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In the headlines...

💉 Mirroring those of major medical organizations, four U.S. states issued their own vaccination guidelines for three common seasonal vaccines, the flu, COVID-19, and RSV. (Gifted link)

🌎 After Trump administration cuts forced the popular climate.gov website to shut down, experts re-launched it independently to help boost climate literacy.

Clean energy

For the first time, wind and solar power made up over one thirds of Brazil’s electricity generation in a single month

For the first month on record, wind and solar power generated more than a third of Brazil’s electricity in August, accounting for 34% of the country’s electricity generation.

The two clean energy sources produced a record 19 terawatt hours, enough to power 119 million average homes in the country for the month and surpassing the previous record of 18.6 TWh set in September of last year.

Another renewable energy source, hydropower, still generates the bulk of the country’s electricity, providing 48% of electricity in August — just the second month ever that it supplied less than half of Brazil’s power.

Why is this good news? Despite hydropower reaching somewhat historic lows in the country, the decline is not being made up by fossil fuels, but by other renewable energy sources. Wind and solar continue to prove their worth as a reliable, efficient source for countries to supply their power grids.

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More Good News

​A rare, endangered night parrot that was thought to be extinct was rediscovered after 100 years of no sightings. A focused effort in Australia also sought to assess the bird’s habitat for threats so that it could better protect the species.

​A beneficial bacterial probiotic is helping mitigate disease spread in Florida’s coral reefs. Scientists have previously tested the bacterial probiotic on adult corals, but now have published research on how this probiotic could limit disease spread in young corals, too.

​A new study found that an ultrasound “helmet” could provide non-invasive treatment for Parkinson’s. The device can target brain regions 1,000 times smaller than ultrasound can, and could replace existing approaches in treating Parkinson’s disease, and even have potential for conditions such as depression, Tourette syndrome, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, and addiction.

​A Pittsburgh-area animal rescue installed a 24/7 microchip scanner to make it easier for lost pets to reunite with their owners. The microchip reader has step-by-step instructions, and after scanning the pet and finding the microchip, you can search it in a nationwide registry, which connects you to the microchip company and ultimately the owners.

Businesses doing good

More than just bags: Vera Bradley pickleball, golf tournaments raise over $40M for breast cancer research

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People doing good

An eight-time Grammy winner donated $1 million to a shop that repairs students’ instruments for free

The subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “The Last Repair Shop,” a facility in Los Angeles is one of the last publicly funded repair shops for musical instruments in the country. It provides free instruments and repairs to students in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where 80% of students come from low-income backgrounds.

The facility just received a $1 million donation from eight-time Grammy winning musician, producer, and philanthropist Herb Alpert — who got his start playing trumpet in the LAUSD.

The facility helps ensure students have equitable access to high-quality instruments — and the costly repairs that often come with them. With so many facilities like it closing down around the country, Alpert wanted to make sure this essential part of the district’s music program could continue its vital work.

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More Good bits

🌳 Plant a tree … where it will help the planet the most.

🎤 Dave Matthews Band knows how to put on a good, zero-waste show.

🦜 Volunteers are helping New Zealand save its rare birds.

✏️ Everyone wants to learn mariachi.

🏳️‍⚧️ For this trans athlete, visibility itself is an act of defiance.

What’s good?

While it was not my best subject, I enjoyed playing the clarinet in my elementary school band for a short stint.

Did you play an instrument in school at any point?

Reply and tell me which one!

— Megan