Canada bans manufacture and import of single-use plastics
The ban includes checkout bags, cutlery, straws and food-service ware made from or containing plastics that are hard to recycle, and will come into effect by the end of 2022.
Good News Links
Many U.S. states now allow mental health absences for students
At least nine states now allow students to take mental health days. Other states using less expensive solutions like in-class mediation, mindfulness exercises, and social-emotional training.
Seattle offers utility pole EV chargers to city residents
Residents who live within city limits can request to have a public electric vehicle charging station installed in front of their home or residential property. Installations are expected to begin early next year.
Korean scientists develop “nanomachines” that can penetrate and kill cancer cells
This new method directly kills cancer cells via mechanical movements without anticancer medication, in contrast to the capsule-type nanocarriers that deliver therapeutic drugs.
Western Australia to retire all government-owned coal-fired power stations by 2030
They will then invest an estimated $3.8 billion by 2030 into a generation of renewables and storage, mostly wind and batteries, to ensure Western Australia has affordable and reliable power into the future.
Joe Biden issues executive order to fight conversion therapy & LGBTQ fostering discrimination
The executive order tells the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue rules that ban the use of federal funds for programs that offer conversion therapy.
Virginia joins 20 other U.S. states banning ticket quotas for traffic cops
The National Motorists Association says that “a speed trap exists wherever traffic enforcement is focused on extracting revenue from drivers instead of improving safety.”
After long decline, eastern monarch butterflies show signs of recovery in Mexico
Eastern monarch butterflies covered 35% more ground in the mountain forests of central Mexico this past winter than they did the year before, according to a World Wildlife Fund survey.
Indonesia issues long-delayed rules to protect migrant fishing workers
Marine activists have welcomed the decree, which they say should help improve the global fisheries sector, given that vessels where worker abuse is rife also tend to be engaged in illegal fishing activities.
Energy Dome launches world’s first CO2 battery energy storage facility in Sardinia
These “CO2 batteries” can store renewable energy over long periods and release it quickly, at less than half the cost of big lithium batteries.