a “moral obligation” to protect the same lands that provided refuge for them almost two centuries ago during the Seminole wars, when the federal government tried to banish them to Indian lands in what would become Oklahoma.
After more than 500 years of absence, the beaver is back in Portugal. This significant step in river rewilding in the country, the beaver’s return follows around two decades of the species recovering in neighboring Spain.
In a major win for global bird conservation, three chicks from one of the rarest bird species in the world hatched in Brazil. Experts at Ohio’s Toledo Zoo played an integral role in planning protection and recovery efforts of the blue-eyed ground dove after a recent count showed that only 11 adults remained in the wild.
Endangered fish saved from the Palisades fire were returned to their Malibu home. With the impacts of the fires threatening to kill off the fish, scientists and citizen volunteers rescued 760 northern tidewater gobies from Topanga Lagoon, an unassuming biodiversity hotspot located off the Pacific Coast Highway that drains into the Santa Monica Bay.
The Supreme Court upheld a program that provides subsidized internet and phone service to rural communities across the United States. The program operates through the Federal Communications Commission, which Congress established 90 years ago to regulate and ensure reliable and affordable telecommunications services nationwide.
A movement of Black dads is helping support and shape the conversation around autism diagnoses. Their hope is not only to be considered more than sidekicks to mothers of the children, but also to help other Black dads accept autism diagnoses and not prolong getting kids the help that they need.
After decades of pollution, a California community secured a $550 million settlement from Chevron. The Chevron refinery in Richmond, California, produces over 200,000 barrels of oil a day and in the process, it contributes to air pollution in nearby areas, where many residents have asthma.
A UN expert called for the criminalization of climate disinformation and a ban on fossil fuel lobbying. The special rapporteur said that the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and other wealthy fossil fuel nations are legally obliged under international law to fully phase out oil, gas, and coal by 2030 — and compensate communities for harms caused.
A university student in Utah created “Sea Brooms” to prevent waste and fight plastic pollution. Initially just a class project, “Sea Broom” has now turned into a community project, with 21-year-old Luz Garcia selling the brooms at farmers’ markets and doing workshops to show the importance of recycling.
Norway offered residents a $1,000 lottery for recycling, and now 97% of all plastic bottles are returned. People also have the option to choose between a guaranteed refund or the chance to win anywhere from 5 to 100,000 euros, and now, similar programs are being tested in Canada.
A California-based startup developed a plant that continuously upcycles hard-to-recycle plastic waste. The plant is capable of cranking out up to 70 metric tons of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) per year that can be used in everything from sneakers to car seats.
Researchers in Japan developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours. A potential solution for ocean pollution and harming wildlife, researchers say their new material breaks down much more quickly than other “biodegradable” plastics and leaves no residual trace.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled to save free access to HIV prevention medication, cancer screenings, and vaccines. The court upheld a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, ruling that health insurance companies must continue covering preventive services recommended by a federal task force.
The largest group of flamingos seen in the state in over a decade was spotted in the Florida Everglades. The group of 115 flamingos was the latest indication of the iconic bird’s renewed interest in the Sunshine State, where the native population was obliterated more than a century ago. (Paywall)
A new study proves the “deterrence logic” behind criminalizing homelessness doesn’t reduce homelessness. The analysis found that policies like encampment bans did not reduce homelessness in any of the cities studied as a result of such ordinances.
People incarcerated at a Florida county jail are growing mangrove seedlings to protect the state's coastlines. The initiative in Volusia County is part of a broader inmate rehabilitation effort that includes growing fresh foods using hydroponic towers, with future donations of produce going to local homeless shelters and community programs.
Texas became the first Republican-led state to pass a ‘right to repair’ law. Giving Texans access to parts, tools, and repair documentation for digital devices like phones, laptops, and tablets, the law was signed by the governor after it passed unanimously in both the state Senate and House.
Flint, Michigan has replaced most of the city’s lead pipes more than 10 years after contaminated water was found in the city’s water system. The water crisis, which exposed an estimated 100,000 residents to lead, led to national outrage, and state officials said they had now replaced 11,000 lead pipes in the city and restored more than 28,000 affected properties.
An endangered bird that’s native to South Carolina returned to the state for the first time since the 1970s. Endangered mostly due to loss of habitat, the red-cockaded woodpecker population was plummeting for years, but recent recovery efforts, including land protection and habitat management, have proven successful.
Hundreds of residents in east Denver voted to spend “The People’s Budget” to add sun shade to a local park. Denver’s participatory budgeting program — known semi-officially as “The People’s Budget” — asks residents what improvements they want to see in their neighborhood and citywide, giving them a direct vote on what gets funded.
