The Best News of Last Week
1. Arizona governor Ok’s over the counter birth control
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has expanded access to over-the-counter birth control that will “soon be available to Arizonans,” according to a press release.
Arizonans 18 and older will soon be able to go to their local pharmacy and purchase oral contraceptives without a doctor’s prescription.
2. ‘Great news’: EU hails discovery of massive phosphate rock deposit in Norway
A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years, according to the company exploiting the resource. About 90% of the world’s mined phosphate rock is used in agriculture for the production of phosphorous for the fertiliser industry, for which there is currently no substitute.
3. U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal
Decades behind its initial schedule, the dangerous job of eliminating the world’s only remaining declared stockpile of lethal chemical munitions will be completed as soon as Friday.
4. Chinese scientists create edible food packaging to replace plastic
By incorporating certain soy proteins into the structure, Chinese University of Hong Kong scientists successfully created edible food packaging.
5. World’s 1st ‘tooth regrowth’ medicine moves toward clinical trials in Japan
A Japanese research team is making progress on the development of a groundbreaking medication that may allow people to grow new teeth, with clinical trials set to begin in July 2024. The tooth regrowth medicine is intended for people who lack a full set of adult teeth due to congenital factors.
6. No Longer Endangered: The Bald Eagle is an Icon of the ESA
When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was enacted in 1973, bald eagle population numbers across the country showed that the species was close to disappearing. Before the ESA, in the 1950s and ‘60s, eagles were shot routinely despite the protection. The ESA listing helped bring public attention to the issue.
Through the early 1970s and into the early ‘80s, numbers increased gradually. Then, as you got into the ‘90s, there was still gradual growth. From the late ‘90s into the 2000s, the population really exploded. There was a doubling rate of every several years or so for a while.
7. Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops 34% in first half 2023
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell 34% in the first half of 2023, preliminary government data showed on Thursday, hitting its lowest level in four years as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva institutes tougher environmental policies.
Data produced by Brazil’s national space research agency Inpe indicated that 2,649 square km (1,023 square miles) of rainforest were cleared in the region in the half year, the lowest for the period since 2019.
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That’s it for this week :)
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