A joint archaeological mission from China and Uzbekistan has uncovered the walls of an important Silk Road city. After 2 years of excavations, the team has discovered the foundations of palaces, city gates, residential buildings, the layout of streets, and craft workshops in a settlement known as Kuva. Located in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan, […] The post Archaeologists Unearth Wall Section at Important Silk Road City Which Traded in ‘Heavenly Horses’ appeared first on Good News Network.

This story was originally published by Canary Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom covering the transition to clean energy and solutions to the climate crisis. As someone who spent several years as a workers’ rights organizer, Fredy Amador is intimately familiar with the financial struggles people face in the current economy. Northern Illinois’ skyrocketing energy bills make the situation even tougher. Now, Amador has become an evangelist for something that can provide a modest measure of relief: A community solar project, built on a Superfund site too polluted for much else in the city of Waukegan where he lives, about 40 miles north of Chicago. Residents who subscribe to get energy from the solar farm are guaranteed to see savings on their energy bills, under a state program incentivizing solar in low-income areas. The 9.1-megawatt Yeoman Solar Project, which went online last month, can provide energy for about 1,000 households, as well as the Waukegan school district, which owns the land. The school district bought the site in the 1950s hoping to build a new high school. But the land proved too swampy, and from 1958 to 1969 it was used as a dump for industrial and municipal waste. The highly contaminated Yeoman Creek Landfill was finally cleaned up 20 years ago, and now the district receives lease payments from CleanCapital, the national solar-investment company that owns and operates the solar farm. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Yeoman community solar project in Waukegan, Illinois, on Nov. 10, 2025. Credit: CleanCapital Such brownfields are attractive locations for solar installations because of ​“existing electrical infrastructure, lower-cost land, and community acceptance,” noted Paul Curran, CleanCapital’s chief development officer. Incentives from the state initiative Illinois Solar for All helped make the project financially viable, even given extra costs incurred from building on a Superfund site. It’s an example of how state policy can drive clean energy development and cost savings, even as federal tax credits for solar are being cut. The project also shows how solar can turn a community liability into an asset. “The Yeoman Solar Project encapsulates so much of solar’s promise,” said Andrew Linhares, senior manager for the central U.S. at the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. ​“The project instills new life into the Yeoman Creek Landfill Superfund site like only solar can.” As an unlined pit amid wetlands, the Yeoman Creek Landfill leached toxic chemicals into the environment, including its namesake creek. In 1989, the landfill was added to the Superfund list, the federal program that requires companies responsible for pollution to clean it up. The remediation was completed in 2005, though gas release, groundwater and sediment are still being monitored. “Since then, it’s been vacant,” and discussions started in 2012 regarding the fate of the land, said LeBaron Moten, deputy superintendent of Waukegan Community Unit School District No. 60. “There were not too many options on the table for this specific site. We couldn’t build anything on it,” Moten said. ​“Our main objective was to keep people off it.” Representatives of the school district, the city and the group of companies involved in the cleanup decided to pursue putting a solar farm on the site, and in 2017 the school district issued a request for proposals. A national developer experienced in building solar on landfills, BQ Energy, was selected. In 2022, it was acquired by CleanCapital, which launched construction of the project. Weighed down by negative news? Our smart, bright, weekly newsletter is the uplift you’ve been looking for. [contact-form-7] Moten said the lease payments from CleanCapital and the energy savings from solar power will be helpful for the district, which serves over 13,000 students, the majority of whom are Latino and 68 percent of whom are considered low-income. The school district will be the project’s anchor tenant, using about 40 percent of the energy produced. Seven of the school district’s buildings have rooftop solar arrays, which are referenced in sustainability lessons in the classroom. Moten said he hopes Yeoman Solar will similarly factor into educating students about clean energy, and potentially preparing them for jobs in the industry. A longtime industrial hub, Waukegan is home to five Superfund sites. The city still has a lot of manufacturing, and until 2022 a large coal plant operated on the shore of Lake Michigan, not far from residents’ homes. That location remains contaminated with toxic coal ash. The community organization Clean Power Lake County and local activists have long demanded a just transition for Waukegan, in which economic opportunities and renewable energy benefit residents who have suffered from pollution. Installing solar on brownfields is one way to accomplish this. Solar is a good fit for sites that are too polluted for housing or other types of development, noted Curran. Under the terms of the Superfund remediation, residential use is prohibited at the Yeoman Creek site. But installing arrays on landfills or other remediated areas does entail some challenges. