Good News Tuesday for February 7, 2023: Niger Reduces Maternal Deaths, Washington DC Making Bus Rides Free, Solar and Wind to the Rescue in the EU, and Paper-Thin Solar Cells, Plus Update: Human Chain Guides Dolphin

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Niger Significantly Reduces Maternal Deaths

“Researchers working with Niger’s health ministry say they have managed to more than halve the number of women who bleed to death after giving birth in health facilities.” BBC News has details.

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Washington Is Making Buses Free Forever

The Washington DC council decided to make public buses permanently free to ride starting this summer. The council also agreed to expand bus service to 24 hours on 12 major routes downtown. Fortune has details HERE.

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Wind and Solar supplied more EU electricity than any other power source in 2022.

For the first time, wind and solar power combined supplied more electricity for the EU than any other power source in 2022. Contributing factors included Russia’s restrictions on energy exports and dips in available hydro and nuclear power. “Around 83% (of the hydro/nuclear) gap was met by wind and solar generation – and a fall in electricity demand. CarbonBrief has additional details.

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Paper-Thin, Light Weight Solar Cells are on the Way

Researchers at MIT are developing paper-thin, lightweight solar cells. Each sheet can generate 370 watts/kg. Take a look:

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Bonus Video: Biologists Make Human Chain to Guide Dolphin

Biologist formed a human chain to guide a dolphin out of creek to a canal to leading to the ocean.

Got Good News?

I know today’s video was more intellectual than my usual closing videos.

The video originally planned for today went to next week’s draft

where I’m collecting stories about different kinds of love for February 14th.

Then I remembered the dolphin video. Enjoy!

Feel free to share a link about your good news in the comments!

SoCS: Why or why not?

Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “start with why.” Begin your post with the word “why.” Have fun!

“Why can’t I ……?”

“Because I said so.”

When I was a kid, I promised myself I would never give that irritating response to my children. “Because I said so,” is no answer for inquiring minds who really want to know the reason. I believe I broke this promise a couple times with my kids, but not often.

Asking why is healthy. It helps us learn more about the world. Unless you’re in a life-or-death situation, like a tornado is coming and we all need to get down in the cellar.

There’s a quote about asking why:

Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream of things that never were and say why not.

Robert Kennedy

Why did he say, “men,” and not people. I guess saying men or man was still the norm back then.

Why do we have to have two main political parties with such polarity and hoopla on each side of the chasm?

Why not try more ranked choice voting which is what got the first native Alaskan elected to the US congress. Mary Peltola defeated Sarah Palin in a ranked choice vote. The way I understand it is that you get to rank your preferences on the ballot – first choice, second choice, etc. This gives a more accurate measure of voter preference with less temptation to vote for someone who is more electable. The person with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and their votes go to the second choice for each voter. I think that’s how it works. I just read about this yesterday. Didn’t even know it was an option. Well, why not?

Wrote all that Friday. Now it’s Saturday morning.

Also, why did my home covid test come back negative yesterday when I feel so damn sick? I guess I should be thankful it’s not covid, which I apparently haven’t had yet, but I was almost sure it would be positive. The symptoms remind me of my reactions to the vaccines: Zero energy, body aches, headache, no appetite, plus foggy brain, and at 2am I had teeth chattering chills and a fever. Ugh. Sure makes me appreciate an average day with just feeling okay.

One good thing is I did some art before I got sick. I was going to share it here, but not sure if I have the energy…. Maybe later.

Okay, here are the two pieces from the acrylic pouring class I took. For the first one, I used a small stick to make the lines in the starbursts. In the second one, the I used a paintbrush to add the dolphin which was totally unplanned. I’d been playing with the still wet paint with my finger (why do we do that?) and messed it up. Eventually, the dolphin emerged.

Dancing Network

Dolphin Dream

For more streams and details on SoCS, visit our host, Linda Hill, but clicking HERE.