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 —
The world’s first ocean reserve to be led and governed through Indigenous knowledge is a step closer to reality
New resources have been committed to continue the development of the Melanesian Ocean Reserve, which will be the world’s first Indigenous-led marine protected area.
Located across the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia, it will be the first reserve that utilizes modern science and local governments, but is led and governed completely by Indigenous knowledge.
When it’s complete, it will make up more than 6 million square kilometers of ocean and islands — an area as large as the Amazon rainforest — and will protect some of the most biologically diverse seas on the planet.
Why is this good news? Healthy oceans and marine ecosystems are critical to the health of the planet and the living things that call it home. These areas have historically gone under- or un-protected, but more and more countries and leaders are taking concrete action to do better, while prioritizing the wisdom and insight of Indigenous groups who have long histories and connections with the ocean.
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After Global Plastic Treaty fails, cities and states leap into action on microplastics
A woman in Australia has donated thousands of hand-knit baby clothes to the NICU
For some babies born prematurely, hand-knit clothes may be all that fits them as they receive critical treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit.
When the COVID-19 pandemic slowed donations of essential items for these tiny humans in John Hunter Children’s Hospital’s NICU, it made a Facebook post asking for donations of knitted goods.
Kim Franks saw that post and immediately got to work. Franks suffers from the chronic inflammatory skin condition psoriasis, which often leaves her bedbound, so knitting for NICU babies has been a welcome hobby in recent years. With semi-monthly donations, she estimates she’s made thousands of items.
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Starting in 2027, a groundbreaking preventative drug for HIV will be rolled out for $40 a year in over 100 countries
Global health agencies announced that generic versions of the groundbreaking, injectable HIV-prevention drug lenacapavir would be available for around $40 a year in more than 100 low- and middle-income countries starting in 2027.
The twice-yearly injection was shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9% — a medical breakthrough for bringing better, more effective preventative treatment to people around the world.
Currently, lenacapavir costs around $28,000 a year in the United States. The company behind it signed licensing agreements with six generic drugmakers to help bring it to poorer countries, where treatment is needed by more people, but is also less accessible
Why is this good news? This move is being hailed as a “game-changer” in the fight against the AIDS epidemic — with one expert saying that, with the generic product, “we can end HIV.”
12 popular podcasts unite for ‘Be Hope’ takeover, proving there’s still good news in politics
A Jamaican student just received a major award for his invention that’s revolutionizing disinfection technology
Rayvon Stewart was the first in his family to go to college. There, he discovered his love of inventing, but it wasn’t until he was 23 and volunteering at a hospital that he realized he could solve a real problem with his designs.
It was this time in healthcare facilities that led him to invent a door handle that could disinfect itself after every touch. Xermosol is an ultraviolet self-sanitizing door handle, which Stewart says can kill 99.9% of pathogens, but is safe for people and animals.
The smart door handle has received over $200,000 in initial investments and has been hailed as a game changer for hospitals, hotels, and other businesses to control the spread of disease — and it won Jamaica’s Prime Minister’s National Youth Award.
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A new ‘autism-friendly’ restaurant in North Carolina is making sure all its guests feel welcome
Jim Gordon owns the Peninsula Prime restaurant in Cornelius, North Carolina. His daughter also has autism, and he wanted to make sure she and other autistic people feel welcome and supported at the steakhouse.
The restaurant recently announced it would be an “autism-friendly” dining destination by offering sensory kits, a menu with pictures to allow customers with nonspeaking autism to point to their order, and generally providing a welcoming environment.
Gordon emphasized the need for more establishments to move past autism awareness to autism acceptance, and accommodations like these help get us there.
Why is this good news? Families and experts agree that this kind of support makes them feel welcome, considered, and cared for. One family whose son is autistic said they didn’t go out to eat for five years after his diagnosis, but this move communicates, “Please come have dinner at our restaurant because we’re going to meet your needs.”
Two years since Maui fires, 900 Hawaiians move into historic tiny home village: 'Second largest in the nation'
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Despite only giving a small share of its income, foreign aid from the US has saved millions of lives each year
In 2023, the U.S. was the largest foreign aid donor, giving $62 billion — about the same as the next three largest donors, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, combined.
This only represented 0.24% of gross national income, the smallest share of any of the ten countries that gave the most, but had a massive impact: saving an estimated 3.3 million people every year.
While it’s difficult to precisely determine the number of lives saved, researchers at Our World In Data’s “best estimate” found that AIDS programs saved the largest number of lives at over 1.5 million per year. Vaccines, tuberculosis, malaria, and humanitarian response saved between a quarter and half a million lives.
