Reasons to be Cheerful
Reasons to Be Cheerful is an online magazine founded by musician and activist David Byrne. It shares inspiring, solutions-oriented stories highlighting positive developments and innovative approaches to global challenges. The platform covers a wide range of topics, including environmental sustainability, social justice, urban design, health, and culture, emphasizing practical, replicable solutions that are making a difference. Reasons to Be Cheerful aims to counterbalance the often negative news cycle by showcasing stories of progress, resilience, and creativity. The website encourages readers to engage with and support these initiatives, fostering a sense of hope and empowerment. It also offers a newsletter to deliver uplifting content directly to its audience.
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The Startups Producing Drinkable Water from Air
Blistering suns, endless dunes and almost no water. This is the imagined world on the planet Tatooine in Star Wars. Here, survival depends upon towering vaporators that loom over the sand, drawing in air and condensing its moisture into life-giving water. But this technology isn’t just limited to the world...
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The Nationwide Movement Turning Guns into Garden Tools
The first time Mike Martin held an AK-47 was after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults. The shooting shocked a friend of a friend, a lawyer, into questioning why he owned an AK-47 in the first place....
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What We’re Reading: Introducing the Competitive Sport of… Spogomi
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Tackling trash When Samuel Salamone set up his litter.per.follower social media account, he pledged to pick up a piece of trash for every...
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Midwest Farms Are Going Nuts
Every summer, a pond at Rusted Plowshare farm used to fill with algae blooms. Orderly rows of corn and soybeans stretched out across the central Missouri landscape, but native grasses and wildflowers were few and far between. Josh Payne, who worked on the farm with his grandfather until he took over...
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Cameroon’s Diaspora Are Helping Local Businesses Back Home Flourish
Cars and motorcycle taxis struggle through the deep potholes of the dusty road. Visiting Sandra Tembei’s company, Mellow Group, makes you forget that her carpentry workshop is located in Douala, Cameroon’s major economic metropolis and an important port on the African west coast. This is what it often looks like...
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The Doulas Bringing Babies into the World During Hurricanes
This article was originally published by The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, policy and power. In the days leading up to Hurricane Irma’s landfall in September 2017, Esther Louis made preparations to flee Florida with her husband and four children. The Category 4 Hurricane was expected...
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What We’re Reading: One of America’s Greatest Drops in Gun Violence — Ever
Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. People power America is unique among wealthy countries in its endless struggle with gun violence. Schools prepare their youngest for it, communities...
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‘In Goats We Trust’
When Mount Etna in Sicily rumbled this spring, news outlets around the world flashed dramatic photos of lava and ash. But Martin Wikelski was skeptical. The biologist, who directs the Department of Migration at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany, checked in with his most trusted forecasters:...
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The Small City That Became the Composting Capital of a Nation
On a blue-skied summer morning, Place Pasteur in the historic center of Besançon is abuzz with colorful market stalls selling trinkets and antiques. But it’s also here that residents bring a different kind of valuable good every weekday, to give away for free. As time ticks by, individuals and families...
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The Spark: How Kids Are Making Meaningful Change in Their Communities
Welcome back to The Spark, our monthly celebration of how people just like you are creating positive change, one meaningful step at a time. The Spark is generously supported by Laura Rice. Sign up to Reasons to be Cheerful’s weekly newsletter here and you’ll get The Spark in your inbox...
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