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 —
Researchers are combining drones and AI to make removing land mines faster and safer
Detecting land mines relies heavily on limited ground-based methods like handheld metal detectors, which struggle in mineral-rich soils and can’t detect low-metal mines, and ground-penetrating radar, which performs poorly in wet, uneven, or plant-covered terrain.
Other methods, like manual probing and trained detection animals, are effective, but slow, resource-intensive, and come with significant risk. And the use of drones alone is limited, too.
So, a group of researchers is creating what they say is the first public dataset to train AI algorithms to help drones detect land mines, transforming it from a slow, dangerous practice “into a safer, smarter, and more scalable process” that can “turn post-conflict landscapes back into places where life can grow again.”
Why is this good news? At least 57 countries have live land mines in their territories. In 2024 alone, 1,945 people were killed by these mines, and 4,325 were injured — 90% of them were civilians and nearly half of those were children. Demining operations are life-saving, and need to happen as quickly and safely as possible.
Leaving wilderness alone isn’t always the best way to protect it, experts say. Here’s what they suggest instead
After it replaced roads with parks and bike lanes, air pollution in Paris fell dramatically
Over the past two decades, Paris has eliminated 50,000 parking spaces and traded streets for bike lanes and green spaces. And now, an independent analysis found that levels of fine particulate matter have decreased 55% since 2005, and nitrogen dioxide levels by 50%.
The dramatic decline is attributed to “regulations and public policies” that limited traffic and banned the most polluting vehicles.
Heat maps of pollution levels 20 years ago reveal almost every neighborhood in the city was above the EU’s limit for nitrogen dioxide, showing how progressive, proactive policies can directly improve health in major urban areas.
→ Read more (Gifted link)
Paris Hilton is raising $1M to give grants to women who lost their businesses due to natural disasters
Paris Hilton just announced the Back in Business Recovery Fund, a collaboration between her social impact organization, 11:11 Media Impact, and GoFundMe’s nonprofit arm to raise and deploy over $1 million to women-owned small businesses rebuilding after natural disasters.
Hilton will back the fundraiser as the lead investor, contributing $350,000 through 11:11 Media Impact, and GoFundMe.org will also contribute an additional $100,000, all with the goal of providing direct, flexible “recovery capital” to women who own small businesses and have been impacted by future disasters.
The fund is built on a proven model, which Hilton and her impact partners coordinated after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires. At that time, they gave over $1 million in cash grants to 50 women-owned small businesses.
Why is this good news? Hilton said it best: “When women are funded, they outperform, so I am proud to help women-owned small businesses across the country rebuild, thrive, and continue leading in their communities.”
→ Read more
‘Pints and Ponytails’ teaches dads how to braid their daughter’s hair over beers at the pub — and it’s going viral online
Olivia Rodrigo wins Amplifier Award for championing reproductive justice and girls' education
At the “Music Is Universal” event, Olivia Rodrigo received the Universal Music Group x REVERB Amplifier Award, which celebrates artists for their activism beyond music.
Central to her impact is Fund 4 Good, launched during her Guts World Tour, which donated a portion of ticket sales to nonprofits that champion reproductive health freedom, girls’ education, and gender‑based violence prevention globally.
Rodrigo said the honor underscores her belief that artists can be a force for lasting impact beyond entertainment, with music serving as a tool for connection and activism. Previous winners include Billie Eilish and boygenius members Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker.
UK greenhouse gas emissions fell to the lowest level in over 150 years, as coal hit a 400-year low
A new analysis found that in 2025, greenhouse gas emissions in the U.K. fell to 364 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent — the lowest since 1872. Emissions have now fallen in 27 of the 36 years since 1990.
Coal use in the country was cut in half, dropping to levels last seen in 1600, thanks to the end of coal power, closures, and industry issues. Gas use fell to the lowest level since 1992.
Notably, oil use also fell by 0.9%, despite a rise in car traffic, thanks to more than 700,000 new electric vehicles, electric vans, and plug-in hybrids.
Why is this good news? Emissions in the U.K. are now 54% below 1990 levels, all while its GDP has nearly doubled — proving that the clean energy transition is not just good for the planet, it’s good economically for communities and entire countries.
