The Goodnewspaper The 2024 Environment Edition

When I first started the process of creating the Goodnewspaper, the environment was on the forefront of my mind in two ways. The first is that I felt incredibly overwhelmed by the task at hand: to help people feel more hopeful about the challenges of the world. Climate change is a complex problem with a million layers, sub-problems, and ramifications. And when you look at a problem this big, it's really easy to feel a sense of hopelessness — to believe that creating meaningful change might be impossible. But I was determined. The Goodnewspaper was created to help people feel more hopeful — especially on the issues they feel most hopeless about. And that's what climate was for me. I knew that if I felt that way — others must…

Aside from the urgent consequences of climate change, there is another reason for governments to take action to protect the environment: job creation. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 makes way for 210 major clean energy projects, which leads to thousands of jobs for those building electric vehicle and battery factories, wind and solar manufacturing, and more. A new report from environmental advocacy group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) reveals these projects will create a total of 303,500 jobs each year over a typical fiveyear construction phase, as well as another 99,600 jobs each year following the initial construction phases. “This report basically reinforces the fact that we’re in the biggest economic revolution in generations, thanks to the IRA and its policies,” E2’s executive director, Bob Keefe, told Canary Media. “The economic…

In Denver, Colorado, the Northeast Early College campus is now entirely powered by the solar canopies that stretch over the public school’s parking lot. “This may only be the beginning of solving one of our major issues,” 15-year-old high school student David Laloata told The Colorado Sun. “But this is proof that we the people are trying to save and restore what has been destroyed.” The canopies — which produce nearly 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year — are projected to divert 70,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the next decade. Revenue and federal tax credits earned from the $33.4 million, 12-site project are going to further maintenance and project completion, as well as Denver public school families in need. Locals without access to solar power technology still…

Last spring, Teagan Connelly became the first student at New Hampshire’s Plymouth State University to graduate with a bachelor’s of science degree in climate studies. “You would think learning about climate effects would only add to the ‘doomerism,’ but it didn’t,” she told Yale Climate Connections. “While not every college student can say this, I was so excited to go to class every day because I was learning about things I was actually interested in.” Across the country, other colleges and universities are joining Plymouth in implementing climate studies majors. Most require a mixture of atmospheric and environmental sciences, mathematics, and technical classes, while Vanderbilt University in Nashville asks students to take interdisciplinary studies in natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities to secure the major. “There is no other program…

GOOD Cut plastic water bottles out of your life. Invest in a reusable water bottle that’s sturdy, reliable, and easy to clean. Not only will you likely drink more water, but you can also help divert plastic waste from landfills. BETTER Eat less meat. You don’t have to go full vegetarian or vegan to help cut down on greenhouse gas emissions from the meat industry. Even reducing your meat consumption once per week can go a long way. BEST Walk, bike, or carpool when possible. Not everyone lives in a pedestrian-friendly town, but pull up a map and see if there are alternative routes to your everyday destinations. Local bike paths and new bus pals await you. WHAT'S THIS? THIS IS THE GOOD BAR. We believe in celebrating good and…

Carbon offsets — paying a credit to environmental projects to compensate for a person or company’s carbon emissions — have had a PR problem this year, spurring debates about their efficacy. Most credits go toward reforestation or clean energy projects in far-away places, making them hard to trace — and trust. One program in Juneau, Alaska, however, is making a meaningful difference through offsets. Mendenhall, a famous glacier in Juneau, attracts over a million tourists a year by cruise ship alone -but the glacier is shrinking. To counteract their impact on the environment, visitors and tourism companies (and hopefully, soon, cruise companies) pay a fee to the Alaska Carbon Reduction Fund, which then uses that cash to install heat pumps for low-in-come Juneau residents. Heat pumps are a climate-conscious, electric…