Words by Smiley Team
Happy Friday, everyone! It’s that time of the week where we round-up the positive news stories you may have missed this week.
Of course, if you want even more happy news, check out our Smiley News homepage – we share uplifting articles every day.
Researchers at the University of Georgia found pecans could help treat someone’s unbalanced cholesterol levels. In fact, it was able to lower the cholesterol of people who were at risk of cardiovascular disease. “The addition of pecans to the diet not only produced a greater and more consistent reduction in total cholesterol and LDL compared to many other lifestyle interventions but may also be a more sustainable approach for long-term health,” said one of the study authors.
This could apparently be more sustainable than other plant-based milks. Swedish company DUG won an award this week – the World Food Innovations Award – for its creation. According to DUG, growing potatoes is twice as efficient as growing oats per square metre, and that potato milk has a lower carbon footprint than any other plant-based milk, clocking in at a tiny 0.27kg CO2 per litre.
A new app has made it possible to turn Zoom events into actual fundraising events. Created by fundraising platform Pledge, the Donations by Pledge app will allow people to add a ‘Donate’ button into their video chat so they can raise funds for their cause – there’s a choice of more than 2.2 million charities in over 150 countries.
Leaded petrol has officially been globally discontinued – preventing more than 1.2 million premature deaths a year. The end of leaded petrol follows a 19-year campaign led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners. “The successful enforcement of the ban on leaded petrol is a huge milestone for global health and our environment,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
Is there anything cooler than dancers themselves powering a venue by the heat energy generated from the dance floor? That’s exactly what’s going to happen in SWG3, a Glasgow venue, in November. DJ, producer, activist and fashion icon Honey Dijon, is headlining at the project’s launch during COP26 on Sunday, 7 November in the New York Times Climate Hub takeover at the venue. Read more in our story here.
Image credit: Shutterstock
