Finally, Some Good Nature News

This semester I'm taking an nature writing class. In class this past week, my professor talked about how we are in the Anthropocene: "the Age of Woe" from an environmental perspective. In short,

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While we do have a lot of work to do when it comes to our environment, I think we deserve to pause and appreciate what's good right now!

5 Bits of Good Nature News

The other day I talked to a girl who's working on developing drinking straws made from agar-agar, a carbohydrate derived from seaweed. These straws would be completely biodegradable. And if we can use it to make straws, just think what else it could make!
The sky in Clemson, South Carolina is SO blue. I've never seen a sky in such clear shades of blue before! Seven in the morning and from noon to four are the best times for blue-sky appreciation.
No filter on this midday sky. Also, the the tip top of the hat my sister made me :)
Here is my little bottle terrarium. I put three plants in it. Some said those three plants would never make it in a bottle. But, "Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go," said those three plants- and a few other seeds stowed away in the soil. I initially thought they were basil because my mom had just planted basil seeds, but as they're growing they look more like impatiens.

They were growing so fast that I figured it was time to expand. So I upcycled an empty jar of nuts. I didn't even clean it out, because I figured the residues and crumbs would make nice, nourishing nitrogenous compost.
Y'all have probably heard that GM announced it would sell only zero-emission cars by 2035. That's old news by now, but I'm still pumped! Hopefully this will motivate other industries to progress.
My dorm student council did a Valentine's Day candy giveaway! We used candy in cardboard boxes, such as Milk Duds, M&Ms, and Sour Patch Kids. You can't recycle the sticky, sugary cardboard, but at least it's biodegradable in the landfills. Compared to individually plastic-wrapped treats, it's a step forward.