Welcome to Feel Good News! Each week, I scour the web to bring you a collection of uplifting and positive news stories. My goal is to provide you with a dose of inspiration and hope to start your week off on the right foot.
This week, I have stories about individuals who are making a difference in their communities, companies that are doing good in the world, and much more. I hope you enjoy reading these stories as much as I enjoyed putting this newsletter together.
Letโs start with:
1. FDA Plans to Allow More Gay, Bisexual Men to Donate Blood
Gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships would be allowed to donate blood without abstaining from sex under guidelines being drafted by the Food and Drug Administration, people familiar with the plans said.
The change would be a departure from U.S. policy that for many years barred men who have sex with men from donating blood. The FDA policy originated in the 1980s during the AIDS epidemic, when tests for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, werenโt considered sensitive enough to protect the blood supply.
2. Biden-Harris Administration Makes $50 Million Available to Clean Up Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells on Tribal Lands
There are several thousand orphaned oil and gas wells on Tribal lands, jeopardizing public health and safety by contaminating groundwater, seeping toxic chemicals, emitting harmful pollutants including methane, and harming wildlife. Some of these wells are underwater, which creates an especially high risk of adverse impacts.
3. Golden bandicoots 'breeding rapidly' in the NSW outback 100 years after becoming locally extinct
The first golden bandicoots have been born in NSW's far north-west in 100 years, after formerly being extinct in the region.
Golden bandicoots have been breeding rapidly in Sturt National Park since being introduced to as part of the Wild Desertsย project. There are initiatives in place as part of the project to protect native fauna from feral animals. More native species are set be reintroduced to the area and will be confirmed next year.
Cue the Crash Bandicoot references :D
4. Toledo Zoo welcomes twin polar bear cubs
Twin polar bear cubs were born at the Toledo Zoo, the zoo announced Thursday. The parents of the twin cubs are 24-year-old female, Crystal, and 18-year-old male, Nuka.
Crystalโs eighth and ninth cubsโ genders are unknown at this time. They are estimated to make their public exhibit debut in the spring of 2023.
Watch the video of the announcement here:
5. A Philadelphia woman collects thousands of stuffed animals and brings them to seniors who are in need of a Christmas gift
Santa Claus isn't the only person who travels around with a vehicle full of toys. Every holiday season, Patricia Gallagher fills her car with stuffed animals and drives around Philadelphia. She doesn't give them to kids, she gives them to seniors.ย
"Who would think that elderly veterans would want stuffed animals? But they did," Patricia Gallagher said of the project.
6. 150 sea turtles saved from the cold. An aquarium in Boston has been treating "cold-stunned" sea turtles stranded on US beaches.
An aquarium in Boston has been treating "cold-stunned" sea turtles stranded on US beaches. Experts urge the public not to return stranded animals into the water.
Overย 150 sea turtles have received treatment this season forย "life-threatening medical conditions" prompted by hypothermiaย in theย New England Aquarium, based in the US city of Boston.
7. 'No K-pop on a dead planet': Meet the K-pop stans taking on the climate crisis
What does Kpop4planet do?
Nurul a 23 year old fan from Indonesia and her colleagues have channeled most of their energy into six different climate campaigns. Over 33,000 fans from 170 countries have taken part in them.
The most successful of these has been โNo K-pop on a dead planetโ. It called for K-pop albums to go green by selling digital rather than physical albums, minimizing the packaging and encouraging low carbon performances.
The movement has proved popular with the fandom. For Kpop4planet work two full-time employees along with 20 volunteer ambassadors from nine countries. The group is funded by Action Speaks Louder, a charity registered in Australia who lobby to hold big companies accountable for their climate change promises.
That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:
Have a great week ahead :)