In Maine, about 11,000 acres of ancestral homeland were returned to a Native tribe
In the first phase of what will be one of the largest land returns between a U.S. nonprofit and tribal nation, about 11,000 acres of ancestral homeland was just returned to the Penobscot Nation.
In total, the tribe will eventually be given back around 30,000 acres south of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The rest of the land will be returned after another $12 million is raised.
When the swath of land initially came up for sale, it was purchased from timber harvesters by the Trust for Public Land, which is now working to raise enough money to return it to the tribe.
Why is this good news? For too long, Indigenous wisdom has been overlooked in land conservation. Not only does this land hold cultural significance to the tribe, but now it will be able to directly steward how it is conserved and used into the future.
As part of the new initiative, mayors, local officials, charities, and community groups will receive funding and newfound authority to restore natural landscapes, including wetlands, riverbanks, and meadows.
Craig Bennett, the chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said, “We need to make Britain wet again. … We could have tens of thousands of new wetlands.”
Why is this good news? Wetlands, riverbanks, and meadows reduce flooding by acting as a natural barrier to heavy rainfall, snowfall, snowmelt, and storm runoff. By acting as natural sponges, the natural flora and fauna hold onto absorbed water and slowly feed it back into streams and rivers days or weeks later.
When you shop small, you create change in your community. And these days, community is more important than ever.
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People doing good
Thalia Juarez/The Guardian
A Chicago woman transformed her yard into an oasis for migrating monarch butterflies
Claudia Galeno-Sánchez has spent the past two years transforming her Chicago home into a sanctuary and educational space for monarch butterflies.
With native milkweed and wildflowers in her back and front yards, Galeno-Sánchez, her husband, and her two children spend the fall admiring the monarchs that visit as they make a nearly 3,000-mile migration journey to Mexico until late October.
An immigrant herself, she’s found a kinship with the migratory butterflies and has even expanded her efforts throughout her community to nearby schools — she now has eight native plant projects and distributes milkweed plants to a community garden.
Why is this good news? Over the past 20 years, monarch butterflies have been severely declining due to habitat loss from deforestation, extreme weather from the climate crisis, and pesticides harming the plants critical to their survival. Along with regulatory protections, grassroots efforts like this have helped make a huge difference for their survival.
That estimate tracks with the around 11% drop in the number of vehicles entering the congestion pricing zone, providing a clear connection between reduced vehicle activity and air quality improvements.
The researchers also factored in weather and seasonal impacts on air quality to get to an even more accurate estimate of the benefits of the zone on air quality.
Why is this good news? People deserve to breathe clean air. Fossil fuel-powered cars still make up the vast majority of vehicles on roads in the U.S. and — beyond their contributions to the climate crisis — have a devastating impact on local air quality. Congestion pricing is one policy that can improve air quality — and human health.
The bill standardizes the credentials they receive upon release from prison, and gives them priority for certain positions. The career pathway provides a critical opportunity for a six-figure income, state pension, and meaningful, essential work.
Prior to this bill being signed into law, the paperwork was reportedly more cumbersome and less official for accessing job opportunities.
Why is this good news? After leaving prison, incarcerated people in general often struggle to find work, a contributing factor to recidivism. Incarcerated firefighters get real, quality, on-the-job experience that can and should easily translate to a viable career upon release, without being needlessly prohibitive. This bill helps clear the way.
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Breastcancer.org founder Marisa Weiss, MD, talks with Healthline’s Robin Hough about the “quiet phase” after breast cancer treatment, and why patients should tell their doctors about GLP-1, supplement, and cannabis use.
Happy weekend, Healthliners. As part of our Breast Cancer Awareness Month coverage, I got to sit down with breast oncologist and Breastcancer.org founder Dr. Marisa Weiss to get her informed opinion on the state of advocacy and care, including why there continue to be gaps in the “quiet phase” after treatment ends.
All too often in this after-phase, patients are left with questions about everything from side effects to work, to talking to their kids, and many quietly try GLP-1s, supplements, and cannabis treatments without telling their doctors for fear of judgment, even though some can have complicated interactions with cancer medicines.
Dr. Weiss - who has treated breast cancer patients for more than 30 years and describes herself as a “dual citizen” having also survived a breast cancer diagnosis - shares a number of practical tips for those receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. You can read all of them in the piece, but one of them is to do your research in advance with reputable sources for trusted health information - and yes, I’d of course suggest Healthline and Breastcancer.org for those needs!
You can read the interview in full here and, as ever, let me know what you think by emailing me.
Wishing you a restorative weekend and a healthy week ahead.
Robin
P.S. If breast cancer has touched your life, know that you are not alone. Healthline’s wonderful Bezzy Breast Cancer Community is a space for peer support, feel-good stories, and advice in a welcoming, stigma-free environment when your lived experience is seen, heard, and valued.
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Every product we recommend has gone through either Healthline’s or Optum Now’s vetting processes. If you buy through links on this page, we may receive a small commission or other tangible benefit. Healthline has sole editorial control over this newsletter. Potential uses for the products listed here are not health claims made by the manufacturers. Healthline and Optum Now are owned by RVO Health.
