A “miracle tree” and a three-digit crisis line are among this week’s brighter stories.
A recent study found seeds from the moringa tree removed more than 98 percent of microplastic particles from drinking water, outperforming chemical alternatives. Researchers said the plant-based option could be less costly and less energy-intensive. The tiny plastic particles come from car tyres, paint, textiles and degrading plastic packaging, and have built up in water systems for decades.
In energy, clean power generation exceeded the rise in global electricity demand in 2025. The report said sources including solar and wind generated enough energy to meet all growth in demand, and experts said that marked a major turning point in the energy transition. China drove more than half of global solar expansion, with India also adding significant clean energy and cutting fossil fuel use.
Another report from the International Energy Agency said global solar power posted “the largest ever observed for any source.” In 2025, solar generated more than 2,700 terawatt-hours, more than double its output from three years earlier, and supplied more than 8 percent of global electricity. The agency also said electric vehicle demand rose by nearly 40 percent, with electric car sales making up a quarter of all cars sold last year.
In Marseille, stronger environmental rules introduced in the mid-to-late 1980s were followed by Neptune seagrass repopulating at what a study called “exceptional” and “remarkable” rates. The authors said the results showed the effectiveness of “passive restoration”, allowing seagrass meadows to regrow after the human causes of their decline are removed.
In the United States, a new study found suicide deaths among teens and young adults fell by 11 percent after the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline launched in 2022. Researchers estimated there were more than 4,300 fewer suicides than expected among people aged 15 to 34 from mid-2022 through the end of 2024.
Amsterdam is set to ban ads for high-carbon products and services in public spaces from May 1. The ban covers flights, petrol and diesel vehicles, gas heating contracts and meat products. One of the law’s backers, Creatives for Climate, said: “Advertising doesn’t just sell products, it grants social license … promoting fossil fuels undermines climate action and public trust.”
A global vaccine initiative led by UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization has now delivered more than 100 million doses to more than 18 million children in 36 countries over two years. More than 12 million of those children had never received any vaccines, and about 15 million had never received a measles vaccine.
On television, a new reality series is trying to place shelter dogs and strays into homes before winter. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says more than 3.3 million dogs across the US and Canada enter the shelter system each year. Alex Blumberg, who appears on “Must Love Dogs” with Brady Oliveira, said: “When you watch a dog go from surviving to truly belonging, it changes the way you see adoption. They’re not ‘rescue dogs.’ They’re just dogs who need a chance and once they get it, they thrive.”
Researchers also reported that coral reefs across the Houtman Abrolhos archipelago off Western Australia came through an extreme 2025 heatwave largely unharmed. Apart from a few patches, researchers said there were not even signs of stress in the reef, while farther north up to 60 percent of corals died in the same heatwaves.
