With the constant onslaught of horrifying news pouring down on us every time we look around, it’s hard sometimes to remember that, despite it all, there are good people who are doing good things in our world. But there are. They do exist. And once in a while I like to spotlight them so we can all slow down, just for a moment, and breathe.
Today is such a day. So relax for a while and consider some good things that good people around the world are doing. And if any of the following vignettes capture your imagination, you can read the whole story at Blue Crab Collective, plus a whole lot more. (Disclaimer: I am a co-founder of Blue Crab Collective, which is a group of activists, artists and writers working to make this a better world.)
+ Scotland is experiencing a housing crisis. At the same time, Scotland is experiencing a sudden lurch forward in housing availability. An imaginative new housing association is providing new homes by taking garages that were abandoned years ago and converting them into homes. The association reports that the project is so successful that it receives about 50 applications for every home that becomes available, and that around 6,500 people are on its waiting list.
+ The people of Ikaria, an island in the Aegean Sea about seven hours east of Athens, thrives on a barter economy, but it’s not just about avoiding money. It’s about resisting the kind of detachment that money can create. Residents rely on bartering: firewood for childcare, cheese for fish, a haircut for a dozen eggs. Even tourists survive there by bartering whatever they have to offer: labor, childcare, language lessons, whatever, for food and lodging. Residents there must like it because this seemingly is how things have worked there forever, and they formalized in the mid-20th Century. Your worth isn’t measured by your bank account, but by what you’re willing to carry together with the people around you.
+ It’s no secret that growing sections of the United States have become or are becoming news deserts. Local newspapers across America are failing, which leaves residents without essential information about their local governments, schools and neighborhoods, thus providing fertile grounds for government corruption. But help may be coming from what many would call a strange source indeed – the local governments involved. Some towns are experimenting with channeling taxpayers’ money directly into an independent news organization, over which, to keep things honest, it would have no control.
+ New Mexico has passed the world’s most radical childcare law. It has recognized that childcare is a fundamental human right, making it free and universal for all families starting in November. The policy will save families about $12,000 annually per child, and it includes investments in care providers, infrastructure, and workforce support.
+ Sixty countries have ratified the United Nations’ High Seas Treaty, marking a historic milestone in global ocean protection. Sweden demonstrated leadership by establishing the Baltic Sea’s first marine reserve and strongly advocating for the worldwide treaty. This treaty provides a legal framework to safeguard marine biodiversity in international waters, turning scientific warnings into enforceable law.
+ Hawaii is on the verge of increasing fees on tourists from 10.25 percent to 11 percent to raise about $100 million yearly, all of which will be spent for projects like coral reef restoration, sand replenishment for eroding beaches, hurricane preparation, and removal of invasive grasses like the ones that fueled the deadly wildfires in Lahaina.
+ As people across the United States face massive cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and other vital programs, and as wealth concentrates rapidly at the top, a so-called “solidarity economy” could be the solution. The U.S. Solidarity Economy Network defines global economy as “a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy where we prioritize people and the planet over endless profit and growth.” The principles of this new economy include solidarity, cooperation and mutualism, equity in all dimensions, participatory democracy, sustainability and pluralism.
+ Three Scottish brothers — Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean – are nearing the final stretch of their 9,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean. They’re rowing unsupported, hoping to set a record, yes, but that’s only secondary. They’re doing it primarily to raise a million francs to finance a clean water project in Madagascar.
+ As dollar stores close en masse across the nation, more and more predominantly Black areas are becoming food deserts. So, Black entrepreneurs are stepping in to fill those vacuums, and along the way they are defining food access and resilience by creating nonprofit grocery stores. The idea is working wonders.
+ President Donald Trump has reopened oil and gas leasing, rescinded watershed protections to pave the way for mining, opened millions of acres of national forest to logging, introduced plans to shrink iconic national monuments, and more – including an effort to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to curb greenhouse gases. But there is hope. Benji Backer, a 27-year-old conservative conservationist, has launched Nature is Nonpartisan, which he sees as transcending partisanship and pursuing environmental action regardless of who holds political power.
+ Solar energy, which offers a cheap, powerful, clean, simple and abundant source of power, is revolutionizing our world. Sun, wind and batteries made up 95 percent of new electric generation last year around the world, and no energy source has ever grown at anything like this pace. Not only can this shift save the planet from climate disaster, it’s also breaking us free from the grip of fossil fuels, Big Oil, and geopolitical conflicts tied to oil.
+ Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that the closer people live with nature, the less smoking and alcohol drinking they do. They evaluated residents in 18 countries and regions and discovered that those in the greenest areas were 13% less likely to smoke and 26% less likely to drink every day compared to those in the least green neighborhoods. Why? They say they think it’s because nature calms people, and so they don’t need that ‘hit,’ which helps them give up smoking, for instance.
+ A new report makes it clear that locally led climate actions effectively reduce emissions at low costs, foster lasting change, and drive climate action, especially as the Trump administration rolls back as much progress as it can. Authors of the Redstone Strategy Group’s study said the benefits are not limited just to the quantifiable carbon impact — even though that’s what they were focusing on — “but also understanding the full picture of all the other co-benefits we saw coming out of this.”
+ What can one person do? Well, when Carolista Baum, who made and sold jewelry for a living, learned that a bulldozer was taking down sand dunes in the Outer Banks, she closed shop, rushed to the site, and planted herself in front of the dozer, refusing to let it move. When the driver gave up and walked away, she disabled the machine by removing its distributor cap. Then she made it her mission to preserve the dunes. She gathered 25,000 signatures in the first week, among all else – and the dunes were saved from development.
+ A groundbreaking law in Wales that requires all public bodies to consider their decisions’ long-term impact has caused such a fundamental shift in how those bodies operate that prosperity is now measured on wellbeing rather than GDP.
from the Blue Crab Collective Bookshop
- Sharing Cities
Activating the Urban Commons - Solidarity
The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea - Misguided
Where Misinformation Starts, How It Spreads, and What to Do about It - Ghosting the News
Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy - Saving Ourselves
From Climate Shocks to Climate Action
Good one Skip! Great to see you guys on Bowens!