#098 - The Best News of Last Week - August 21, 2023
🌊 - Discover the Ocean's Hidden Gem Deep down in the Pacific
1. Massachusetts passed a millionaire's tax. Now, the revenue is paying for free public school lunches.
Every kid in Massachusetts will get a free lunch, paid for by proceeds from a new state tax on millionaires.
A new 4% tax on the state's wealthiest residents will account for $1 billion of the state's $56 billion fiscal budget for 2024, according to state documents. A portion of those funds will be used to provide all public-school students with free weekday meals, according to State House News Service.
2. Plant-based filter removes up to 99.9% of microplastics from water
Researchers may have found an effective, green way to remove microplastics from our water using readily available plant materials. Their device was found to capture up to 99.9% of a wide variety of microplastics known to pose a health risk to humans.
3. Scientists Find A Whole New Ecosystem Hiding Beneath Earth's Seafloor
Most recently, aquanauts on board a vessel from the Schmidt Ocean Institute used an underwater robot to turn over slabs of volcanic crust in the deep, dark Pacific. Underneath the seafloor of this well-studied site, the international team of researchers found veins of subsurface fluids swimming with life that has never been seen before.
It's a whole new world we didn't know existed.
4. How solar has exploded in the US in just a year
Solar and storage companies have announced over $100 billion in private sector investments in the US since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) a year ago, according to a new analysis released today by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
Since President Joe Biden signed the IRA in August 2022, 51 solar factories have been announced or expanded in the US.
5. Researchers have identified a new pack of endangered gray wolves in California
A new pack of gray wolves has shown up in California’s Sierra Nevada, several hundred miles away from any other known population of the endangered species, wildlife officials announced Friday.
It’s a discovery to make researchers howl with delight, given that the native species was hunted to extinction in California in the 1920s. Only in the past decade or so have a few gray wolves wandered back into the state from out-of-state packs.
6. Record-Breaking Cleanup: 25,000 Pounds of Trash Removed from Pacific Garbage Patch
Ocean cleanup crews have fished out the most trash ever taken from one of the largest garbage patches in the world.
The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit environmental engineering organization, saw its largest extraction earlier this month by removing about 25,000 pounds of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, Alex Tobin, head of public relations and media for the organization
7. The Inflation Reduction Act Took U.S. Climate Action Global
The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aimed to promote clean energy investments in the U.S. and globally. In its first year, the IRA successfully spurred other nations to develop competitive climate plans.
Clean energy projects in 44 U.S. states driven by the IRA have generated over 170,600 jobs and $278 billion in investments, aligning with Paris Agreement goals.
That's it for this week :)
This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation here:
Also don’t forget to share this post with your friends.