Cocooning
Taking action today for a beautiful tomorrow
Hi all, happy to have you.
For transparency, I know it’s been a hard couple of weeks for me, and I can imagine it has been for you, too. There has been a lot of heavy and hard news, lately. The kind of news I want to share my perspective on. Yes, I know it’s my newsletter and I can talk about what I want…I just also feel like Sowing Hope is our newsletter.
So on this post, I’m opening up comments to all subscribers, both free and paid.
It has been on my mind for a few weeks, now. I want your feedback. I want to hear how you are feeling about Sowing Hope.
Because your voice matters.
Because you matter.
Hope outshines despair
Even with the hard news, there is still a lot of good happening in our world and in our communities. Sowing that positivity is why I started writing. So let’s get into it. Because while despair destroys, hope heals.
Much of what I share below I found from Jessica Craven’s Substack, Chop Wood, Carry Water, where she does a recap of hopeful progress. While I have often linked to other reporting or the sources she gives, here is the full post if you want to read all of it (link).
Hope is an action
A 101-year-old shares his secret to happiness; make new friends, everywhere 😁(link).
Our planet’s health
NPR Roundup
"Humans are driving global warming. And that means we humans can change our trajectory." - Julia Simon
Below are 5 short highlights from an NPR article (link). They talk about even more and link to great articles that cover each topic in greater depth. Definitely worth your time 😁.
Pink Salmon are on track to have one of their best runs in a decade this year in Puget Sound.
There is a new variety of avocado that is more efficient for our earth and more tolerant of extreme climates. For the avocado that apparently requires a ton of water, that’s a big deal for our planet.
Some coral rescued around Miami was able to spawn successfully in a hatchery lab. While that is no guarantee they will be viable, it’s a promising sign for the coral after it felt brutal weeks-long heat.
Since 1998, New Mexico has paid, trained, and educated young people on conserving and stewarding the land. Allen Baca, a member of a crew with the Forest Stewards Youth Corps in New Mexico, highlights how he helps encourage Indigenous people to return to and care for their ancestral lands.
Water monitoring and regenerative agriculture have helped Oklahoma restore “nearly 100 unhealthy streams”.
Other breaths of fresh air
After a lot of work by those in the tribes, it looks like some tribes originally from the California-Oregon area have hopes of restoring their way of life (link). Below you can find an excerpt from the article and a quote by Annelia Hillman, a member of the affected Yurok Tribe.
For members of the Yurok, Karuk and other tribes who have been immersed in the struggle for much of their lives, the undamming of the Klamath represents an opportunity to heal the ecosystem and help fish populations recover by opening up hundreds of miles of spawning habitat. They say the coming changes hold promise for them to strengthen their ancestral connection to the river and keep their fishing traditions alive.
“This river is our lifeline. It’s our mother. It’s what feeds us. It’s the foundation to our people, for our culture,” Hillman said. “Seeing the restoration of our river, our fisheries, I think is going to uplift us all.”
For the first time, Ireland’s wind power generation exceeded demand (link), a very good sign for our global transition towards more reliable and cheaper sources of energy.
The Pernambuco holly tree was thought to be lost to extinction around 200 years ago…and scientists in Brazil found it! (link)
Wait…another one? Yeah, Australia also recently exceeded their demand exclusively with renewables (link). This time with rooftop solar. ☀️
A Swedish company claims can help decrease greenhouse gasses by cleaning up cow farts (link). Bovine digestion creates methane, a major greenhouse gas, and this company seeks to decrease the methane they create by up to 80% with their seaweed additive to cow food. Smells like a sweet deal to me 🐮
Other Seeds
The FTC is taking steps to ensure companies are required to be transparent about the total cost after any fees (link). The rule proposal is aimed at preventing junk fees and hidden costs for the consumer. They are asking for our input, so I encourage all of us to read the link and comment when the time comes.
Ohio’s Ballot Board unanimously approved a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment to move forward with signature collection (link). The proposed amendment would require fair maps to be drawn by a bipartisan commission of citizens. (If you know someone in Ohio, you may want to share this with them 😉)
Like monarch butterflies? Me too, and they are apparently doing better than we thought 😁 (link).
Next steps
Remember, I’m looking to hear your voice in the comments, open to all paid and free subscribers. Use the buttons below or the speech bubble at the top and bottom of this post. Share what you like, what you’d like to see, or if nothing else just a word of encouragement would be welcome 😁.
I’m excited to get to read any of your opinionated, kind, and open-minded thoughts.
Bonus Tracks
Today, I wanted to share a few songs I enjoy. No particular reason. Hope you enjoy them 😁🌱.
Blue Flower by The Gray Havens
⠀Misunderstood by The Vocal Few
Hi Matt! Love how today’s title fits on multiple levels in your post. I like the good news from Any & Every where on Any & Every topic. We have got to save our sanity and practically every platform or media focuses on doom. Keep up the ‘good news’ (-; and a positive prospective, even if the subject is hard. Hug from NC. Bridget
Sorry for the delay. I’m trying to get caught up on reading your posts. I can’t think of a better way to start than a good things read! I think we naturally tend to focus on the bad and negative things going on around. It makes it ever more difficult when that’s what’s typically being reported. It can make us feel as though there is more bad than good. I think it’s important to be mindful of this and train ourselves to focus on the good around us. It’s EVERYWHERE! We just need to open our eyes and minds to see it sometimes. Look for the good and you will find it. Whether it’s the beautiful bird chirping outside or a group uniting to save starving children….it’s there! Thank you again for your posts.