Today in Squirrel News, the murder rate in Argentina’s highest-crime city has fallen sharply, a groundbreaking railway line starts in Tanzania, and weeks after the historic dam removal, salmon re-appear in Klamath River Basin.
Murder rate way down in Argentinian city troubled by drug trafficking
September was celebrated as a homicide-free month in Rosario, Argentina’s highest-crime city. The mayor says the number of murders so far this year is 70, and was 200 at the same point last year. A huge increase in law enforcement presence is credited with the drop.
Groundbreaking railway to connect East Africa starts in Tanzania
Electric trains are a first for the region and the smooth, comfortable, travel a huge improvement over past options. Now open in Tanzania, the railway is intended to also connect to neighbours Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
US power grid added battery equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors in past four years
The US is installing huge batteries at a dizzying pace with California and Texas leading the way. The steep rise in renewable power storage capacity is already helping to keep electricity flowing during blackouts, heatwaves, and times of energy rationing.
The environment-friendly ban on single-use e-cigarettes is also intended as a step to curb vaping in children, to whom disposable vapes have typically appealed. One quarter of 11-15 year-olds in the UK reported using a single-use vape last year.
California scientists devise powder to suck carbon out of the air
Half of pound of a powder developed at UC-Berkeley can remove as much carbon as a large tree, according to a newly-published study. Made from inexpensive ingredients, the powder was reusable in test 100 times and scientists predict it can go 1000.
The radical contract protecting Hamburg’s green space
From an early 20th priority on creating green public space, to an initiative in 2019 preserving 30% of its land area, Hamburg leads the way as Germany’s greenest city state.
“Stand with a Girl” in Nigeria is helping girls return to school
Insurgency has forced many Nigerian girls to leave school. In “safe space” educational sessions, mentors are helping displaced girls and young women be ready to go back. The group is also raising money to help support tuition fees.
BBC’s Business Daily looks at fixing water problems. In Oxford, UK, Jose Castro has developed a water test for heavy metals that will cost just a few dollars. The show also visits a flood defense project in Peru and talks to a sanitation engineer in Kenya.
