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In the headlines...

🗳️ A federal appeals court affirmed that Louisiana’s state legislative district maps were an attempt to dilute the voting strength of Black voters and ordered them to be redrawn.

🪧 People are organizing protests in cities across the country tomorrow, August 16, to rally against a President Trump-requested effort to redraw congressional district maps in Texas, aiming to secure five more Republican seats in Congress.

🥘 Yesterday, World Central Kitchen founder Chef José Andrés visited Gaza and Israel to advocate for a dramatic increase in humanitarian aid for Palestinians, the release of Israeli hostages, and an end to the war.

Accessibility

Rocky Mountain National Park just became the latest park to offer free all-terrain wheelchairs for disabled visitors

About 28 national park sites currently offer adaptive equipment and mobility devices for visitors to check out for free when they visit. But one especially popular location, Rocky Mountain National Park, recently announced an expansion of its accommodations.

Park upgrades include new accessible picnic tables, an accessible bus to transport visitors across the park, and free all-terrain wheelchairs. In the face of federal funding cuts, these changes were made possible by the support of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, the nonprofit arm of this NPS site.

With the three additional wheelchairs, disabled visitors will be able “to experience Rocky in a way that would not be possible without them.”

Why is this good news? Disabled national park-goers have often been left behind when it comes to outdoor excursions — but national parks are for everyone. Parks like Rocky Mountain aren’t satisfied with meeting the bare minimum for accessibility; they’re constantly looking for ways to improve their offerings to be a welcoming place for all visitors.

→ Read more​

More Good News

​The world’s first large-scale affordable housing development built using 3D printing technology is opening in Texas this year. Houston is known as one of the most affordable major cities in the United States, but home ownership is still out of reach for many, due to a growing gap in what people can afford vs. how much housing actually costs.

​An Alaskan nonprofit’s tiny home project is providing transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness. In Our Backyard launched the project to see if the model could work in Anchorage, and it’s been so successful, the city is already working on larger, duplicate projects in other locations.

​Switzerland is the first country in the world to ban fur imports. In 2023, Switzerland imported more than $30 million worth of fur apparel and fur skins from around the world, but Human World for Animals says that if the ban is properly implemented, that number should become zero because all fur is produced through animal cruelty.

​Scientists discovered an Arctic “lifeline” that could help delay the collapse of key Atlantic currents. A vital ocean current system has been slowing down due to rising temperatures and climate change, but a new study offers a glimmer of hope, suggesting that an unexpected back-up system in the Arctic could help maintain the system’s stability.

Technology

Philadelphia is using AI cameras to keep bus lanes clear — fairness, trust, and transparency could make them even more effective

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good Data

Amid growing health concerns, a record-low 54% of Americans say they drink alcohol

The percentage of U.S. adults who say they consume alcohol has fallen to a historic low of 54%, the lowest level in the nearly 90 years Gallup has been collecting the data.

Between 1997 and 2023, at least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcohol, and the previous low was recorded in 1958, when 55% reported drinking alcohol. The highest rate ever recorded was 71%, between 1976-1978.

This trend coincides with a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for your health, reaching a majority at 53% for the first time ever recorded. Even those who do drink reported drinking less, less frequently.

→ Read more​

Best of the week

We shared a whole lot of good news this week. Here were some of the most popular articles, according to readers:

• The all-teenage staff who stepped up to save their employer’s restaurant.
• The student whose childhood injury led him to design a better cast.
• The first 3D-printed home made primarily from soil that was constructed in Japan.
• The cheese auction that raised a record amount for charity.
• The French eco-architect making bricks from textile waste.
• The data showing a majority of U.S. troops know to disobey illegal orders.

More Good bits

🐸 What has fangs and loves to bark? It’s not a dog.

🥞 Butterflies and biscuits are getting kids back to school.

🐚 That’s a sleep apnoea trick we’ve never seen before.

🧵 Scientists found a way to (sustainably!) revive a fading art.

🦟 Bring it on, mosquitoes.

What’s good?

I’ll be honest, I loved school. I didn’t need a whole lot of enticing to go ... but friendships and fun elective classes (art! yearbook!) made it even easier.

What would get you excited to go back to school?

Reply and tell me what it was for you!

— Megan