Sam Bentley

This new high-speed rail network is like a metro system for Europe, and it could connect 39 cities by 2040. It’s called Starline, a proposal by 21st Europe, to convert Europe’s rail network into one seamless system, simplifying things like ticketing systems and cross-border security, to make travelling across Europe less of a hassle. Designed like a metro, it would run at speeds of 300 to 400 km/h making journeys like Helsinki to Berlin possible in just over five hours, without the need for flights or multiple train changes. It includes 39 new stations, with connecting hubs in major cities like Paris, Berlin, and Milan, with routes going as far as Istanbul and Kyiv. On the trains there would be quiet zones for focus, open areas for work and conversation, and family-friendly sections too. Starline would also carry time-sensitive cargo, like fresh produce and medical supplies, reducing the need for short-haul freight flights and overburdened road networks. Would you want something like this in Europe? Let me know down below! #goodnews #Sustainability #travel #metro #sustainabletravel #train

This paper bag is helping to stop trees from being cut down! Releaf Paper are a Ukrainian company using fallen leaves from urban areas, not from forests, to create bags that don’t harm a single tree. Leaves are collected from parks and residential areas before being cleaned, and dried for storage. They are then be processed into paper bags, using way less resources than conventional paper production. The bags are strong, breathable, and even water resistant making them a great environmental alternative to both plastic and paper! They even decompose quicker than normal paper only taking about thirty days while normal paper takes up to 270 days! Leaves in urban areas are a waste product and are generally burned, releasing CO2. So Releaf provides a way of putting those leaves to good use while also decreasing deforestation from paper manufacturing! What do you think of this idea? Let me know! #goodnews #Sustainability #conservation #saveourplanet #upcycle #deforestation

In Switzerland, they're turning their train tracks into solar farms! Using the unused space between train rails, solar startup Sunways are installing solar panels, without disrupting train traffic. After getting the green light from the Federal Office of Transport, 48 panels are being laid across 100 meters of track in Neuchâtel, with the potential to generate 16,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. The panels can help power everything from local homes to the trains themselves, and thanks to removable designs and built-in cleaning systems, they won’t interfere with rail maintenance. If the pilot is a success, it could scale up and potentially cover railways across Switzerland, supplying up to 2% of the country's electricity needs. It’s a great example of using overlooked spaces to meet growing energy demands, all while preserving natural landscapes. Would you like to see this in your country? #goodnews #solar #switzerland #innovation #cleanenergy #trains

This is how trees can call the police if they’re in danger of being chopped down! Tree are cut down illegally all the time. In fact, up to 90% of rainforest logging is illegal. So the Rainforest Connection created a system to help protect forests, by putting phones in the tops of trees with solars panels and a powerful microphone, that can listen constantly for any sound of illegal logging or other things that could threaten the forest. The very moment a chainsaw is used in the forest, the sound is picked up by the phones, and an alert is sent to local partners who can intervene immediately and halt the logging. The entire process happens in a matter of minutes! The devices cost very little too and have no negative ecological impact on the forest, and can detect chainsaw noises up to 1km in the distance. The devices have been used to help protect a variety of precious wildlife, such as Gibbons in Indonesia, and have helped local people fight deforestation. Would you like to see this solution being used around the world? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and share this video to help spread the word! #goodnews #Sustainability #conservation #saveourplanet #forest #rainforest

Who would you want to go on a coastal walk with this summer? The UK is building the world’s longest coastal path that goes around the whole of England! It’s called the King Charles III England Coast Path, and it will stretch around 2,700 miles, giving people access to some of the best landscapes in the country. The continuous walking route will pass through places like Durdle Door, with its iconic rock archway along the Jurassic Coast where the scientific study of dinosaurs originated. It’ll pass through adorable little fishing villages across Cornwall in the South West, like Mousehole and Port Isaac. And you can even step away from the coast, and follow the Hadrian’s Wall footpath along the Northern tip, which used to represent the boundary of the Roman Empire’s presence in the British Isles! I actually did a section along the east coast, called the North Norfolk Coastal Path and saw so many incredible birds, so I 100% recommend that section! All the major sections around the coast path are finished and ready to be walked, but it’s still technically under development until they finish linking them all together by the end of the year. Scotland and Wales are also constructing their own trails which will join onto it! Share this video with someone you want to do this with! #goodnews #sustainableliving #coast #england #travel #walking

This bracelet helps protect you from Sharks when out at sea! They're called Sharkbanz, and they create a 1-2 metre magnetic field around you that sends sharks away. Here’s how they work. Sharks have powerful sensors that use magnetic fields to help them navigate and hunt, but the Sharkbanz use powerful magnets to overload those sensors with a strong magnetic field, that’s similar to shining a bright light into your eyes. (It doesn’t hurt but it’s uncomfortable so they leave.) They tested it on a dummy with bait attached to each limb, with about 15 bull sharks. Without the band, the dummy was attacked roughly every 42 seconds, but with the band, the dummy wasn’t attacked once. They’re backed by almost two decades worth of peer-reviewed scientific research and studies on the use of patented magnetic technology as an active and effective shark deterrent So something as simple as this wristband can keep both humans and sharks safe. Would you wear one of these? Let me know below! #goodnews #sharks #ocean #innovation #conservation #surfing

