Good News Tuesday for July 6, 2021: Wales Takes a Big Step, Nurse Stops Hospital Fire in India, Florida Creates Wildlife Corridor, and Valedictorian Speaks his Truth on Acceptance, Mental Health, and Identity

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Wales Puts a Hold on New Road Building

As part of their plan to reach zero emissions by 2050, the Welsh government is putting a hold on new road building. They’re not saying they will never build roads again, but for now, no new roads.

“We need a shift away from spending money on projects that encourage more people to drive, and spend more money on maintaining our roads and investing in real alternatives that give people a meaningful choice.” Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for climate change. For details, see this article from The Guardian found in my Goodnewsletter.

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Nurse in India Saves 36 Babies from Hosptial Fire

P Jayakumar, a nurse and father of two, put out an electrical fire at a public hospital in India saving 36 babies. After stopping the fire, Jayakumar, who has asthma, was hospitalized in the ICU for five days for smoke inhalation before going home. Here’s the story from The New Indian Express

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Florida Creates Protected Wildlife Corridor

The governor of Florida recently signed bipartisan legislation to create one of the biggest wildlife corridors in the developed world with $400 million of initial funding. The act will help protect many species, including endangered Florida panthers. Here’s more from the Good News Network.

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Valedictorian Bryce Dershem Finishes his Speech

(I first heard this story on Sunday when the priest at my church shared it in his sermon about different kinds of power.)

In spite of spending six months of his senior year in treatment for anorexia, Bryce Dershem graduated as class valedictorian of his New Jersey high school. Multiple videos and articles indicate that Bryce’s high school principal took a hard line in telling the valedictorian he could not say anything in his speech about his LGBTQ status or his mental health treatment. At the graduation ceremony, when Bryce started to speak his truth, the principal disconnected his microphone and took away Bryce’s printed speech notes. Students yelled, “Let him finish!” The good news is that someone brought him another mic and Bryce finished his speech from memory. He talked about overcoming challenges and accepting yourself. I was impressed by Bryce’s courage and composure.

Here’s an interview with Bryce from NBC News followed by a video of his speech.

Here’s the speech:

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Good News Tuesday for May 11, 2021: Ten Year Old Refugee Chess Champ, Ocean Conservation, Removing Anti-LGBTQ Language, Elephant Sanctuary, and Aging Out of Foster Care into Adoption

Seeking Balance One Tuesday at a Time

Ten-Year-Old Homeless Refugee Wins Chess Championship

In 2017, Anitoluwa Adewumi—aka,“Tani” – and his family were refugees from Nigeria. They came to the US and lived in a shelter in Manhattan. Tani learned to play chess in school. At ten years old, he has won the state championship becoming an official Chess National Master, Read more about Tani in this article from the Good News Network.

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Australia Commits $100 Million to Ocean Conservation

In April, Australia announced it will commit $100 million to protect oceans. The Good News Network reports: “Much of the funding will go towards ecosystems that involve seagrass and mangroves, which play a key role in drawing carbon out of the atmosphere.” This report from GNN specifies the benefits and distribution plans.

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Alabama Governor Signs Bill to Remove for Anti-LGBTQ Language from Curriculum

A new Alabama state law which goes  into effect July 1, “removes the requirement that educators teach that homosexuality isn’t an acceptable lifestyle and that being a homosexual is a criminal offense in the state. The law also will require schools to notify parents about their intent to provide instruction about sexual education or human reproduction.” Here are details more from The Hill.

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Former Circus Elephants Get a New Home with Natural Habitat

Ten Asian elephants who were freed from the circus are settling in at their spacious, natural home in Florida. This is progress toward a more compassionate culture:

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After Years in Foster Care, 19 Year Old Monyay is Adopted

Monyay didn’t like her foster care caseworker at first. But over the years, they developed a special bond. The caseworker, Leah Paskalides, “gave her all the support her job would allow. When Monyay “aged out” of the foster care system, Leah found a way to adopt her proving, it’s never too late. This one brought tears to my eyes:

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No Sides, Only Love

Suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in Utah. Too many young people have died, both in body and in spirit, as a result of being marginalized, hated, and abused. “Encircle” is a resource center, a safe haven, for LGBTQ youth and their parents started by a Mormon mom in Provo, Utah. After watching videos about the program, I feel tremendous admiration for those who had the courage to open its doors with the motto: No sides, Only love.  It’s not always easy to lead with only love. But programs like Encircle and its people give me great hope.

 

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