Costa Rica has been 100% powered by renewable energy for the first quarter of the year and this may continue. This is fantastic for the central american country as it has been making huge strides as a an eco-friendly tourist destination. You can see the beginnings of the country’s environmental
Continue readingAuthor: Adam Clare
Things Are Good: Violent Video Games can be Good
Violent video games get attacked a lot. Media and news companies are quick to blame the influence video games have on youth to be the reason that youth commit acts of violence. This is not the case though. Every year there is more evidence that it’s not true that violent
Continue readingThings Are Good: Alternatives Journal Spells Out Canada’s Map to Sustainability
Canada has a horrible international reputation when it comes to the environment. The federal government even has climate change deniers and actively supports the shameful tar sands. At Alternatives Journal they have worked with some of the smartest people in Canada to show Canadians there’s no reason to continue down
Continue readingThings Are Good: In France New Buildings Need Green Roofs
Green roofs or solar panels are now required on all new commercial buildings in the country of France. This is great because now buildings can have either a zero energy impact or contribute to their local environment. Rooftops on new buildings built in commercial zones in France must either be
Continue readingThings Are Good: PULP: Using Old Materials for New Movements
Art is fun and it can be even more fun when it contributes to changing the world. PULP is an organization that welcomes people (beginners to pros) who are into art and want to make art that uses pre-used materials. This year they’re throwing a party! PULP: paper art party
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Video Designed to Spread
This video has been making the online rounds for the last couple of weeks and I figured I’d post it here. The video looks at why some ideas spread faster and further than others. It’s a neat take on memes (The Richard Dawkins kind).
Continue readingThings Are Good: Help NASA Find Asteroids
Everyday we face an existential threat to our planet from outer space! Asteroids can hit the planet at any moment and ruin our days. To help us prepare for such an event NASA (and other space agencies) are searching for and tracking asteroids. By knowing where they are we can
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cuba Gets New Art Installation: WiFi
Cuba has really poor internet connectivity and it costs a lot of money to connect to the web. The thawing relationship between the USA and Cuba is bound to make it easier to develop the country’s telecommunications infrastructure (cheaper to run a cable from Florida than elsewhere). This is one
Continue readingThings Are Good: Bike Lanes Improve Cities Aesthetically and Economically
There is a strong and powerful myth in North America that car drivers spend more and will always require parking. That is a myth. It turns out that nearly every study done on bike lanes as proven that cyclists are the transportation class cities should cater to because drivers don’t
Continue readingThings Are Good: An Art Gallery for Destroyed and Stolen Art
The Museum of Stolen Art is an online museum that showcases artwork that has been destroyed or stolen in conflict. The new museum couldn’t exist at a better time as ISIS destroys sites of great importance to humanity, and before them the Taliban in Afghanistan destroyed a lot of ancient
Continue readingThings Are Good: WorldFuture Conference 2015
If you’re in San Francisco this July you’re going to want to check out the conference of the future: the WorldFuture Conference. They’ll be looking at future-critical issues (many of this issues are what this very site looks at) and be discussing how to prepare for what the future holds.
Continue readingThings Are Good: Focus Less on Work to Improve Everything – Even Your Job
Stressed about not getting enough done at work? Don’t be. It turns out that you can improve how much you get things done at the office by not thinking about it. Turn your attention elsewhere and focus on things that do matter instead. But, how can performance at work improve
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Can Help Patients Cope with Schizophrenia
Cognitive behavioural therapy can be used by people dealing with schizophrenia to improve their lives. Just six sessions of the therapy can help people deal with worry which can lead to schizophrenic episodes or even be used to help people who are at risk of developing schizophrenia. Six sessions of
Continue readingThings Are Good: Greenlid: An Easy Solution for Your Green Bin
The “dragons” on CBC’s show Dragons’ Den the investors funded a new product called Greenlid. Greenlid is a contraption that makes it easier to deal with household composting and waste diversion projects. In parts of Canada it is known as a “green bin” program. With most waste diversion programs it’s
Continue readingThings Are Good: Under the Dome: A Documentary on China’s Pollution
The Chinese documentary Under the Dome (I can’t find english subtitles, sorry) has taken China by storm. The documentary was released on last week and is already changing the conversation about pollution in the country. This could mark a massive change in how China enforces their pollution laws and improves
Continue readingThings Are Good: Investing in Mental Health is Good for Everyone
Mental health is important for everybody and painting it can be challenging for many people. As with most preventive practises it’s wise to invest in it. The benefits of keeping society in good mental health is a benefit for everybody. Where relevant statistics have been available, a huge trove of
Continue readingThings Are Good: Habits for Happiness
It turns out that just by doing some small changes to your daily routine you can dramatically improve your happiness. By adding very small habits to your day you can see big change! It’s not only for happiness but you can also use habits to alter other aspects of your
Continue readingThings Are Good: Mindfulness Meditation Effective in Improving Sleep
Mindfulness meditation is already pretty great, and it keeps getting better! Not only can it help you go amongst your day in a more thoughtful, productive, focussed manner, it can even help you sleep! A six week trial of getting people who had trouble sleeping to mediate proved to help
Continue readingThings Are Good: Drinking Coffee Regularly Decreases DNA Damage
I start my day with coffee and writing a post about good news. Today those two things merged rather well: it turns out drinking coffee regularly can lower the chances that one’s DNA will get messed up. DNA is always doing bizarre things and if those things get too bizarre
Continue readingThings Are Good: Seville is Spain’s Cycling Gem
It’s well known that the future of urban design and transportation will support the mass use of bicycles. Still, some cities are slow to catch on to this. In Spain where cycling is not nearly as popular in colder northern parts of Europe the city of Seville is leading the
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