{"id":8940,"date":"2020-06-01T09:32:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T09:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arliemediadesign.com\/?p=8940"},"modified":"2025-03-20T09:42:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T09:42:16","slug":"4-good-news-stories-from-june-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happy.co.uk\/blogs\/4-good-news-stories-from-june-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Good News Stories From June 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We already have the technology to address global warming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Independent non-profit organisation\u00a0Project Drawdown<\/a>\u00a0has a simple vision: to stop global warming with solutions that exist today. As you\u2019d imagine, the execution of this vision is a bit more complicated, but the organisation has identified 80-plus solutions that already exist and could bring us to drawdown \u2013 \u201cthe future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would take unprecedented political and social unity to achieve drawdown this century, but Project Drawdown insists the journey could begin today. The researchers have conducted extensive review of the scientific literature and found 80 areas where we can reduce and reverse emissions. These can be placed into five main categories: energy; food waste, agriculture, land rehabilitation; industry; building efficiency; and transport. Again, the key point is that the technology and innovation strategies already exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organisation\u2019s researchers have also emphasised that the education and empowerment of women is key to emissions reduction. When you consider that two thirds of the world\u2019s uneducated are girls, this means it’s not just about reversing emissions, but also about enhancing and extending human rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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White stork chicks hatch in Britain for the first time in 600 years<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the\u00a0International Union for Conservation of Nature<\/a>, white storks are a species of \u201cleast concern.\u201d This means they\u2019re not vulnerable or critically threatened, but their numbers did see a significant drop over the previous few centuries as a result of industrialisation and farming changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The species’ \u201cleast concern\u201d status has a lot of to do with reintroduction programs across Europe, which have been successful in allowing white storks to resume breeding. The UK\u2019s\u00a0White Stork Project<\/a>\u00a0exists for this very purpose. The large white and black birds, with long red beaks and legs, were once a breeding bird of Britain, particularly in the county of Sussex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2020, the White Stork Project announced that wild storks at the Knepp project in West Sussex had their very own babies. \u201cIt is incredible to have the first white stork chicks hatch in the wild for hundreds of years here at Knepp,\u201d said project officer Lucy Groves. Groves isn\u2019t exaggerating \u2013 these are believed to be the first white storks born in England since the 15th<\/sup> century!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Canadian provincial government buys hotel to house homeless and keep workers employed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s westernmost province has seen more than 150 deaths as a result of the coronavirus. In response, the British Columbian government has\u00a0taken over<\/a>\u00a0a struggling\u00a0Comfort Inn\u00a0to provide a temporary home for rough sleepers in the city of Victoria. There are 65 rooms available at the hotel, which is being operated by\u00a0Our Place Society<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 an organisation that offers support to Victoria’s\u00a0most vulnerable people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hotel\u2019s new occupants will receive meals and health-care services, including addictions treatment and harm reduction, as well as access to storage facilities. While the government intervention is specifically aimed at housing the vulnerable during the pandemic, the long-term aim is to turn the space into an affordable housing option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marriage equality reaches Central America as first same-sex weddings take place in Costa Rica<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Costa Rica is the first Central American country to enshrine marriage equality in law. It\u2019s been a long wait for the nation\u2019s betrothed \u2013 legislation prohibiting same-sex marriage was declared unconstitutional nearly two years ago. However, weddings were taking place just minutes after\u00a0same-sex marriage became legal<\/a>\u00a0on the 26th May, 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only were these weddings happening as soon as the clock struck midnight, but the first wedding \u2013 between Alexandra Quiros and Dunia Araya \u2013 was broadcast on national television. The couple\u2019s televised union was the cherry on the top of a three-hour programme that celebrated marriage equality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to the law change, President Carlos Alvarado tweeted that \u201cempathy and love should from now on be the guiding principles which will allow us to move forward and build a country where there is room for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same-sex marriage is legal is a number of South American countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay. Same-sex marriage is also legal in several Mexican states, but not yet legalised nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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