She spent 15 years as a war correspondent. Now, she's changing the way journalists report on crisis
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Teacher wins $1M for turning India’s slums into open-air classrooms
Rouble Nagi, a 45-year-old artist and founder of the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, has established over 800 learning centers across India, bringing education to underserved communities and villages.
Many centres operate in open spaces within slums, with students seated on mats. Teachers often act as counselors, and volunteers visit children’s homes to ensure continued attendance and parental involvement.
With her $1 million prize, Nagi plans to expand to Jammu and Kashmir, creating skill-and-learning centres with technology access.
In ‘one of the most successful wildlife comeback stories,’ bearded vultures have now returned to the French Alps
After a decades-long conservation effort that involved releasing a total of over 260 bearded vultures back into the wild, the species has soared back from local extinction in the French Alps.
Bearded vultures are believed to be the only animal that is ossivorous — they feed mainly on bones, scavenging them from carcasses and dropping them onto rocks to smash them into smaller pieces.
Wildlife experts just discovered the oldest bearded vulture ever recorded in the wild, named Balthazar, who was released in 1988 but had vanished from observations and was presumed dead.
Why is this good news? The bone-smashing birds were hunted to extinction in the Alps and last seen in the early 1900s, and their recovery is hailed as a “huge success” and proof that intention, funding, and support can reverse biodiversity loss.
A man says a Stephen Colbert joke saved his life. He wants to appear on ‘The Late Show’ before it's too late
People in England and Wales are now much less likely to be victims of theft than they were in the 1990s
Based on data gathered from face-to-face interviews, experts found that overall theft trends in England and Wales have declined sharply since the 1990s.
Vehicle-related thefts, which reached their highest levels around 1995, have fallen sharply, and burglaries have seen a similar decline, with both dropping by more than 80% from their peak rates.
The long‑term trend suggests that, despite ongoing challenges in specific theft categories, the typical resident today faces a much lower risk of being a victim of many common theft crimes than people did in the late 20th century.
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Texas banned Pride crosswalks, so San Antonio painted sidewalks rainbow instead
In October 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered cities across the state to remove LGBTQ+ Pride crosswalks and other road markings that “advance political agendas” and “ideologies.”
After it was denied an exemption from the removal, local officials in San Antonio found a creative solution: Moving displays to sidewalks instead. The city’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board helped with the design.
The city was able to install the sidewalks within days of the initial proposal and said it was “abiding by all regulations while demonstrating even greater, more permanent visible support to the LGBTQ+ community.”
Good to know: Governor Abbott said the ban on Pride crosswalks was also a matter of public safety, but it’s important to note that the intersection was safer after the rainbow crosswalks were installed — and painted streets have been proven to be safer than traditional crosswalks.
→ Read more
The world’s first women-only mosque opens its doors — and all guests can enter through the front
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Indonesia becomes the first Asian country to ban elephant rides
Under the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry’s new directive, riding captive elephants is formally prohibited, and authorities have warned that facilities that fail to comply risk losing their permits.
The once common practice can cause physical and psychological harm to elephants kept in captivity for entertainment. Animal welfare organisations praised the ban as a significant advance, with officials calling it a “world-leading step to safeguarding the dignity of wild animals.”
All three wild elephant species are considered endangered or critically endangered. The ban aligns Indonesia with growing global efforts to reduce exploitative wildlife tourism and improve conditions for the threatened species.
More good news of the week —
Boulder, Colorado celebrated the success of its two-year guaranteed income program with a “resilience” art exhibit. The program provided 200 residents with $500 a month in unrestricted, unconditional payments from fall 2023 to fall 2025.
A new report found that solar farms can be havens for rare plants like the threecorner milkvetch. Researchers believe that the shaded microclimate created by panels slows evaporation, helping seedlings thrive.
Forests surrounding China’s Taklamakan Desert now absorb more carbon dioxide than they release. Since 1978, China has been planting billions of trees to combat desertification in one of the world’s largest and driest deserts.
