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. Hands off the tentacles California and Washington have banned octopus farms. Seven other states are trying to do the same, as are countries like Chile and Spain. But there’s a twist: Octopus farms don’t exist. Not yet, anyway. Spanish seafood company Nueva Pescanova has plans to build the world’s first large-scale octopus farm, a notion that has many environmental activists alarmed. The octopus isn’t built for captivity. They require lots of stimulus, their urine contains high concentrations of toxic ammonia, and when trapped with their peers they’ve been known to turn cannibal. For these reasons, a movement to ban octopus farms before they even appear is beginning to emerge, according to a story in Vox shared by Contributing Editor Geetanjali Krishna. Geetanjali says: This is a really cool story about, as the author says, “a solution in search of a problem.” Really like the idea of such proactive solutions, which can start debates before the problem actually sets in! Building a better storm drain Prospect Park is a giant emerald jewel smack in the middle of Brooklyn, providing acres and acres of green space for humans and wildlife alike. It’s also a massive sponge that mitigates flooding during the city’s increasingly frequent extreme downpours. Now, New York wants to do even more to leverage the park’s absorbent abilities. According to a story in Gothamist shared by Executive Editor Will Doig, a $68 million investment announced last week would create new ponds and rain gardens across the park. These green infrastructure enhancements would drain more runoff from the surrounding neighborhoods and protect the park itself from being inundated. (Two years ago, the Prospect Park Zoo found itself under 25 feet of water from a tropical storm.) “Our public parks are more than just beautiful places to take in the scenery — they are also natural infrastructure making our city more resilient,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. Will says: I used to live in one of these Brooklyn neighborhoods and never thought of nearby Prospect Park as a stormwater sponge. So great that this beautiful recreational space will double as an important piece of green infrastructure. What else we’re reading  Uruguay’s Renewable Charge: A Small Nation, a Big Lesson for the World — shared by Founder David Byrne from Forbes What Happens When a City Takes Women’s Unpaid Work Seriously? (subscription required) — shared by Interim Editorial Director Tess Riley from Grist  Mushrooms Could Help Address NH Chemical Contamination Problem — shared by Contributing Editor Geetanjali Krishna from Valley News  Illinois Families Are Going Electric — for Free — shared by Interim Editorial Director Tess Riley from Grist In other news… So far 91 people have contributed to our year-end membership drive. Amazing! If you value this rare form of nonprofit journalism, please join our community and support us. Every membership is pay-what-you-wish. The post What We’re Reading: A Movement to Ban Something That Doesn’t Exist appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.