In today’s edition of Squirrel News, we’re looking at a rise in the number of women across the African diaspora with access to family planning services and education, an innovative solution to illegal logging using artificial intelligence, and how farmers in Australia are employing goats to clear land of weeds rather than using traditional tools.
A growing number of African women are benefiting from better access to birth control
The increase comes partly as a result of more comprehensive family planning education, alongside improved supply chains to clinics and community centres.
Singapore will build a 42,000-home “eco-smart-city”
Conservationists hope that the new development will offer a blueprint for reducing carbon emissions, taking advantage of solutions such as car-free centres and centralised cooling.
The Australian state of Victoria has passed a bill to ban LGBTQ+ conversion therapy
The jurisdiction now stands as the third in Australia to ban the damaging practice, marking a substantial attitude shift towards non-heteronormative groups.
AI algorithms and cell-derived signals allow plants to “talk” to farmers
By converting the stress signals sent between cells into electrical pulses, plants are able to effectively communicate their needs to farmers – potentially saving water and crops.
Quick-build natural disaster shelters offer an eco-friendly alternative to tents
Better Shelter’s structures can easily be upgraded with sustainable local materials such as bamboo, clay and sorghum in order to strengthen the building.
An eco-friendly catamaran scoops up plastic oceanic waste and converts it into fuel
The solar-and-wind-powered yacht can retrieve material up to a metre below the surface of the sea, and will also be used as a laboratory to analyse plastic waste.
