Happy (belated) Earth Day! As I write this, I am listening to "La Mer" by Claude Debussy, which feels like a fitting backdrop to appreciate all of Earth's wonders. Though it's now considered one of the most famous pieces of classical music around, when it was premiered in 1905, it wasn't a smash hit. One critic said it felt like, instead of something grand and powerful, the audience was served "agitated water in a saucer." That is officially my new favorite way of thinking about the sea. We're all just island-bound rubber ducks in a saucer of agitated water, trying to stay afloat.
This week, we have some great stories of rubber ducks people giving their time and talents back to the Earth, in ways big and small.
If there's something you'd like to see here, drop us a line. Know someone who could use a little Good Stuff? Send them a copy! We hope you love it as much as we do.
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Our favorites this week
Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week
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Stephano Asecheka, second from left. |
The Lion Defenders
How do you live in harmony with a threatened animal when the animal is, well, threatening? For the Barabaig people in central Tanzania, that's an ongoing question. Tanzania is home to about 50% of the lion population in sub-
Saharan Africa. Lions themselves are considered "vulnerable," with a total population of less than 40,000. However, they also pose a danger to people and livestock. As a result, killing lions can be a source of income and social status in the Barabaig community. The conservation organization Lion Landscapes has been working with the Barabaig tribe to form the "Lion Defenders" -- a group of young men who track lions to make sure herders and community members stay a safe distance, and the lions remain unharmed. Stephano Asecheka, who is from the Barabaig tribe, acts as an intermediary between these young men and the community and says helping his people understand lions differently -- as cohabitants and also as a tourist draw that can boost the local economy -- helps form a sense of ownership and protectiveness.
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Funding the future
A lucky Frenchman who nabbed a record-breaking $217-million lottery jackpot has spent nearly all of it on conservation and charitable efforts. "From my point of view, the priority today is saving the planet," the unknown man told French media. The result of his efforts is the Anyama Foundation, named after a town in Côte d'Ivoire where he spent several years during his childhood. The foundation's website explains it was his memory of watching trucks loaded with trees in Côte d'Ivoire which motivated him to take action. The Anyama Foundation's goal is to "find a balanced and respectful coexistence between nature and humanity." That means, in addition to forest conservation and biodiversity work, the foundation also provides support for caregivers that help older people and people with disabilities.
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In it for the cats
I like to imagine the faces on the staff at the Idaho Human Society when nine-year-old Ben Miller recently stopped in and dropped off a plastic bag filled with $1,150 in cash. For three years, the young man has been raising money through a lemonade stand after he visited the shelter in 2019 and noticed that some cats didn't have toys. According to Ben's mother, Amy Miller, Ben has spent hours selling lemonade -- even offering lavender flavor -- alongside treats like cookies. In total, he's raised about $2,000, and his mom says she's blown away by the support. Some people have traveled nearly an hour to get some refreshments and make a donation, and others have sent money virtually. A representative from the shelter said they're in the middle of kitten season, and every dollar they can get helps pay for medical care, food, and yes, toys.
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Have you heard of pysanky? These Polish-Ukrainian Easter eggs are painstakingly decorated with a tiny beeswax pen and then dipped in a succession of dyes. The different layers of dye and the wax -- which is melted off the final product -- create dazzling patterns that are a point of immense regional pride. There is plenty of folklore surrounding the eggs, too, and many people believe they offer protection from evil spirits. With the ongoing war in Ukraine, pysanky are being newly appreciated as a symbol of Ukrainian resilience. A display of these fragile works of art, collected from around the world, is currently showing at the Ukrainian Institute of America in New York.
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CNN Heroes checked in with 2021 CNN Hero of the Year Shirley Raines, and she's sharing the glory of her big win. Raines is the founder of the non-profit Beauty 2 the Streetz, which provides hair and makeup services, food, clothing, hygiene and safety items to unhoused people on Los Angeles' Skid Row. In Raines' honor, her organization received $100,000 to expand its work. She says it will go toward food programs as the homeless population in her community increases. Members of her Skid Row family say they're proud to be a part of Raine's life-changing work. "It was like a team feeling," said one resident. "Everyone was approaching me ... I was happy and proud just to know her. She's helped out more people than you can imagine." Raines, however, remains humble. "I don't do hero stuff, I do human stuff," she says.
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How much do the people of Istanbul like their cats? The city is sometimes called "Catstanbul," and it's home to an estimated 125,000 feline friends. Cafes and bars often unofficially adopt a resident cat or two, and it isn't unusual to see them in a prime seat lapping up some free milk or roaming the halls of the city's famed Grand Bazaar. Evidence of locals caring for Istanbul's cats dates back 3,500 years, and some Ottoman houses were even thought to have specific doors just for cats. Now, Istanbul residents say they can't imagine the city without them.
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From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim,
Hath put a spirit of youth in everything.
That heavy Saturn laughed and leaped with him.
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet 98 (Coincidentally, Shakespeare was born and also died in the month of April.)
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How do you like your Oreos? (Confession: I split mine in half, scrape off the cream and just eat the cookie. For a few months, I actually kept the residual cream in a ball in my fridge! I have since been medicated. ) For those who prefer a less deranged way, say, twisting them in half to try and get a little cream on each side, researchers at MIT have actually studied the very best way to do it! Yes, they created an "Oreometer," a device designed to split Oreo cookies with a scientifically precise amount of torque. The hope was that with the perfect twist, researchers could manipulate the cookie's filling to distribute evenly between the two wafer cookies. Alas, they could not. There are a lot of variables at play here, including texture and adhesion. Does this all sound like a waste of time to you? It's not! The scientists involved say it's a good example of exploring the physics of complicated materials -- and making complex systems easier for regular, cookie-eating people to understand.
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When I first heard of forest bathing, I feared it would involve running nude among the trees somewhere. (A practice I would fully support, if done safely away from potential spectators.) According to Kirsten McEwan, an associate professor and research psychologist at the University of Derby in the UK, it's a little tamer than that. "Forest bathing is essentially a slow, mindful walk in nature where you pay really close attention to your surroundings, using all of your senses," McEwan said. "It's just to kind of switch your brain off and give yourself a little bit of a rest from ruminating about your to-do list." So, an intentional walk in the woods! Actually, it doesn't need to be in the woods -- any place in nature will do. Mathew White, a health and environmental psychologist, says time in nature is a great way to improve your mental health, and the ideal amount is at least 120 minutes a week. Such practices have even been a prescribed treatment for stress-related conditions in Japan.
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Rec of the week
Brought to you by CNN Underscored
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Shameless animal video
There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.
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We had a request for a frog video this week. So here, a very good video featuring both frog yawns AND frog booty! (Click here to view) |
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