Some nuance: This impact was thanks in large part to USAID, which made up about 61% of the country’s foreign assistance. The Trump administration has completely dismantled the program, but people like Jane Goodall are helping ensure its work continues to make an impact.
A network of nearly 900 home bakers in four states makes sure food banks are stocked with fresh bread
The Seattle-based nonprofit Community Loaves started pairing home bakers with food pantries during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their work hasn’t stopped.
The organization, made up of a network of nearly 900 bakers in Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho, has donated over 200,000 loaves of fresh bread and around 220,000 energy cookies to food banks. It’s one of the largest efforts of its kind in the country.
As opposed to the surplus bread often sent by grocery stores, which is often highly processed white bread or expired sweets, the home bakers’ breads are made with whole grains and minimally processed ingredients.
Why is this good news? Families around the country are increasingly struggling with hunger, food insecurity, and the rising cost of groceries. More than 50 million people a year receive food assistance, and experts say the recent federal cuts to food aid for low-income families will impact around 3 million people, making this work even more essential.
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Former ‘garbage island’ transformed into modern cafe: ‘Even the light fixtures are made of plastic waste’
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Jane Goodall was a legendary conservationist — and inspired all of us to stay hopeful and fill the world with more good
Dr. Jane Goodall was one of the world’s most celebrated primatologists and conservationists. She began her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park in 1960. Over the course of her six-decade career, Goodall worked tirelessly to protect chimpanzees and their habitats.
In 2002, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which supports chimpanzee conservation efforts around the world. Goodall’s work inspired people of all ages to appreciate and respect animals and our natural environment.
Big trees in the Amazon rainforest are more climate resilient and better at storing carbon than previously believed
A study that shows how the rainforest can draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it in bark, trunk, branch, and root found something else: despite rising temperatures and strong droughts, the biggest trees in the Amazon are growing larger and more numerous.
Nearly 100 researchers from 60 universities looked at changes in the Amazon over the past 30 years. They found the mean cross-section of tree trunks thickened by 3.3% per decade, and the greatest increase was found in larger trees.
This proves the climate resiliency of these types of tropical rainforests and their effectiveness as a carbon sink — but only if they’re left alone.
What’s the nuance? We need to stop deforestation. The vital role these big trees play in fighting the climate crisis is at risk from fires and land clearance from the expansion of roads and farms, so the Amazon’s climate resiliency “may count for little, unless we can stop the deforestation itself.”
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After schools banned phones, students checked out more library books: ‘We’re reclaiming attention’
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From 2005 to 2023, per capita carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption decreased in every U.S. state
According to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, from 2005 to 2023, total energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the country fell 20% while the population grew by 14% — leading to a 30% decrease in per capita carbon emissions.
While that’s the nationwide average, what’s even better is that per capita emissions also decreased in every state over that same time period.
The primary reason for this nationwide decline was less coal being burned in the electric power sector. Increased electricity generation from natural gas — which releases about half as many carbon emissions per unit of energy as coal — and from carbon-free sources made up for the decrease in coal generation.
More good news of the week —
In a new documentary, stand-up comedians open up about anxiety and depression — and streaming profits go to mental health support. “Anxiety Club,” blurs the lines of vulnerability and humor and promises an unflinching look at how deeply rooted anxiety and depression are in the stand-up comedy scene, all while inviting viewers to have “some laughs along the way.”
A California-based nonprofit has saved over 1.5 million acres of island forest and marine ecosystems. Seacology’s latest project is working to protect and restore Greece’s seagrass, a natural resource that protects the country’s coastline from erosion and sequesters ten times more carbon per acre than a rainforest.
A world-first sea turtle tracking project is giving scientists insight into the vulnerable flatback turtle species. The research team used turtle trackers comprising of motion sensors, GPS, and video cameras to monitor the turtles’ movements and feeding habits to help inform behavior-specific conservation efforts.
A nonprofit in Wyoming is launching a three-year initiative to build the state’s first “third space” for teens. A “third space” is anywhere outside of home or school where youth can socialize and hang out without spending any money — at the new space, teens will actually be able to make money in the program.
The first country to commit a contribution, Brazil announced a $1 billion investment in a global forest fund. The Tropical Forests Forever Facility would support the conservation of endangered forests, and has also received initial signs of support from nations such as China, the U.K., France, Germany, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
China is recycling retired wind turbine blades into sand barriers that fight desertification. More durable and stronger than traditional materials, like wood composite boards, the recycled blade barriers both stop sand from spreading in arid regions and offer a new solution for massive amounts of would-be waste.
Bee experts added eight new species to Washington state’s list of native bee pollinators. Researchers discovered them after while collecting pollinators in Chelan County to study how climate and wildfires affect native bee populations, and their findings have important implications for protecting the pollinators.
