Good News Tuesday: Trees for Australia, More Mental Health, Public Lands, New Inventions, and Neighborly Sign Language

February 19, 2019 by JoAnna 14 Comments

Australia to Plant 1 Billion Trees

Australia plans to plant 1 billion trees by 2050 as part of the country’s plan to meet Paris Agreement climate goals. The new forestry plan would support jobs and help the economy.  My Goodnewsletter led me to this article in The Straits Times.

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Mental Health Treatment Facility Replaces Old Jail house

“Los Angeles County supervisors … approved a plan Tuesday to tear down the dungeon-like Men’s Central Jail downtown and build at least one mental health treatment facility in its place.”  The new facility would be run by the Department of Health Services instead of the Sheriff’s Department and would be staffed by the mental health workers with deputies providing security. You can read more in this LA Times article.

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Hope for Public Land Protection in the US

The U.S. Senate voted to support a bipartisan public lands package that protects more than 2 million acres of land and adds more than 1.3 million acres of new wilderness in western states. The Good News Network reports “The bill was passed in a 92-8 vote, and White House officials have divulged that the president has agreed to sign it, according to The Washington Post.

 

 

 

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New Inventions from Africa

The following article from The Guardian highlights inventions by contenders for the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa prize. Designs include gloves that translate sign language into speech and a system which captures water from the air and converts it into drinking water using solar technology. I love it when  technology is used for good.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jan/01/africa-inspired-inventors-royal-academy-of-engineering-prize

You can listen to the article in this video:

 

 

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Neighbors Learn Sign Language

The neighbors in this Massachusetts community got together and organized a sign language class so they could communicate with 2 year old Samantha. Steve Hartman reports this touching story for “On the Road”

 

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Got good news? Feel free to share in the comments!