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviews solar developers’ plans for Superfund sites, Curran said, to be sure the construction won’t damage caps over contaminated soil or otherwise release pollutants. The EPA examines ​“every single step of construction from how big ballasts can be, to stormwater protection, to how we’re going to revegetate,” he added. Even mowing the grass below solar panels — a normally mundane process — can pose risks when a landfill lies underneath. “The lawn is basically what’s holding the land in place, so you don’t get erosion,” Curran said. An Illinois law passed in October and awaiting the governor’s signature creates a rebate for community solar paired with battery storage. Curran said that batteries would likely be too heavy to locate on a landfill, but CleanCapital may explore putting them on firmer ground nearby. The company has developed solar on brownfields and landfills in other states, including a new 822-kilowatt site in Maryland. Curran said community solar should be built on more of the nation’s thousands of closed landfills. Policies like those in Illinois help facilitate the process. A 2017 law created robust incentives for community solar. Since then, more than 700 community solar projects totaling over 1,800 megawatts have been built through the Illinois Shines incentive program. Another 33 projects representing 64 megawatts have been subsidized by Illinois Solar for All, a program for low-income and environmental justice areas (separate from the federal program of the same name that was ended by the Trump administration). The Illinois Power Agency, which acquires power on behalf of utilities, procures solar built on brownfields. The Illinois EPA also provides low-interest loans and other resources for brownfield redevelopment. Amador found out about Yeoman Solar from local clean energy leaders after he helped launch a Waukegan branch of the Chicago Workers Collaborative, which organizes and advocates for temporary workers. (He is no longer with the group, though he still lives in Waukegan.) Community solar makes clean energy accessible to people who can’t or don’t want to install solar on their own homes — like Amador himself. “I live in a condo building, and if I bought a house I probably would not have solar panels. I don’t like how they look on rooftops,” he said. He often gets the same reaction when he tells people about community solar. ​“At first they think I’m talking about installing solar on their homes — they don’t want that.” But after explaining and extolling the community solar model, Amador has recruited dozens of family, friends and members of his church to subscribe to Yeoman Solar. Wait, you're not a member yet? Join the Reasons to be Cheerful community by supporting our nonprofit publication and giving what you can. Join Cancel anytime “It will help their wallet and help the ecosystem too,” Amador said. The Yeoman Solar subscriptions will cover more than 90 percent of a household’s energy needs, said Ryan Libby, director of subscriber acquisition for PowerMarket, which CleanCapital contracted to recruit subscribers. Amador expects to save about $300 a year through his subscription, which equates to about 5 kilowatts of solar panels. “That money can pay for utilities, for food, for other bills,” Amador said. ​“With how bad this economy is, it’s an important impact.” Yeoman Solar is the largest community solar array in the territory of ComEd, the utility that serves northern Illinois. It reduces the amount of energy the utility needs to provide, and ComEd has praised the project. While any ComEd customer can subscribe, Curran said CleanCapital is prioritizing outreach to Waukegan residents. Amador indeed feels it represents a new path for the city. “All the pollution, the coal plant, the disinvestment — communities like Waukegan should be prioritized for projects like this,” he said. ​“I’d like to encourage people to ask questions — go to meetings, find out how these projects work, try to sign up. That will help them to save some money, and if we all participate, we’re stronger.” The post How Community Solar Turned a Superfund Site into Savings in Illinois appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.

