This story was originally published by Reasons to be Cheerful
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Let us know what you think at [email protected].
Sargassum seas
It sounds like something out of an environmental horror film: enormous quantities of sargassum seaweed taking over beaches, creating vast dead zones. But it’s exactly what’s been happening in the Caribbean over the last 15 years. Now, as The Xylom reports in a story shared by RTBC Executive Editor Will Doig, Caribbean nations are converting that invasive algae into bricks and fertilizer, with some even calling it the region’s “new gold.”
Will says:
The Xylom, a science magazine run by a Gen-Z, Asian-American newsroom, is one of my favorite reads these days. Their latest story explores how small countries are turning sargassum, the invasive seaweed choking Caribbean shorelines, into something useful.
Capital gains
In mid-December, service began on a new high-speed train connecting Paris and Berlin. According to a Euronews story shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby, the route is the first to directly link the city centers of the two capitals.
Becca says:
A new high-speed train now links Paris and Berlin, covering over 1,000 kilometers in eight hours. Some argue it could be faster — but from my view here in train-starved USA, it sounds pretty good. Plus, the train ride produces just one percent of the emissions of a flight.
What else we’re reading
Rice and River: A Family’s Approach to the Changing Agricultural Landscape — shared by Contributing Editor Michaela Haas from the Pulitzer Center
What Could Citizens’ Assemblies Do for American Politics? — shared by RTBC founder David Byrne from The New Yorker
‘All eyes are on Glasgow’: UK’s first legal drug consumption room ready to open — shared by Audience Engagement Manager Sophie Pitt from The Guardian
In other news…
RTBC Contributing Editor Michaela Haas’s family moved out of the Los Angeles area on New Year’s Eve, eight days before the fires would decimate her former neighborhood. Their two-bedroom rental apartment is now occupied by a neighbor whose house burned down with all his possessions inside. Michaela wrote for us about all the ways the L.A. community has come together to help those in need.
The post What We’re Reading: Turning Invasive Seaweed into ‘Gold’ appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.
