Photo: Iulia Buta/Unsplash (CC0)
We’re closing out the week at Squirrel News talking about Romania’s wildly successful bottle deposit return scheme, the albatrosses in the Hawaiian Archipelago finding new foster families, and the inventive approaches people are taking across the US to tackle the loneliness epidemic.
When buying drinks, the customer pays an extra 0.50 Romanian leu (£0.09) per bottle and gets the money back when returning the packaging to a collection point. Prior to the launch of the scheme, Romania’s recycling rates were among the lowest in the EU. Now, beverage-packaging collection and recycling has risen to 94%.
Source: The Guardian
The yearly gap in what scientists have called “planetary sunscreen” reached a maximum area of 21m sq km (8.1m sq miles) over the southern hemisphere in September – well below the maximum of 26m sq km reached in 2023 – and shrank in size until coming to an early close on Monday.
Source: The Guardian
Set to take effect next year, the measure makes Chile the newest nation to limit student smartphone use in an effort to reduce distractions and mitigate negative impacts on learning. Similar restrictions are already in place to varying degrees in countries such as France, Brazil, Hungary, the Netherlands and China.
Source: AP News
Researchers in Switzerland have developed the first entirely lab-engineered human bone marrow system, replicating the intricate network of cells, blood vessels, and nerves typically found within our bones. The platform could help build treatments for blood cancers by creating patient-specific bone marrow models to evaluate different therapies.
Source: SciTech Daily
Uruguay’s switch to almost complete reliance on clean energy was based on economics and sustainability with climate a side benefit. When fossil fuel incentives were removed, renewables were the clear winner. Now customers pay 20% less, poverty is down, and the country’s economy improves yearly.
Source: Forbes
Plants rely on sunlight to grow, but that doesn’t mean more is always better. Each crop has an ideal light range, and for many plants, full, unfiltered sun can actually be excessive. That’s why some farmers are installing solar panels above their fields: by providing partial shade, the panels help certain crops thrive whilst generating renewable energy.
Source: Forbes
When a rural school district in Batesville, Arkansas outfitted its campuses with solar panels, a yearly budget shortfall of $250,000 turned into a $1.8 million surplus, providing enough funds to award teachers raises of up to $15,000.
Source: Good Good Good
Like many dams, Washington’s Kwoneesum Dam disrupted local fish populations by blocking steelhead and salmon from reaching their upstream spawning habitat. But since it was dismantled, the landscape has begun to recover, and the river’s wildlife is steadily returning.
Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful
Rising sea levels in the Hawaiian Archipelago are threatening the albatrosses that nest there. In response, scientists from the Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas have adopted an unconventional strategy: relocating albatross eggs to a safer island, where they are cared for by other bird species acting as foster parents.
Source: BBC News
Across the US, people are responding to the loneliness epidemic with inventive approaches: from Cry N Vibe clubs and professional cuddle therapy to community events like Porchfest, a rotating arts and music festival hosted on neighbourhood porches.
Source: Good Good Good