Kenya now offers free six-month HIV prevention care. The injection’s rollout is a huge milestone for the country, where 1.4 million Kenyans live with the virus.
Detection dogs can now detect trafficked wildlife hidden in shipping containers from tiny air samples. Thanks to a new portable device that captures the samples, trained dogs were able to detect trafficked animals with 98% accuray.
Tens of thousands of women marched through Mexico City for International Women’s Day. It’s being reported as the biggest political protest event in a country where studies show about seven out of every 10 women have experienced physical, sexual, emotional, or economic violence.
Researchers are celebrating the “stunning” results of a new prostate cancer treatment. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in many countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., with about 1.5 million men diagnosed worldwide each year.
A new wristwatch concept lets blind and visually impaired people tell time by touch. The watch integrates subtly raised numerals and gently ridged hands into a dial that can be felt with a fingertip.
The NFL delivered a net-zero Super Bowl through large-scale recycling, material reuse, and carbon offsets. Roughly 250 tons of materials were recovered during sustainability efforts — about five times more than the previous Super Bowl.
Twenty-nine banks refuse to back major fossil fuel development in Papua New Guinea. The institutions cited climate, environmental, and human rights concerns over the liquefied natural gas project.
A photo of Harry Styles carrying a tote bag paid for hundreds of people’s therapy. The founder of Other People Fund offered to send Styles some merchandise for free, but he insisted on paying for it — and it led to a surge in purchases after he was photographed carrying it.
A new study reveals a shift towards better mental health representation in films and on television. The research team identified an industry-wide shift toward more inclusive and responsible portrayals of mental health, as well as a 15% drop in derogatory language.
Senegal is using electric buses to cut traffic in half and create hundreds of new jobs. The solar-powered fleet has already created 750 permanent jobs in the capital city of Dakar.
A Nobel Prize winner invented a device that pulls drinking water from the desert air. Comparable in size to a 20-foot shipping container, the units can generate up to 1,000 liters of clean water a day.
Researchers successfully test the world’s first-ever in-utero stem cell therapy for fetal spina bifida repair. The pioneering treatment combines fetal surgery with stem cell therapy to repair spina bifida before birth.
Jake Adicoff became the first openly gay man to win an individual gold medal at the Paralympics. Adicoff actually won back-to-back golds in his first two Paralympic Cross-Country Skiing events, the sprint and 10km classic.
Texas banned Pride crosswalks — so San Antonio painted the sidewalks rainbow instead. In response to Governor Greg Abbott’s directive to remove roadway markings that “advance political agendas,” local City Council members came up with a creative solution.
Before reintroducing tigers to the wild for the first time in 70 years, Kazakhstan planted tens of thousands of trees to restore their habitat. The willow, oleaster, and poplar trees will provide shelter and support prey animals such as deer and wild boar.
Artificial reef structures made from concrete blocks are restoring marine life in Cambodia’s coastal waters. The artificial reefs were built to repair severe damage caused by bottom trawling along the country’s coast.
Zimbabwe joins Zambia, Kenya, and Eswatini in rolling out twice-yearly HIV-prevention injections. The treatment will slow the spread of HIV in a country where about 1.3 million people are living with the virus.
Nearly all hospitals have been destroyed in Gaza, so two sisters set up a makeshift medical school. Dr. Nour and Dr. Nagham are sisters and physicians working on the ground in Gaza, and together, they founded Pal Humanity.
A Denver-based company created AI that can detect premature births based on ultrasounds. Delivery Date AI received federal approval to market an artificial intelligence program it says can predict when babies will arrive based on their ultrasounds, raising the possibility of flagging premature births.
Polar bears in Svalbard have grown fatter over the past two decades despite rapid sea-ice loss. As their habitat changed, polar bears on the Norwegian archipelago adapted by eating other land-based animals like walrus and reindeer.
An Indianapolis engineer launched a free rocket boot camp for kids. The program is offered for free through the Minority Engineering Program of Indianapolis.
Northwestern University researchers found that an anti-seizure drug prevents Alzheimer’s plaques from forming. The decades‑old drug, called levetiracetam, is already FDA-approved and inexpensive to buy.
