Photo courtesy ParisSharing/Wikimedia Commons

21st Century Has Seen Tree Cover Expand In 60% Of American Counties Including Metro Areas

by Andy Corbley, Good News Network

In a creative use of big data, a survey has found that of the 3,119 US counties, 1,836 experienced growth and expansion of tree cover, with a high concentration among prairie and Mid-West areas. Additionally, among counties that had thinning forests, the mean tree loss was lower than the mean increase among counties that saw expanding forests; in other words, when measured by county, the US has seen net forest growth over the last 2 decades. Tree cover in human civilization performs several functions. Woods, however small, have the effect of increasing biodiversity in the area.

How Norway Is Proving That Homelessness Is A Solvable Problem

by Peter Yeung, reasons to be cheerful

Strolling around the major sites in Oslo, from the strikingly modernist opera house along the harbor to the 17th century Domkirke cathedral, there’s something notably absent from the streets of the Norwegian capital. Compared to major hubs like Paris, London and New York — and indeed almost every other city in the world — there are barely any people living and sleeping on the streets. This is because Norway, a country of 5.6 million people, is making homelessness history. “Zero homelessness is our main common goal,” says Hermund Urstad, senior adviser at Husbanken.

World Central Kitchen Resumes Gaza Operations After Nearly 7-Week Pause

by Rawan Sheikh Ahmad, The New York Times

World Central Kitchen, the charity founded by the celebrity chef José Andrés, has resumed operations in Gaza almost seven weeks after pausing cooking and distributing meals because of Israel’s blockade of the enclave. The charity said in a statement that it cooked nearly 10,000 meals on Saturday, its first day of operations after it was able to deliver aid to its teams in Gaza for the first time in more than 12 weeks. World Central Kitchen suspended its work in Gaza on May 7, saying that it had run out of supplies to cook meals or make bread after Israel imposed a near total shutdown of aid deliveries that lasted almost three months.

LA Dodgers Pledge $1 Million In Support Of Immigrants Amid ICE Raids

by Alana Wise, NPR

The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced they will commit $1 million towards financial assistance for families of immigrants “impacted by recent events in the region.” The announcement, made on Friday, did not specify exactly what “recent events” referred to, but it comes amid ongoing federal immigration raids targeting migrants in the area, and calls from the Dodgers’ fanbase for the organization to speak out against them. “What’s happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected,” the Dodgers president and CEO, Stan Kasten, said in a statement.

Nestlé Says It Will Remove Artificial Dyes From U.S. Foods By 2026

by The Associated Press

Nestle said Wednesday it will eliminate artificial colors from its U.S. food and beverages by the middle of 2026. It’s the latest big food company making that pledge. Last week, Kraft Heinz and General Mills said they would remove artificial dyes from their U.S. products by 2027. General Mills also said it plans to remove artificial dyes from its U.S. cereals and from all foods served in K-12 schools by the middle of 2026. The move has broad support. About two-thirds of Americans favor restricting or reformulating processed foods to remove ingredients like added sugar or dyes, according to an AP-NORC poll.

 

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