With every pass of his squeegee, a window washer in Kansas City reveals the personal story behind his favorite local businesses through his popular social media channel. Davis Roethler is co-owner of Window Wolf, KC’s most trusted window washer, but that’s hardly all there is to his story. With experience as a social media content […] The post With Every Free Clean, Window Washer Influencer Spotlights Great, Struggling Restaurants in Kansas City appeared first on Good News Network.

This story has been co-published by Reasons to be Cheerful and the Outrider Foundation. The Newberry Volcano in central Oregon is set among a ravishing landscape of ancient lava flows, lakes and pine forests. Every year droves of tourists come to admire the geological phenomenon, which was formed over 600,000 years ago. But this region, in the Pacific Northwest, is also on the verge of becoming a major player in the nation’s green energy transition: just under two miles underground here lies a hot new sustainable energy source — powered by the Earth’s heat. “Superhot rock is everywhere, but in Newberry it is very shallow,” says Pete Lumley, director of communications at Mazama Energy, a startup that has begun developing cutting-edge geothermal projects in Oregon that are harnessing the potent heat. Mazama Energy is developing cutting-edge geothermal projects in Oregon. Courtesy of Mazama Energy While geothermal — using natural subterranean heat to produce energy — has been around for decades, recent advances in technology mean that its potential output is skyrocketing while it is becoming ever-more affordable for consumers. Mazama’s approach involves injecting water at very high pressure into rocks, which in Newberry are located close to the surface relative to comparable drilling projects and whose temperatures range from 300 to 400 degrees Celsius. Under these hotter conditions, the water becomes what’s known as “supercritical” — a state combining the properties of a liquid and a gas — and is then sent through turbines to generate energy. The company says their method, which is possible thanks to cooling systems that allow drills to be used in much hotter temperatures than previously, produces an energy yield that is five to 10 times greater than that of conventional geothermal power plants, all while using 75 percent less water and requiring 80 percent fewer wells to be drilled. “We are calling this era the geothermal renaissance,” adds Lumley.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Kariba has lived alone in a Belgian zoo for years. Julie has been with the Cardinali circus in Portugal since 1988, when she was caught in the wild and sold to a German zoo before the family acquired her. Both are African elephants in their 40s. And both are about to get a very different life. Two elephants, one turning point Next month, Julie and Kariba will move to a sanctuary run by the charity Pangea in the Alentejo region of Portugal, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) east of Lisbon. It’s Europe’s first large-scale elephant sanctuary, ten years in development, built on a former cattle ranch that conservation workers have been restoring ahead of their arrival. The sanctuary won’t be open to the public. The goal, says Pangea managing director Kate Moore, is autonomy. “Kariba and Julie will live in an expansive natural habitat where they can roam freely, bathe and socialise in compatible groups,” she said. “That autonomy is really critical but they will also have expert care as well. Elephants are one of the most sentient and intelligent animals on earth and so they have very complex needs.” What captivity actually costs The life expectancy gap alone is startling. African female elephants in captivity live an average of 17 years. In the wild, excluding human-caused deaths, the figure is 56. The first-year mortality rate for captive-born Asian elephants in North America and the EU runs around 30 percent. For wild African elephants, it’s 10 to 15 percent. Across Europe, around 600 elephants remain in captivity. Thirty-six are in solitary confinement in zoos. Around 40 are still performing in circuses. Many were caught in the wild in the 1980s, the same decade Julie and Kariba arrived, and they’re now approaching the end of their natural lifespans. A ban with nowhere to send them Portugal banned wild animals in circuses, with the law coming into full effect in 2025. Julie became the last animal rehomed under that legislation, through a voluntary agreement between Pangea and the Cardinali family. “This has not been an easy decision, as she has been a deeply loved member of our family for decades,” said Vítor Hugo Cardinali, the circus director. “But we believe it is the right decision for Julie.” The problem Moore keeps running into: bans don’t work if there’s nowhere for the animals to go. Countries pass legislation and then find themselves stuck because no infrastructure exists to take the animals in. “Circuses and zoos are reaching the point where keeping elephants is no longer possible or appropriate,” she said. “Working in partnership with owners to find the right solution is central to how we operate.” Room to roam, and to reshape the land The sanctuary starts at 70 acres (28 hectares), with plans to reach around 1,000 acres (405 hectares) as fundraising continues. At that size, it could support 20 to 30 elephants. The site is in a region where straight-tusked elephants once ranged across the Iberian Peninsula, until around 40,000 years ago. Pangea has been restoring the land using rewilding principles, and the elephants are expected to help, not just as residents but as animals that actively change what grows around them. “We know elephants can normally strengthen the ecosystems if we get the stocking density of the elephants right,” said Moore. “It gives us this really interesting opportunity to see how the elephants are responding to the land and vice versa.”     Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post Julie and Kariba: two elephants getting a second chance in Portugal first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In October 2011, Chile extended postnatal leave from 12 to 24 weeks for women contributing to the country’s social security system. The reform also introduced five days of paid paternity leave. A study published this year by economist Francisca Rojas-Ampuero tracks what happened to women’s employment in the fourteen years since. Formal employment among eligible mothers rose by approximately 15 to 16 percent in the first three years after leave ended. The effect faded between years four and seven, not because it reversed, but because ineligible mothers caught up. Who was eligible, and who wasn’t The reform’s cutoff date created a useful comparison group. Mothers of children born on or after July 25, 2011, qualified for the full 84-day extension. Those whose children were born before May 2, 2011, were not eligible. Mothers born between those dates received a partial extension. Rojas-Ampuero used this variation to estimate the reform’s effects: a regression discontinuity design for leave usage patterns, and a difference-in-differences model to track labor market outcomes over seven years. Maternity leave substituted for other forms of absence The sick leave data is telling. Before the reform, many Chilean mothers extended their time at home by claiming sick-child leave, mental health leave, or leave for pregnancy-related illness. After the reform, eligible mothers significantly reduced their use of these alternatives. Extended maternity leave replaced a patchwork of workarounds with a single, legitimate entitlement. That means the pre-reform system wasn’t preventing extended absences. It was just making mothers work harder to arrange them. The reform simplified the path without meaningfully increasing total time away from work. The effects were largest for the most vulnerable Rojas-Ampuero found no significant differences in outcomes by marital status, age at birth, education level, or pre-birth wages. The variable that mattered most was tenure. Women with less than ten months of formal employment in the year before maternity leave gained more than those with stable work histories. The effect was strongest in municipalities with limited childcare access. For mothers with thin labor market footing and few affordable care options, extended leave helped them stay in formal employment rather than leaving it. A different result than high-income countries tend to produce Maternity leave research in wealthy countries tends to find modest or null effects on long-term employment. Rojas-Ampuero’s results diverge, and the explanation is structural: limited childcare availability, weaker job protection, and higher labor market informality create different incentives for mothers deciding whether to return to formal work. The Chilean reform was designed with those conditions in mind. Policymakers built it explicitly to address low maternal employment among lower-income mothers and compensate for thin childcare infrastructure. The data suggests it worked, at least for the three years where the evidence is clearest. One caveat worth noting: the study only covers women already in the formal sector before childbirth, a group that’s better positioned than most to begin with. Whether the same effects would show up among informal or lower-income workers isn’t yet known. Source study: Journal of Development Economics— Who benefits from a maternity leave extension? Evidence from Chile     Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post Chile’s maternity leave expansion led to a three-year employment boost first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

Many of us know that diamonds weren’t always considered the go-to stone for engagement rings. In the grand scheme of things, they haven’t even held the title that long. It was only thanks to a certain clever marketing ploy in 1948 that convinced us diamonds were “forever” that they became the standard in the first place.  Before that, engagement rings have come in many different shapes, sizes, and materials throughout history…some interesting, some inspiring, and others a bit more baffling when viewed through a modern lens.  No stones, no problem Ancient Egyptians, for example, exchanged braided hemp or reed rings, believing the circle symbolized eternity. Romans adapted this by giving iron or copper betrothal rings often featuring tiny keys, symbolizing that the wife was her husband’s property. Perhaps some rituals are best left in the past.  Puritans in the 1600s, on the other hand, gave engagement thimbles, which wives would use to sew their own wedding dress. While not the most romantic upon first glance, that thimble would then be cut into a ring. All in all, a pretty clever way to serve both practical and sentimental purposes…which sounds very on brand for Puritans.  A thimble in front of a sewing machine, Canva When rings delivered tiny poems Meanwhile, in Medieval Times all the way through the Renaissance, brides-to-be were given gold-banded posy rings (derived from the French word “poesy,” meaning poetry) featuring short, intimate inscriptions engraved on the inner or outer surface. These could be romantic promises, religious sentiments, or even secret messages. According to jewelry site Berganza.com, it’s likely that goldsmiths of the day had a book of stock phrases from which the customer would pick, two of the most popular being “A true friend’s gift” and “a loving wife during life.” Two engraved gold bands, Canva In some ways, these rings feel ahead of their time, considering personal messages engraved inside jewelry are still a popular choice today.  The vibrant era before diamonds took over When it comes to stones specifically, colorful, meaningful gems like sapphires, rubies, and emeralds were among the most popular. Sapphires were particularly favored for their durability and symbolic meanings—representing love, commitment, and royalty. Sapphire engagement rings date back to Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Even today, they remain a top diamond alternative, celebrated for their rich, distinctive hues.  More than one way to symbolize commitment For all the cultural power diamonds hold today, history suggests that engagement traditions have always been quite flexible. Across different countries and time periods, people attached meaning to whatever felt valuable within their own communities, be it from rarity, usefulness, or how it told the story of a relationship.  If you yourself are not convinced diamonds are your best friend when it comes to an engagement ring, take comfort in the fact that there are countless other alternatives.  By the way, jeweler Mason Mignanelli, who made the video above going through some alternative wedding rings throughout history, has a pretty fascinating e-book delving even further into this topic, which you can read for free here.  The post Thimbles, sapphires, and other things that served as engagement rings long before the diamond reigned supreme appeared first on Upworthy.