How long has it been since you heard good news about the environment? Here is such news: The ozone layer appears to be healing itself. A decade and a half ago, the world stopped using aerosols and solvents that harmed the protective layer of the atmosphere. A new study shows the ozone is healing and may be totally healed within a couple of decades. The study has the backing of the UN, EPA, NASA and others.

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One thing urban planners have learned is that if you widen roads to relieve traffic congestion, it may work for a while, but soon more traffic will flow to the wider roads and you are right back where you started. So, some cities, flush with federal road construction money, are choosing not to widen roads. Instead, they are finding new ways to move people from here to there without using their cars. Meanwhile, transit ridership across the U.S. — including buses and trains — have lost 30% or more of their riders, some of whom now work from home.

Public schools are losing enrollment. In one year during the pandemic, public schools lost a million students. Lots of those students moved to charter schools. Some school districts around the country are closing schools they no longer need because of declining enrollment.