Tig Notaro truly contains multitudes. She has the ability to keep people howling by charmingly re-framing the world in an absurd, yet hilariously joyous way. And this same brilliant mind that brings uproarious laughter, also delivers vulnerable depth in equal measure. After the death of her close friend, poet Andrea Gibson, Notaro appeared on CNN's All There Is with Anderson Cooper podcast to discuss grief. (Gibson, who used they/them pronouns, and their wife Megan Falley documented their love and mortality in the gut-wrenching—and also beautifully funny—documentary Come See Me in the Good Light, directed by Ryan White.)Cooper, who has also often been open about his struggle to make sense of death and pain, was ready to jump right in. See on Instagram Their conversation was heartbreaking, beautiful, and even hilarious. Notaro is asked about her friendship with Gibson, who passed in 2025, and what it was like to be there in the moment. "I don't even know how to explain what I was just a part of and what I just witnessed. It really, really resonated on a deep level. The humanity was on overdrive."After Cooper shares that witnessing the death of someone so close is incredibly moving, Notaro adds, "It's really making me re-think a lot of things in my life. I think I want a new normal. I'm not holding onto anything that's not real. I don't know if it's right to say make friends with that idea of dying, but it really should be more in conversation. I don't want my death to sneak up on my kids. Although I've had a lot of health issues, so I don't know if it's gonna sneak up on anyone! But I really have such a new…" Notaro pauses for a moment for some clarity. "Not that I'm gonna abandon comedy and become a death doula."They seemingly half-jokingly discuss the idea of becoming duel death doulas, with Notaro suggesting they have business cards made up. "Anderson and Tig's death doula. Sir. Let's do this! I think people would freak out if we were who showed up in the final moments of their life." See on Instagram Returning to the initial conversation, Notaro shares "But this experience with Andrea really made me understand the importance of really talking about death. Rather than live my life fearing death and trying to kick it away at every possible move I'm making. Cuz it's coming."In an exclusive with Upworthy, Notaro was willing to leave no stone unturned. (I've known her since our 20s, and she has always been quick to make a room explode with laughter, while always game to go deep at anytime.)Upworthy: I know you've experienced so much grief, and I'd imagine fear, caused by your own health issues over the years. What do you think it was about Andrea passing, in particular, that made you feel like you were really ready to talk about it?Notaro: "Yeah, I’ve had a lot of practice with grief: losing love, loved ones, body parts, and health in general. It's humbling. With Andrea, I think it wasn’t just the loss, it was the clarity. Andrea had already been speaking so openly about mortality and love, that when they died, it felt like the conversation didn’t stop, it just shifted. When I was personally diagnosed with cancer in 2012, I didn’t process it in a poetic way like Andrea did. I was more like: 'Okay, this is happening. Also, I have a show tonight.' I think that’s how I survived things before: I kept moving until my body or heart said: 'Nope. Sit down.' Andrea’s death made me sit down. It made me realize I wasn’t trying to be brave, I was just ready to be honest with myself and make changes that would make things feel more congruent in my life."Upworthy: If you did become a death doula (and I'd like to hire you if so), what are some of the important things you'd discuss with a person who was dying? What would you say to their families/loved ones to help ease the pain? Notaro: "To the person dying, I’d probably say very little. I’d listen. And when I did talk, it would be more about comfort: do you need a blanket? We're all here. You are so loved—which was basically what we were all telling Andrea in those final days. To families and loved ones, I’d say: 'There’s no correct way to be present, you don’t have to say the perfect thing, you showed up and that counts more than anything you could possibly say—it's massive.'"Upworthy: I had a friend who died a few years ago and I swear I felt him in my room just a few days later. I know not everyone believes in such things, and maybe it's our brain trying to make sense of stuff, but have you experienced anything like that? Notaro: "I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. I think it's so nice to know you feel/felt them in whatever capacity. I don’t walk around having clear, cinematic experiences of people visiting me from the other side, but I wish I did. But I have had moments where someone felt very near, whatever that means. And whether that’s spiritual or neurological or emotional or all of it mashed together, I'm just going with it. If something brings comfort and doesn’t hurt anyone, I’m not interested in debunking it. I’m tired. Let people feel things." See on Instagram Upworthy: Is there anything else you'd like to share about your friendship with Andrea?Notaro: "Well, Andrea was one of those people who made you feel more honest just by being around them. They were really, deeply funny and deeply gentle in a way that wasn’t fragile. I miss their literal voice. And their words. They didn’t waste any of them. The very last thing Andrea said to me at their bedside was: 'Tig, I loved being your friend.' So simple but so beautiful. I will also always really, really miss the way Andrea's smile lifted the lines on their cheeks. It was one of my favorite things to see, but it also usually meant Andrea was laughing, which was always a joy to hear—that deep, deep belly laughter will forever be missed."

