Plus, coral IVF, marriage equality for Chile, animal rights in Spain, a highly effective alternative for treatment-resistant depression, sustainable glitter, a new charity partner and an update from FC HQ.
This is the members only edition of Future Crunch, a weekly roundup of good news, mindblowing science, and the best bits of the internet (not necessarily in that order). One third of your subscription fee goes to charity.
It's Tane and Amy here. It's been a few weeks since the last edition - not because we're lazy but because there's been a few dramas here at FC HQ. Our beloved Gus, the maestro of this newsletter, was admitted to hospital two weeks ago with a serious infection - and no, it's not COVID-19.
He contracted staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as 'golden staph', through an ear infection which got into his blood and led to sepsis. It was touch and go there for a while but he's on the mend now. We know he's getting better because when he does his daily walks around the ward, he's checking the cameras and exits to plan his escape route from hospital.
Thankfully he's going to be ok, but it's a long road to recovery.
It's always been important to Gus to be transparent and honest with this truly global community of subscribers and his commitment to you remains top of mind, despite everything he's going through.
The FC team will continue to keep the good news flowing. We're currently curating our yearly round-up of the best stories of kindness, human ingenuity and planetary progress from 2021. We can't wait to share it with you.
The 'things you don't see coming' are often the events that shape and define us. What matters, is not what the events are, but what you choose to do with them. The thing we love about our team and our wider community, is when a problem arises, instead of complaining about how difficult it is, we start looking for solutions. It's what this newsletter is all about.
So without any further ado, here is the good news...
GIVE A DAMN
SOLA is Afghanistan’s first and only boarding school for girls, co-founded by Shabana Basij-Rasikh, who we featured in our Humankind section of the newsletter back in September after she orchestrated the evacuation of 250 students, staff, and staff families out of Kabul and into Rwanda, days after the Taliban seized power in August.
SOLA’s mission is to provide Afghan girls with a safe and nurturing environment where they can focus on their education and develop their potential as leaders, in a way that’s unprecedented in Afghanistan. The illiteracy rate for teenage girls is a staggering 63%, and under Taliban rule, girls are forbidden to return to classes.
When the takeover happened in August, SOLA’s campus in Kabul quickly turned from a sanctuary into a prime target. Evacuating an entire school community was not only a logistical feat, but most of the girls, aged 11-19 years old, were forced to leave their families behind in Afghanistan. The courage of these girls and their families, who chose to educate their daughters at the cost of holding them close, is impossible for most of us to comprehend.
The SOLA community are safely settled in Rwanda and the girls have resumed studies. However, the school is rebuilding its resources from scratch as the teachers and students fled Kabul with only the items they could carry. Thanks to all of you, we’ve sent them $5000 to buy 60 Kindles and transport them to Rwanda so the girls can start reading again and hopefully begin to build an e-library. We’ll keep you updated on their progress and you can watch Shabana’s recent TED talk here.
Here is Shabana Basij-Rasikh giving a heartfelt thank you to what you helped make happen.
“If there’s one thing I ask of the world, it is this: do not avert your eyes from Afghanistan. Don’t let your attention wander as the weeks pass. See those girls, and in doing so you will hold those holding power over them to account.” - Shabana Basij-Rasikh
Good news you probably didn't hear about
Portugal has shut down its last coal-fired power plant, nine years ahead of its 2030 target. It's the fourth country in the European Union to stop burning coal - Belgium quit coal in 2016, and Austria and Sweden followed suit in 2020. AP
India has achieved its target of having 40% of installed electricity powered by non-fossil fuel energy sources. Energy, mainly from renewables and a small amount of nuclear sources, generates 156.83 of 390.8 GW of the country's electricity. India is committed to reaching 500 GW of clean energy by 2030. Economic Times
Germany’s new government has announced a new climate protection programme that will bring forward its coal exit by 8 years to 2030. The country's aim is to increase renewable capacity from 65% to 80% of its electricity needs. C'mon Australia! Reuters
Canada is fast-tracking legislation to ban the practice of LGBTQ+ “conversion therapy". If successful, Canada will join Brazil, Ecuador, Germany, and Malta where the practice is already banned. Guardian
Another win for for LGBTQ+ rights. In Chile, landmark legalisation has finally recognised same-sex marriage. The victory comes after a 4 year campaign by activists and the new legislation will enable same-sex couples to adopt children. Chile joins a growing list of Catholic Latin American countries who have legalised same-sex marriage including Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and 14 of Mexico's 32 states. BBC
Good news for a furry friends in Spain. New legislation now recognises animals as “sentient beings". 200,000 animals are abandoned in Spain each year and advocates have fought hard since 2017 for this law, which will protect animals from being mistreated, abandoned, or separated from one of their owners in the case of a divorce or separation. IFL Science
The largest-ever study of psilocybin, the psychoactive compound in magic mushrooms, has revealed the psychedelic drug is a highly effective alternative for treatment-resistant depression. 29.1% of patients in the highest dose group were in remission 3 weeks after a single dose, and more than a quarter of those patients sustained remission three months after. STAT News
