Good news 17/05/2020

Today is the 17th May 2020, hope everyone is doing well. Every few days, especially at the moment, I will be doing a good news update for the podcast and for my blog, where the stories will be written out in more detail, with links for you all to read into them more yourselves. I hope that this brings a little light to lockdown.

On this Day

First of all, a quick little bit of On This Day In History, supplied by Good News Network. In 1992, the World Health Organisation officially removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. And finally, in 1954, Brown v Board of Education passes in the United States, meaning that schools could no longer be racially specific.
 

Care home in France has zero covid-19 cases

Staff at a nursing home in Vilanova, France have received some incredible news after deciding to quarantine with their patients at the beginning of lockdown on March 17th. 29 workers joined Valerie Martin, who runs the home, bringing pillows, sleeping bags and mattresses to the care home, volunteering to sleep on the floor so they could carry on working during lockdown. Martin was determined that none of her 106 elderly residents would become part of a statistic. By May 4th, 12 of the staff were left when they learnt the news that covid-19 tests for all staff and residents had come back negative. The total 47 days of lockdown were filled with laughter, fun and communal games and meals, with Martin describing it as ‘a holiday camp with moments of total joy’. So for all of you out there doubting the impact of lockdown, this is solid proof that it is the most beneficial thing we can currently do. Don’t be selfish, stay at home, stop the spread of the virus.
 

India's carbon emissions have fallen for first time in 40 years

The latest in positive climate change news, India’s Annual Carbon Emissions have fallen for the first time in four decades. Not only did CO2 emissions fall by 15% in March and 30% in April, the last 12 months have seen Indians demand for power slow dramatically. March shutdowns capped the growth of power generation from coal, oil and gas at below zero for the first time in 30 years. March also saw a 6.7% increase in use of renewable energy and a fall in total coal deliveries from home and abroad, which is absolutely fantastic. Imagine what we could do worldwide if other countries started taking the same initiative! we contributed to climate change and we can absolutely help slow it down and let the planet recover, even if it’s just a little bit.
 

Project Seagrass is replanting sea meadows

A little more environmental news for you. Project Seagrass (made up of Sky Ocean Rescue, WWF and Swansea University) has currently planted over 1 million seagrass seeds around the British Isles to help restore sea meadows. This is incredible news as sea meadows are believed to be able to capture carbon 35 times faster than tropic rainforests, such as the Amazon. Seagrass filters nutrients that comes from industrial discharge and stormwater runoff and prevents these harmful nutrients from being washed out into the sea, therefore preserving marine wildlife and habitats. Seagrass also stabilises the sea bottom, provides food and habitat for marine life, maintains water quality and supports local economies. The UK has lost 92% of its seagrass over the last 100 years. Teams believe that once these meadows mature, 160,000 fish and 200 million invertebrates could return to these habitats.

If you see any stories you want me to talk about, please send them over to me on my Instagram (@niamhs_randomthoughts) or my twitter (@niamhblogs), or comment them down below!