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. Homeward bound As the U.S. population ages, some Americans are looking beyond the basic idea of “aging in place.” Many homes are not designed to be aging-friendly, forcing people to make difficult choices as their needs change. But in a Shelterforce story shared this week by Executive Editor Will Doig, housing and aging advocates make the case that keeping older adults in their original homes is less important than supporting them to remain in their communities and stay engaged. As Sandy Markwood, CEO of the national advocacy organization USAging, explains, this means providing services like medical transportation, meal delivery and social activities. “The goal is to help older adults live well at home and in the community, with dignity, independence, safety and purpose — to age as well as they can with the support that they need to do that,” says Markwood. Will says: Where I live, on the fourth floor of an old building with no elevator, the couple across the hall remained in their apartment, where they had lived for decades, well into their 80s. They pulled it off by relying on their neighbors. We helped them carry their laundry up and down the stairs. Occasionally, we’d find a stubborn jar of pasta sauce on our doormat with a note reading: “Please open.” You might not describe a fourth-floor, pre-war walk-up as ideal for “aging in place,” but it was because of our building’s tight-knit community that they were able to live there so long. Answer from above Northern Virginia has become known as the data center capital of the world — so what is the region to do about the centers’ huge water demands? One idea comes courtesy of a family-run, sustainability-minded auto shop: collecting rainwater. Since owner Tyrone Jarvis built a potable rainwater harvesting system, Go Green Auto Care has had zero water bills — and the Jarvis family has played a key role in campaigning to mandate rainwater reuse in new data center developments. Is this really a viable solution? Next City investigates in a story that caught Contributing Editor Geetanjali Krishna’s attention. Geetanjali says: This felt especially relevant from an Indian perspective. Data centers are expanding rapidly in already water-stressed cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, making this the kind of solutions reporting that sparks ideas rather than just alarm. What else we’re reading Scientists tied plastic bottles to fishing nets – what happened next amazed them — shared by Contributing Editor Michaela Haas from Discover Wildlife Vermont, Other States Test ‘Gentle Infill’ as One Potential Tool to Tackle Housing Shortages — shared by Editorial Director Rebecca Worby from The Daily Yonder The Thriving Coral Reef That ‘Defeated Time’ in West Africa — shared by RTBC Founder David Byrne from Inside Climate News In other news… Last week, Covering Climate Now included Contributing Editor Peter Yeung’s story about how EVs are improving our health in its round-up of good climate news. Thanks, CCN! The post What We’re Reading: Helping Older Americans ‘Age in Community’ appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.