Photo: via Sheikh Sohel/Unsplash (CC0)
In today’s edition of Squirrel News: the world’s biggest coal-consuming countries see a fall in coal power generation for the first time in more than 50 years, the Austrian capital notes a huge drop in light pollution thanks to a switch to LED bulbs, and a New York county’s bet on street psychiatry is paying off.
The simultaneous fall in coal-powered electricity in the world’s biggest coal-consuming countries had not happened since 1973, according to analysts at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, and was driven by a record roll-out of clean energy projects.
Source: The Guardian
As part of the UK’s efforts to expand clean electricity sources, the projects span England, Scotland and Wales, including part of what could become the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea.
Source: BBC News
The number of people needing treatment against the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness has dropped by 94% since 2002. The milestone comes as a result of decades of efforts by national health ministries, local communities, and international partners.
Source: WHO
New options for testing and treating common sexually transmitted diseases are becoming increasingly available across the US, with experts hoping this trend will keep downward pressure on infection rates.
Source: AP News
People experiencing homelessness are often in urgent need of mental health treatment. A new programme in Albany County, New York is meeting unhoused people where they are, with a team of specialists. “We’re going to give them their prescription right there, right on the street to go get filled, so they can really get the help that they need,” Albany County Executive Dan McCoy explains.
Source: Good Good Good
Thanks to the ongoing conversion to energy-saving LED lamps, the Austrian capital has seen levels of light pollution from streetlamps plummet. By 2028, all around 133,000 street lights in the two-million-inhabitant city are to be converted to LED technology.
Source: VOL
Under the initiative, residents as young as eight years old can propose funding for urban projects. More than 21,000 ideas have been submitted since the scheme launched in 2014, resulting in 1,345 funded projects and an expenditure of €768 million, including €263 million set aside for low-income districts.
Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful
The segregated system is able to safely collect, sort and recycle old and unwanted garments – and ensures the new products are made by women in order to encourage financial independence.
Source: Deutsche Welle
Described as the world’s largest business incubator, the apprenticeship scheme has helped the Nigerian Igbo people build generational wealth in the devastating aftermath of the Civil War. The scheme involves a master mentoring an apprentice who, upon graduation, is “settled” with start-up funds and contacts to launch their own business.
Source: BBC News
A deadly fungus has already wiped out 90 species and threatens 500 more – but “frog sauna” inventor Anthony Waddle is hoping gene replacement could be their salvation.
Source: The Guardian