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Norway has hit the brakes on its controversial plans to mine the deep ocean floor, announcing it will not issue any deep-sea mining licenses until at least 2029. The decision, confirmed in early December 2025, marks a significant shift in momentum for the fledgling industry and offers breathing room for environmental advocates who have long warned of the irreversible risks posed to marine ecosystems. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre emphasized that this is a postponement, not a permanent ban, but for many critics of the practice, the delay is being hailed as a victory nonetheless. Political negotiations lead to a legislative slowdown The halt came as part of a broader budget negotiation between the ruling Labour Party and a coalition of left-leaning parties, including the Socialist Left, the Greens, the Reds, and the Centre Party. While Labour leads the government, it lacks a parliamentary majority and needs coalition support to pass its 2026 budget. The political compromise now ensures that no licenses for deep-sea mining will be issued during the current legislative term, which ends in 2029. As a result, the controversial industry’s ambitions in Norway have been put on ice for the next four years. Norway’s original deep-sea mining ambitions Norway made headlines in 2024 when it became the first country in the world to approve deep-sea mining within its own national waters, with the goal of tapping mineral-rich nodules needed for clean energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. The government had designated a vast area of around 280,000 square kilometers between Svalbard, Greenland, and Iceland for potential exploration. Mining licenses were originally expected to be issued as early as 2025. Supporters of the move framed it as a bold step toward a “green transition,” reducing reliance on oil and gas by supplying critical minerals for renewable energy and digital infrastructure. But critics argued that the ecological risks were too high, and that the push for seabed mining was built on shaky environmental and economic justifications. Environmental warnings get louder Scientists and advocacy groups have repeatedly cautioned that deep-sea mining could cause permanent damage to fragile ocean ecosystems and disturb one of the planet’s largest carbon stores. While proponents claim the practice can be done sustainably, the science remains far from settled. “We know so little about the deep ocean, but we know enough to be sure that mining it will wipe out unique wildlife, disturb the world’s largest carbon store, and do nothing to speed the transition to clean economies,” said Steve Trent, CEO and founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation. A 2024 report by the foundation concluded that seabed mining is not necessary to achieve clean energy targets. Instead, a mix of recycling, circular economy strategies, and improved technology could reduce the need for new mineral extraction by 58 percent between 2022 and 2050. Environmentalists call for permanent protection The temporary freeze has reignited calls for Norway to support a global moratorium on deep-sea mining and to take a more active role in marine conservation. “This must be the nail in the coffin for the deep-sea mining industry in Norway,” said Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle of Greenpeace Nordic, adding that “any government that is committed to sustainable ocean management cannot support deep-sea mining.” Helle also urged the Norwegian government to “step up and become a real ocean leader” by formally protecting Arctic deep-sea ecosystems from industrial extraction. What happens next? Although the pause provides a temporary safeguard, Norway’s official stance leaves the door open to future development. Prime Minister Støre noted that the Socialist Left Party, one of the key players behind the budget deal, “does not hold power forever.” That said, for now, no mining activity will take place during the current parliamentary session, and with growing scrutiny from scientists, environmentalists, and even some industry leaders, the pathway to commercial deep-sea mining remains uncertain. As the world heads into 2026 with increasing urgency around climate action and biodiversity loss, Norway’s pause offers a moment of reflection and perhaps a test case for how resource-hungry nations balance environmental stewardship with technological ambition.   Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM As each new year begins, many of us feel an intuitive pull to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with ourselves in a more intentional way. Meditation is often high on the resolution list, and for good reason. It’s been linked to improved sleep, less stress, greater focus, and even faster healing, both in the physical and emotional sense. But within the broad world of meditation, there’s one simple, heart-centered practice that can offer a surprisingly powerful reset: loving-kindness meditation, also known as metta. This practice, rooted in ancient Buddhist tradition but open to anyone regardless of belief, gently trains the mind toward compassion. It begins intrinsically, with ourselves, and ripples outward to others. It’s accessible, deeply nourishing, and, with just a few minutes a day, can shift not only how we feel but also how we relate to the world around us. What loving-kindness really means  Loving-kindness, or metta in the ancient Pali language, is not romantic or transactional. It’s not something given with expectation, nor is it limited by categories like friend or stranger, rich or poor. Rather, it’s a universal and unconditional friendliness; a wish for well-being that can be extended to all living things. In Pali, metta carries two beautiful meanings: “gentle,” as in a soft, nourishing spring rain, and “friend.” It’s a feeling of warmth, care, and nonjudgmental presence that we offer first to ourselves and then gradually to the wider world. As mindfulness scholar and longtime meditation teacher Jeremy David Engels puts it, metta is “the rarest and most precious gift—a gift of love offered without any expectation of it being returned.” How to practice loving-kindness meditation  The roots of loving-kindness meditation trace back centuries, including detailed instructions written by Sri Lankan monk Buddhaghosa in the fifth century. But the practice has evolved to be simple and adaptable for modern life. At its core, the meditation involves repeating a series of well-wishing phrases either silently or aloud while directing warm thoughts toward yourself and others. You might begin with: May I be filled with loving-kindness May I be safe from inner and outer dangers May I be well in body and mind May I be at ease and happy Take time to really feel the emotion behind the words. Then, extend these wishes outward. Begin with someone you love like a close friend, a partner, a pet, or even a favorite tree or plant. Adjust the language slightly: May you be filled with loving-kindness May you be safe… May you be well… May you be at ease and happy The practice continues to expand in concentric circles: from loved ones to acquaintances, from strangers to those we struggle with, and finally, to all living beings. The final round often uses “May we…” phrasing, embracing a shared sense of humanity. What begins as an inward gesture of kindness becomes a full-hearted embrace of the wider world. The science behind metta meditation  It might sound simple, but loving-kindness meditation has some serious science behind it. Studies have shown it can reduce anxiety and depression, boost life satisfaction, and increase both self-compassion and acceptance. Practicing metta regularly helps to quiet the inner critic and foster a stronger sense of connection with others. And its impact doesn’t stop at the personal level. As Engels notes in his research, loving-kindness has broader implications for how we engage with each other, especially in times of social tension. “The practice of democracy,” he writes, “requires us to work together with friends, strangers and even purported ‘opponents.’ This is difficult to do if our hearts are full of hatred and resentment.” Through metta, we soften the edges. We prepare ourselves gently, day by day, to be more open, more generous, and more collaborative. And that can have ripple effects far beyond the meditation cushion. Where to begin  If you’re curious to try loving-kindness meditation, start small. You don’t need any special tools or background in meditation. Just find a quiet space, sit comfortably, and spend a few minutes each day repeating the phrases and focusing on the feeling behind them. You can follow a guided session from a trusted teacher or app, or simply go at your own pace. With consistency, you may notice shifts in how you feel as well as how you relate to others and show up in daily life. Loving-kindness meditation is more than a feel-good exercise. It’s a meaningful practice that can help you build emotional resilience, deepen compassion, and nurture both inner peace and outer connection. Whether you’re new to meditation or looking for a fresh start in the new year, metta offers a beautifully simple, healing way to open your heart.   Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.