This guy in Brazil turned a dead rainforest back into a thriving farm forest! Ernst Götsch, a Swiss farmer, wanted to swap farming with pesticides and fertilisers for a more natural solution instead. So in the 1980s, he moved to Brazil and found 480 hectares of barren, unproductive land. Using a method called Syntropic Farming, he planted in layers, just like a wild forest, so the plants could support and nourish each other. He covered the dry soil with organic matter and planted fast-growing trees that help keep moisture in the ground, making the soil healthier. As the plants grew, they released moisture into the air, triggering rainfall, this process is called “flying rivers,” and it’s how rainforests create their own rain! His approach eliminated the need for pesticides and fertilizers by letting plants, microbes, and natural cycles do the work instead! Why is this so important? Conventional agriculture in the region has stripped landscapes of biodiversity, depleted soil nutrients, and made land harder to farm. So Götsch’s work shows that regenerative farming can provide both food for local people whilst improving ecosystems too! Do you think more farms should work like this? #goodnews #conservation #brazil #regenerative #forest #nature

This suit helps people with mobility difficulties move around more easily! It’s called the EXOPULSE Mollii Suit, designed by experts in Sweden, and it acts like a translator between your brain and your muscles. With certain conditions, the brain struggles to send the right signals to the muscles, making parts of the body feel stiff, shaky, or hard to control. So the Mollii Suit uses its 58 built-in electrodes to send gentle electrical pulses to specific muscles, helping activate the ones that need support, and relax the ones that are too tense. For example, if someone’s bicep is stuck in a tight, bent position, the suit gently activates the tricep, the muscle on the opposite side, which tells the bicep to relax. This helps the arm straighten out and move more freely. It was developed for individuals with conditions such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and spinal cord injuries. People can wear it for just one hour, and the effects can last up to two days, helping with people’s quality of life and independence. It’s also a non-invasive alternative to medications and surgical interventions, that can be used at home Would you like to see tech like this become more accessible? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! #goodnews #innovation #tech #mobility #accessibility #Sustainability

This tower captures clean water from thin air, helping provide remote communities with 100 litres of water every day! It’s called the Warka Water, inspired by the Warka tree that’s native to Ethiopia. The tower collects moisture from the air and brings it back down to the people. The structure is made from bamboo with an inner mesh that harvests and collects droplets of water by condensation. These droplets then trickle down the mesh down a big funnel and into a reservoir that holds the water, which is kept in the shade by a canopy that helps prevent the water from evaporating. So far, the Warka Water has been implemented in Ethiopia, Haiti, Brazil and many more places! And an amazing part of the project is that it’s an open source concept, meaning its design is publicly accessible, so local communities can be trained how to create it and repeat it as much as they like. For example in Ethiopia, their estimated cost per tower was only around $1000. Around 1 in 4 people don’t have access to safe drinking water, so solutions like this are really important to help transform millions of lives for good. #goodnews #sustainableliving #water #conservation #Sustainability #cleanwater

Some of the best good news from May you might have missed! #fyp #foryou #goodnews #sustainableliving #conservation #newstiktok

This Italian fisherman did something incredible to protect the ocean from destructive fishing! Meet Paolo Fanciulli, a 60-year-old fisherman who's been fighting against illegal trawling Trawling is a type of fishing that drags heavy nets across the seafloor, massively reducing fish populations and destroying marine habitats So how did Paolo fight back? He teamed up with local sculptors and created huge marble artworks which he then dropped into the Mediterranean Sea. These heavy sculptures created an underwater museum that would rip trawling nets as they pass by and help scare off illegal fishers. And the best thing about it is, it's working! Seagrass beds, an essential habitat and carbon store, are growing back, and the area is attracting more marine life like lobsters, turtles, and even dolphins! Thanks to Paolo and the hard work of local sculptors, there are now 80 statues standing guard over the ocean floor, and he wants to add more! Trawler fishing is illegal in Italy because of the damage it does to marine ecosystems, but it's hard to enforce and is often done at night. So sometimes, creative solutions like this and creative humans like Paolo are the best way to fight back and make positive change for our oceans. Would you like to see more of this happening? #goodnews #conservation #ocean #environment #italy #fishing

This toy is made from the most littered item on the planet. Cigarette butts! Every year, 6.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered, releasing harmful chemicals and microplastics into local environments. So two Indian brothers, Naman and Vipul, came up with an idea. They started Code Effort, and started collecting and recycling the cigarette waste, turning it into useful products like toys, paper, and decor. After being collected, the paper and the fiber is separated. The fibre is then broken down and washed in a biodegradable solution that remove the toxic elements. The fibres are then spin-dried and softened to become a wool-like material, which is then hand-knitted into toys or pillows by local women. To ensure the products are safe, every batch goes through certified lab tests to meet global standards before being turned into new products. So far, they’ve recycled 2 billion butts. And since a single cigarette butt can contaminate over 500ml of water, this has helped prevent over 1 billion litres of water from being polluted. They’ve created over 100 jobs for local women and set up bins that prevent litter in the first place too. What do you think of this idea, would you use a product made from cigarette butts? Let me know in the comments! #goodnews #india #innovation #sustainableliving #wastefree #waste

