We’re wrapping up the week at Squirrel News talking about the WHO officially announcing that Timor-Leste is free from malaria and how Honolulu is leading the legal first against major polluters.
World Health Organization certifies Timor-Leste as malaria-free
After a years-long campaign, including efforts such as the distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying in at-risk communities, the southeast Asian nation joins a total of 47 countries and one territory with the certification.
Honolulu leads climate change legal fight against fossil fuel giants
In the city’s lawsuit against major polluters, such as ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, lawyers are arguing that these companies knew for nearly half a century that fossil fuel products create greenhouse gas pollution that warms the planet and changes the climate.
New York is first state to commit to all-electric buildings
The new rules stipulate that new buildings will need to install electric heat pumps and stoves instead of gas appliances, with the aim of improving air quality and lowering energy costs.
Paris residents vote to ban cars from 500 additional city streets
The vision of a car-free Paris is one step closer to reality thanks to a plan to create more space for cyclists and walkers throughout the French capital.
Yesterday, Australia’s parliament passed a law to cut student loans by 20%, or roughly A$16 billion of debt for three million people. The move fulfils a key election promise to help mitigate the rising cost of living.
First hormone-free male contraceptive pill passes safety test
A contraceptive pill for men that temporarily and reversibly inhibits sperm production by a new pathway not requiring hormones has cleared the first hurdle of proving safe for humans. More trials are underway to test its efficacy. If approved it would finally increase the options for male contraception, which have long been just condoms or surgical vasectomy.
New study shows potential for dental floss-delivered vaccines
The body’s defenses against foreign molecules in the mouth has made oral vaccines impossible but one scientist, considering gum disease and the receptivity of tissue between the teeth, tried a new way.
Internet Archive free library gets federal library designation for US documents
Already an accessible free library of more than a trillion pages of digital content such as books, music, magazines and video, the nonprofit that preserves the Internet now has official designation as a federal library. Bills, laws, government studies and presidential papers will be part of its freely available content.
Simple solutions saving lives of women in childbirth and premature babies
BBC’s Fixing The World tells of inexpensive fixes that are saving mothers and babies in places where more complex equipment is not affordable. One is an incubator that uses just water and electricity, costing 1% of a full-feature incubator, that has saved 5000 babies thus far; the other a plastic sheet that measures blood loss and has reduced deaths from postpartum hemorrhaging in some settings by 60%.
