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].
Well done
The impacts of oil and gas wells — including the emission of methane — linger long after the wells are abandoned. In Canada, the First Nations-led company Aski Reclamation is working to reclaim these “orphaned” well sites, planting native trees, shrubs and grasses to restore the ecosystem. That’s according to a story from The Narwhal that RTBC Contributing Editor Michaela Haas shared this week.
Michaela says:
A really cool story about First Nations transforming abandoned oil wells.
End of an era
In other fossil fuel-related news, Executive Editor Will Doig shared a story from the BBC about a major milestone: The UK’s last coal power station has closed after 142 years.
Will says:
The first coal power plant in the world opened in England in 1882. So it’s fitting that the UK has become the world’s first major economy to stop using coal altogether — its last coal power station, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, closed for good at the end of September.
What else we’re reading
🏗️ Reversing the Real-Estate Doom Loop Is Possible. Just Look at Detroit. — shared by RTBC founder David Byrne from the Wall Street Journal
☀️ Gila River Indian Community turns on power for first ever solar-over-canal project — shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby from the Arizona Mirror
In other news…
On October 8, Reasons to be Cheerful held our biggest-ever live event in New York City to celebrate five years of publishing. Check out behind-the-scenes interviews with a couple of the amazing people who took the stage: the Trust for Public Land’s Danielle Denk on transforming America’s schoolyards and community advocate Rosa Chang on the power and potential of New York City’s public spaces.
