Going through the stories on Good News Network every month provides an endless amount of hope for humanity and the many lives that share our planet. It’s hard to only pick five when there are so many worth sharing, even with my focus on good news for our environment.

The first story is a great example of life’s resilience. We know a countless number of ecosystems have been destroyed from human activity, but seeing how rapidly entire ecosystems are able to recover from destruction is truly inspiring. Even wildfires provide surprising ecological benefits, so imagine what the future of this world could look like if we learn from our past to help create a better future.

The climate crisis has motivated engineers to help renewable energy surpass unsustainable energy in practicality, efficiency, and affordability. From solar cells charging electronics using low levels of indoor light, to wind turbines gathering energy from highway cars, to massive wind-powered cargo ships, it’s clear to me that once the fossil fuel industry loses its power, we’re on track to being able to power our lives with renewable energy. With the great news about the recyclability of solar panels, a sustainable future is looking more possible with each passing month.

Scientists continue to innovate (in ways that seem like magic to me) towards a more sustainable future, and governments around the world are taking steps to help us move away from our current unsustainable ways. So let’s reimagine what’s possible and have hope that today’s challenges are opportunities for growth into a better tomorrow.

World’s Largest Seagrass Restoration Project Is a Virginia Success, Planting 600 Acres That Grow to Become 9,000

By Andy Corbley – Oct 29, 2020

• Marine scientists and volunteers spread over 70 million eelgrass seeds across a 200-hectare plot off Virginia’s southeastern shore as part of an experiment that ended up being more successful than was thought to be possible

• Over 20 years, the eelgrass grew across over 3,600 hectares (~9,000 acres), making it the largest seagrass restoration in the world

• Every detail from infancy to adulthood was documented in order to provide the needed knowledge for widespread seagrass restoration around the world

• Seagrass is more than a good home for fish, it absorbs nitrogen and carbon from the atmosphere 35 times faster than tropical rainforests, while also improving water quality and animal life

• A marine heatwave destroyed several meadows during this research, but they recovered in only three years, showing an incredible amount of resilience

• Currently, seagrass covers only .2% of the world’s seafloor, so the success of this seagrass restoration is great news in helping to reduce climate change

This Good News is so important to improving the health of our world because it shows how resilient marine ecosystems are when given the opportunity to recover, allowing us to help conserve and improve biodiversity all over the world while also offsetting carbon emissions from human activity.

Breakthrough 3D Solar Panel Design Increases Light Absorption By 125% – A Potential Game-Changer

By Marc Schaus – Oct 24, 2020

• Scientists at the University of York increased solar panels’ ability to absorb light by 125%, with hopes of harvesting ten times more energy for the same cost

• By making the surface of their panels a checkerboard design instead of flat, there’s a higher probability of light being absorbed, and their solar cells can be ten times thinner, increasing electricity production and reducing their carbon footprint

This Good News shows that solar energy technology is improving, making it harder for fossil fuels to compete, and making the generation of solar energy more environmentally friendly than ever before.

America’s Largest Solar Panel-Maker Leads the World in Panel Recycling–Recovering 95% of Materials

By Andy Corbley – Oct 16, 2020

• First Solar, America’s largest manufacturer of solar panels with stations all over the world, established the first globally applicable recycling program for its solar stations back in 2005, and has been investing in improvements to their recycling technology ever since

• Now, they’ve developed the means to efficiently recycle over 90% of all materials used in their solar panels, which is much higher than the EU’s requirement of 65-70%

• The materials from old solar panels can be reused for 1,200 years to make new, more efficient panels, which means that these materials won’t end up polluting the environment

• First Solar recycling plants have zero liquid waste discharge, and most of the solid waste can be converted into valuable raw materials for other industries

This Good News is important because solar energy is only a sustainable option if the materials used to make solar panels are reused, and they’ve now reached the ability of being 95% recyclable, which is crucial as we move towards a circular economy where everything we use is either successfully recycled or returned to the Earth to biodegrade.

Scientists Create Transparent Wood Nearly as Clear as Glass to Make Stronger, Better Insulating Windows

By Good News Network – Oct 17, 2020

• 3.5% of energy used in the US is wasted because heat easily transfers through glass windows, but now scientists have developed a transparent wood material that completely outperforms glass by being about 5x more thermally efficient

• Glass production has a heavy carbon footprint, but this transparent wood comes from the light, fast-growing balsa tree, making this a sustainable, biodegradable alternative with low carbon emissions

• This renewable resource is also 3x more durable than glass, much lighter in weight, bends or splinters instead of shattering, and is compatible with existing construction equipment, allowing for a smooth transition from glass to transparent wood

This Good News is a great example of an innovation just now being discovered that is a more sustainable, more practical, and safer alternative to a material that is used just about everywhere we look, allowing for the building of a brighter future.

Canada Is Banning Single-Use Plastic Bags, Straws, and Cutlery Next Year

By Good News Network – Oct 12, 2020

• As a part of Canada’s plan to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, this government is banning plastic bags, straws, stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery, and food ware, going into effect by the end of 2021

• Canadians throw away 3 million tonnes of plastic waste, and only 9% of this is recycled, so many canadians are urging the government to ban more single-use plastic

• This plan also states improvements to the recycling and recovery of plastic so it can be reused and stay out of the environment, which will create jobs, while also proposing recycled content requirements in products and packaging

• This investment in recycling infrastructure is expected to spur innovation in product design and technology to extend the life of plastic materials

This Good News is an example of a government starting to take its first real steps towards achieving a circular economy for plastics by 2030, which is needed in today’s plastic covered planet, and its success will likely inspire similar actions around the world.