North & Central America | Peter Schulte

Offshore wind sites are delivering power to the grid for the first time in U.S. history

By Peter Schulte / January 3, 2024 / Good news links

In December 2023, Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource announced that their first turbine was sending electricity from what will be a 12-turbine wind farm, South Fork Wind, 35 miles east of Montauk Point, New York. Now, the joint owners of the Vineyard Wind project have announced the first electricity from one turbine at what will be a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.

Doctor dermatologist examines skin of patient

mRNA skin cancer therapy halves risk of death in clinical trial

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

Following promising results from this recent trail, the combination of Moderna’s new mRNA-4157 and KEYTRUDA has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA in the U.S., and accepted into the Priority Medicines scheme by the European Medicines Agency, for the treatment of high-risk melanoma.

Denver meets goal of housing 1000 unhoused people before 2024

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

With the opening of a new micro-community in northeast Denver, Mayor Mike Johnston estimated over 1,100 hundred people will have been housed before the end of 2023. “As of yesterday, this city succeeded, in under six months, in moving more than 1,000 people off of the streets and into housing,” he said.

Homicides in the U.S. see historic decline in 2023

By Peter Schulte / December 29, 2023 / Good news links

Murders are down 12.8% over last year across more than 175 cities, according to criminal justice data analyzed by firm AH Datalytics. The findings come as a recent Gallup poll shows that more than 77% of Americans believe that there is more crime than there was a year ago.

Electric school buses more than doubled in U.S. in last year

By Peter Schulte / December 29, 2023 / Good news links

The number of electric school buses operating or delivered in the U.S. rose from 598 in March 2022 to 1,285 in June 2023. The number of electric school buses that have been ordered or awarded funding nearly tripled in the same period. Forty-nine states had electric school bus commitments as of June 2023.

Illustration of the concept of nuclear fusion

American scientists repeatedly produce nuclear fusion ignition for the first time in history

By Peter Schulte / December 27, 2023 / Good news links

A team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has achieved fusion ignition, producing a net energy gain from a fusion reaction for the first time ever. The feat was hailed as a “moment of history” by physicists and another major breakthrough in the quest for near-limitless clean energy.

Biden pardons thousands convicted of marijuana charges on federal lands and in D.C.

By Peter Schulte / December 23, 2023 / Good news links

The sweeping pardon applies to all U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents in possession of marijuana for their personal use and those convicted of similar federal crimes. It also forgives pot users in the District of Columbia.

MIT scientists discover the first new antibiotics in over 60 years using AI

By Peter Schulte / December 20, 2023 / Good news links

The discovery of a new compound that can kill a drug-resistant bacterium that kills thousands worldwide every year could prove to be a turning point in the fight against antibiotic resistance.

MIT scientists discover how to convert CO2 into powder that can be stored for decades

By Peter Schulte / December 20, 2023 / Good news links

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology exposed CO2 to catalysts and then electrolysis that turns the gas into a powder called sodium formate, which can be safely stored for decades. The breakthrough follows an almost century-long effort to turn CO2 into a cheap, clean fuel. Researchers have previously turned CO2 into fuels that required too much energy to make or were difficult to store long-term.

Psilocybin effectively treats depression in cancer patients, new study finds

By Peter Schulte / December 19, 2023 / Good news links

New research from Maryland-based Sunstone Therapies found that psilocybin-assisted therapy for cancer patients induced a clinically meaningful improvement in depression symptoms, with 80% of participants demonstrating a sustained response and 50% showing full remission of depression symptoms at week one, which was sustained for eight weeks.