It’s Time For Good News, Dudes

There's a lot of bad/scary/generally panic-inducing news being circulated right now, and it's easy to think that that's all that is happening in the world. 

I was living abroad in Spain for the last two months (“ooooHoOOhhh, she's cultured!” Listen, it’s important to gas yourself up in these turbulent times), but had to come home when the whole world was hit with a once in a lifetime pandemic. So now, like most of the world, I'm in a 14-day self-isolation with aggressive amounts of spare time. Instead of ruminating on the bad (which I tend to do daily), I decided to start this little project to look for the good. 

I believe that people are, at their core, kind. And the purpose of this newsletter is to showcase all the ways in which humanity shows that kindness, even when times get weird. 

Every day I'll send out a round-up of good news and the occasional random fact to remind us all that there was something that existed pre-Corona beer's social demise (the world is NOT your beach when the borders are closed okay). 

If you have any ideas for things that should go in this newsletter, or are bored in isolation and want to chat shit about the ethics of Love is Blind, drop me a line (if that saying doesn't make sense there it's because I've never used it before and was trying to sound cool) - itsgoodnewsdudes@gmail.com

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That's Some Good Sh*t!

A 103-year-old grandmother recovered from the coronavirus after only SIX DAYS of treatment in Wuhan, having entered the hospital in critical condition. Shout out to you, Zhang Guang! 

And yes, it’s irrelevant to know that she’s a grandmother but somehow that makes the story more adorable - sons of a gun know how to market a good story. 

While we're looking at China, it's also nice to know that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Wuhan for the first time since the outbreak back on March 10th. Go flex that pristine national health status Jinping, go off. 

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The environment is THRIVING! 

In China, the coronavirus temporarily reduced CO2 emissions by a quarter (we’re talking reductions of 15 to 40 percent across key sectors). 

In Hong Kong, air pollutants dropped by a third from January to February. 

Hop on over to the Sardinian city of Cagliari in Italy and there are dolphins swimming through the much-clearer-looking water. 

In Venice, after only 6 days of quarantine, the canals are crystal clear for the first time in 60 years. Fish can be seen swimming through the river, and swans have returned. See said majestic swans to your right.

Here's an unexpected side effect of the pandemic - the water's flowing through the canals of Venice is clear for the first time in forever. The fish are visible, the swans returned. pic.twitter.com/2egMGhJs7f

— Kaveri 🇮🇳 (@ikaveri) March 16, 2020

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Meanwhile, in a closed aquarium in Chicago, Penguins got to take a little tour around the exhibitions. 

oh my god, the chicago aquarium closed due to coronavirus, so they let the penguins run around and check out the other exhibits. (staff was present.) pic.twitter.com/YGa8CugymE

— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) March 16, 2020

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And finally, people in Italy are singing outside their balconies to feel less alone. Thus, confirming my theory that I need to live in an open-concept loft in Europe when I'm older. 

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DOGGO OF THE DAY

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