Photo: Casey Horner / Unsplash+
Today in Squirrel News: green companies viewed in aggregate would now be “the world’s third-largest industry”, superefficient manufactured homes in Vermont are setting new standards, and battery-powered tuk-tuks are transforming Asia’s cities.
An independently reviewed report from the London Stock Exchange shows the collective market value of companies with at least one fifth of their revenue coming from environmentally focused activities has surpassed 10 trillion dollars. If these green economy companies were their own industry, it would be number three in the world.
Source: Inside Climate News
Efficiency Vermont set bold standards for its manufactured homes programme that outdo even the standards set by the Biden administration’s Zero Energy initiative. The state just had its biggest delivery yet of the new homes that use half the energy of conventional manufactured dwellings.
Source: Canary Media
Inspired by conversations with women across the state about their financial challenges, the new law requires all health professionals to be trained in peri-menopausal and menopausal care. Women of colour and poor women are disproportionately affected, and many lose work time and income having to visit multiple doctors.
Source: The 19th
The New Jersey legislation passed a measure Tuesday that strengthens protections for reproductive and transgender healthcare providers and patients. When the law goes into effect, denial of that care will constitute a crime.
Source: New Jersey Monitor
Researchers in British Columbia did an unusually extensive study of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine from 2020 to 2025 to confirm its long-term safety and build trust for ongoing mRNA cancer research trials. The results confirm that being vaccinated is much safer than contracting COVID-19 when unvaccinated.
Source: CBC
Modern rickshaws named for their ubiquitous ‘tuk-tuk’ sound are a main form of transport in many Asian counties. In recent years a battery-powered version has been in the vanguard of the Asian electric vehicle market.
Source: The Telegraph
Tech company NatureMetrics collects biodiversity data to combat wildlife decline and provides information for companies looking to measure their environmental impact. They say the kits are developed to be easy enough for a five-year-old to use.
Source: Euronews
Addressing both high teen unemployment and the challenges of climate change, the Swedish government is financing summer jobs in teen-initiated green projects. The jobs all have sustainability at their core and are intended to provide professional experience while inspiring hope for the future.
Source: The Guardian
BBC’s Fixing the World journalists talk to NGOs that rescue victims of human trafficking and slave labour. Truckers against Trafficking trains US truck drivers to recognise signs and make calls that can save a victim’s life. The NGO SASANE in Nepal helps women who have escaped slavery become paralegals and lawyers to help other victims.
Source: bbc
Since the invasive rats on a British channel island were eliminated in 2006, endangered puffins and other seabirds have made a recovery that conservationists deem a remarkable success story.
Source: BBC