“Everyone agrees such a result hasn’t been seen before in depression research, so we’re incredibly happy with that result.” - Lars Christian Wilde, Co-founder and President of Compass
Researchers in Cambridge are developing a biodegradable glitter made from cellulose nanocrystals rather than microplastics. Although cellulose is naturally clear, it creates colours through a process called self-assembly, in which the crystals align and twist, refracting light. Although the glitter alternative will be pollution-free, it promises to be just as annoying for parents! Eco Watch
The only home we've ever known
For the first time, scientists will map the world’s underground fungal networks, which until now have been largely unexplored. Understanding these interconnected webs called mycelium could help us tackle climate change. Fungal networks store billions of tonnes of CO2 and act as nutrient “highways” for plants and trees and allow them to communicate. The map will identify sites with the potential to store more C02 and help protect them from external threats like agricultural fertilisers. Guardian
“An understanding of underground fungal networks is essential to our efforts to protect the soil, on which life depends, before it is too late.” - Jane Goodall, who is an advisor on the project
Nepal is on track to become the first country to double its tiger population in 2022. It's part of TX2, a global imitative supported by Russia, Nepal and 13 other countries. Nepal’s tiger population has grown steadily from 121 tigers 11 years ago, to 235 tigers 3 years ago and the country is likely to reach the 250-mark next year. The Star
After 35 years of conservation, the population of the endangered Burrowing Parrot in Chile has increased from 217 in 1986 to over 4000. The success is largely due to the protection of Río de los Cipreses National Reserve which contains the native plants that are a vital part of their diet. Evolve to Ecology
WildEast, an innovative project in East Anglia in the UK, will rewild an area 3 times the size of New York City and create wildlife corridors across some of the country's most intensely farmed land. The project, initiated by 3 estate owners who all committed their land, aims to restore biodiversity to 618,000 acres by 2070. Mongabay
This could be the world’s biggest sex event! Coral along the Great Barrier Reef has spawned; releasing trillions of eggs and sperm into the ocean and giving ecologists hope for the reef’s recovery. Two-thirds of the coral across the reef was damaged by unusually warm ocean temperatures in 2016, 2017 and 2020. Marine scientists and local tourism operators are using ‘coral IVF’ to collect the eggs from parts of the reef that have spawned significantly and transport them to restore parts of the reef that have suffered the most damage. NPR
"The reef has gone through its own troubles like we all have, but it can still respond — and that gives us hope. I think we must all focus on the victories as we emerge from the pandemic." - Gareth Phillips, Marine Scientist
New hope for China’s coastal wetlands with satellite imagery showing significant recovery over the last 10 years. After decades of destruction, mainly due to economic development wetland areas decreased between 1984 and 2011 but started rebounding after 2012. The turnaround is attributed to several conservation projects that started in the 1990s, when China realised the importance of these vital ecosystems and sprung into action. Mongabay
Humankind
Saving the world’s oceans with YouTube
Meet Mark Rober and Jimmy Donaldson AKA ‘MrBeast’, two of the world’s most popular YouTube personalities who are on a mission to raise $30 million to remove 30 million pounds of waste from oceans, rivers, and beaches over the next 3 years.
If you’re over the age of 25, these names probably won’t sound familiar but mention them to any young members of your family, they’ll reply with loud squeals and fist pumps.
At 23-years old, Kansas-born Jimmy (MrBeast) is one of the most-viewed people on YouTube with over 72 million subscribers tuning into his big money giveaways and stunts. Meanwhile 41-year old Mark is an ex-NASA engineer, who applies his experience from working on projects like the Curiosity rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to crazy experiments for kids, making him the world’s coolest science teacher with almost 20 million subscribers.
The two YouTubers first joined forces in 2019, turning their popularity into purpose with #TeamTrees, a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation where they aimed to raise $20 million to plant 20 million trees. The initiative became one of the largest creator-led fundraising campaigns in history, bringing in over $23 million and two years on is still receiving enough donations to plant 2,600 trees per day.
For #TeamSeas, Jimmy and Mark have partnered with non-profit organisations Ocean Conservancy, a volunteer based program and Ocean Cleanup which uses a solar-powered machine to remove trash. Both organisations have pledged to remove one pound of rubbish for every dollar raised. Since launching on October 29th, #TeamSeas has already raised over $17 million.
Although many people still see YouTube as a platform for silly videos and gaming, Jimmy believes it can be a powerful driver for change and wants wants to prove that “Gen Z” can make a difference beyond “just retweets.” And there’s every chance the difference these two Youtubers make will impact not just their sizable audiences but future generations as well.
“Some of the challenges we face won't be solved in our lifetime, but this is one that we can solve. The Great Pacific garbage patch is big, but in 10 years, with the right funding, we can remove that out of the ocean.”- Mark Rober
That's it for this edition. Sorry its missing a few of its usual sections - we're doing the best we can and hope you are too.
We'll be back with our annual good news round-up of 2021 soon and will resume normal programming in 2022. Be kind and stay safe out there!
Much love,
Tane, Amy and the rest of the FC team.
PS. This article, might just change a tiny part of how you approach your life.
What did you think of this edition?