Some of the best good news from March you may have missed! #fyp #foryou #goodnews #sustainableliving #conservation #newstiktok

#ad Every beach needs a BEACH SIEVE! These look amazing! They filter trash from the sand, catching plastic, bottle caps, and more, while useful items like shells are put back where they belong. Developed in Brazil, the sieve helps to clean up beaches and inspire others to do the same. But while cleanup solutions like this exist, plastic production is still out of control. That’s why I’ve partnered with Zuzu, a hermit crab on a mission to fight plastic pollution. He’s set up a petition calling for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), a policy that holds companies accountable for plastic waste. Signing this petition helps push for real change. Tap the link in my bio to sign, and follow @JoinZuzu for more solutions. #JoinZuzu #PlasticPollution #SCJPartner #Pollution #BeachCleanup #Sustainability

#ad We're pretty good at playing spot the difference, but not every animal is. Animals like hermit crabs mistakenly use plastic waste as their shells, where they can get trapped, struggle to grow, and some sadly don’t survive. So to raise awareness about the impact of plastic pollution, I’ve partnered with @@JoinZuzu a little crab who is on a mission to save his home from plastic and do his part to end plastic waste, showing how small actions can spark big change. Like how I share solutions that help create a cleaner planet, Zuzu is taking action in his own way, and you can watch his short film all about his journey at the link in my bio. If it moves you, consider signing the petition to advocate for stronger environmental policies. By pushing for stronger policies and reducing our own plastic use, we can help create a cleaner planet for future generations! #JoinZuzu #PlasticPollution #SCJPartner #Pollution #Crab #marinelife

Would you prefer to travel through cities like this? Mexico City found a simple solution, to cut hour long journeys across the city, down to just 17 minutes, and it costs less than a dollar too! It’s called the Mexicable, Mexico City’s cable car system, and it was built to help avoid growing congestion whilst making it easier to travel to and from the more mountainous areas. But it’s not just public transport. Local artists have painted over 50 murals along the route, making it feel more like you’re floating through an open-air art gallery than commuting. Each cabin fits 10 people, and the system can carry up to 29,000 passengers a day. It only costs 6-9 pesos, around 31-43 cents, making it one of the most accessible ways to travel round the city. Do you think more cities should have this? #goodnews #mexico #Sustainability #mexicocity #transport

This Woolly Mouse could bring us one step closer to bringing Woolly Mammoths back! Colossal Biosciences, a company using genetic engineering to revive extinct species, extracted DNA from ancient mammoth remains and identified key genes for thick fur, cold resistance, and fat metabolism. They then applied these genetic changes to mice, and it worked! The mice developed denser fur, and other cold-adapted traits, and their coat color even altered, proving that mammoth DNA can be reactivated. This breakthrough is a major step toward Colossal’s goal of using similar genetic techniques on Asian elephants, the mammoth’s closest living relatives, to bring back a cold-adapted hybrid species. And it’s not just mammoths, they're also working on reviving the Tasmanian tiger and the dodo, while using this technology to help protect endangered species too. What do you think of this? Let me know your thoughts in the comments #conservation #wildlife #mammoth #deextinction #science #animals

This cardboard donut is helping to grow trees in dry areas! It's called the Cocoon, and it's been developed by Dutch company Land Life. So far, they've planted more than 10 million trees with the Cocoon and other innovative planting methods in severely degraded land all over the world So how does it work? First, you dig a shallow pit and place a seedling inside it and pack it with soil to secure it in place. The Cocoon is then placed around the seedling, and it's filled to the trim with water. A lid is then added to prevent the water inside from evaporating. Soil is then packed around the cocoon, and over time, the water seeps into the soil, helping the seedling's roots grow healthy. A shelter is then added to protect the growing seedling from too much sun exposure, the wind and small animals. The cocoon is made from recycled cardboard, and is 100% biodegradable. Land Life says The Cocoon helps trees establish in arid and degraded environments with only 25 liters of water, using x1000 less water than traditional methods. Plus it provides survival rates up to 95% in hot and dry areas. There are 2 billion hectares of degraded land worldwide, that’s a bigger area than South America. So reforestation projects like this are vital to reverse this critical situation! #goodnews #saveourplanet #trees #regeneration #treeplanting #conservation

#ad Have you heard the phrase ‘regenerative agriculture’ before and wondered what it actually means? To put it simply, it's farming in harmony with nature, rather than at the expense of nature. That means using practices that over time aim to protect soil health, improve biodiversity and make farms more resilient. For example, instead of monocultures, adding a diverse mix of crops which gradually aim to help boost crop performance. And introducing habitats to help wild bee populations and soil biodiversity to thrive in the long run! @McCain UK just launched a new AR game called Farms The Future which is all about this! It’s a super easy way to learn more about it, plus they’re giving away a bunch of cool prizes in it too. The link is in my bio if you want to check it out! #friesofthefuture #regenfries #tastegoodfeelgood