Researchers developed a solar-powered artificial plant that can purify radioactive soil by 95% in 20 days. This highly effective, groundbreaking solution for cleaning up nuclear accident sites and contaminated agricultural land drastically speeds up a process that would typically take months.
A 9-year-old girl with stage 4 cancer got an early screening of “Wicked: For Good” two months ahead of the movie’s release. Brielle Bird is a “Wicked” superfan, got to share the experience with her family, and received messages from stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who said, “I hope that this film has made you believe you can fly.” (Have tissues ready for this one.)
Scientists invented the world’s first sunscreen made from pollen that’s as effective as traditional options and won’t harm the ocean. In their research, they found that the commercial sunscreen caused coral bleaching in two days and coral death in six days, but the pollen sunscreen gel had no impact on corals, which remained healthy for the duration of the experiment.
Tourism in Uganda is helping turn endangered mountain gorilla poachers into conservationists. Locals have said that fees to see the gorillas that tourists pay have ensured the recovery of the species, with habitat encroachment and poaching in decline as wildlife authorities seek to collaborate more with nearby communities.
Conservationists in Hong Kong are helping protect a critically endangered bird by installing artificial nests. The yellow-crested cockatoo population has stagnated in the city as the birds, which live in tree cavities, are losing natural nesting spaces in old trees due to typhoons and government tree trimming for public safety, on top of threats from the illegal pet trade and climate change.
For the first time, a transgender woman will represent Vietnam at the 2025 Miss Universe beauty pageant. Miss Universe Vietnam confirmed that singer and reality TV star Nguyen Huong Giang would represent the country, saying that “she shines with a strong inner strength, creativity and pride, true to the image of a modern and strong Vietnamese woman.”
More than 1,200 Portland residents and over 110 businesses volunteered in a “We Believe In Portland” city cleanup effort. The civic cleanup initiative happens semi-regularly in the city to help residents get involved in helping keep the city clean — the spring event saw more than 1,800 residents participate.
Volunteers sorted through 50,000 pounds of marine debris in Hawaii to help scientists learn more about the waste stream. Each piece that’s sorted is weighed, recorded, and logged into a global database to help pinpoint sources of marine debris. Initial findings suggest that 60% is coming from commercial fishing vessels.
In prisons across Ohio, inmates are finding purpose in rehabilitating orphaned and injured wildlife. The inmates volunteer as caretakers and learn how to handle, feed, and administer medication to a wide range of species — the program has rehabilitated and released thousands of animals that required extra care after initially being treated at an animal hospital.
After USAID cuts hit Goodall’s reforestation program in Tanzania, a search engine stepped up to keep it funded. Ecosia provided $100,000 to help save the Jane Goodall Institute’s reforestation effort in the Gombe Masito Ugalla biosphere reserve.
Colorado created a brand new holiday to celebrate Goodall’s 91st birthday, naming April 3 “Animals Matter Day.” The Jane Goodall Institute also celebrates #GoodAllDay on her birthday, inviting supporters — especially young people — to take action.
Goodall joined a TikTok creator to encourage young people to vote with nature in mind, saying, “You do care about your future.” On “Subway Takes,” Goodall delivered her hot take: “Young people have such an important role, and they don’t know how to play it.”
As part of its Inspiring Women series, Mattel made a Jane Goodall Barbie out of recycled ocean-bound plastic. It was part of a doll release that included a conservation scientist, a renewable energy engineer, a chief sustainability officer, and an environmental advocate.
In an essay, Jane Goodall acknowledged that humans were destroying the planet — but that hope is not lost. Goodall argued that “it will take hope, inspiration, and action to save the earth” and that “youth are the key to our survival.”
Thousands of activists in New York protested against financial institutions “profiting off the climate crisis.” “Make Billionaires Pay” protests happened in cities around the world ahead of New York Climate Week and the UN General Assembly, as countries have continued to increase their emissions of carbon dioxide, fueling more frequent and intense extreme weather events.
In the past decade, a Baltimore-based nonprofit has provided free sports programming for more than 80,000 children. The Volo Kids Foundation started with fewer than 100 young participants playing flag football at a Baltimore rec center — now it’s in 10 cities, giving thousands of kids access to free sports programming.
Bolivia became the latest country in Latin America and the Caribbean to ban child marriage. Between 2014 and 2023 alone, 5,169 child marriages were registered, of which nearly 93% of them involved girls aged 16 and 17, often with partners two or three times their age.
Researchers in Sweden found that a low daily dose of aspirin can have a “huge effect” in stopping colorectal cancer from returning. They found that people who took a low daily dose of aspirin after having their tumor removed were half as likely to have their cancer return over the next three years as patients who took a placebo.
