6 Positive News Stories To Keep You Sane Between Calls To Your Senator

Sure things are on fire, but not all hope is lost.

6. OJ Did It

Daniel Janzen & Winnie Hallwachs / Via sciencealert.com

Sixteen years ago, a couple of ecologists struck a bargain with an orange juice company in Costa Rica. The company would donate some of their land to a bordering conservation area, and in exchange, the company would be allowed to dump all their discarded peels onto degraded land within the park, as part of an effort to revitalize some of the razed forest.

But the OJ business is of course notoriously cutthroat, and the project was abandoned two years in, after the company was sued by a citrus competitor.

The project was forgotten until recently, when a visit to the site discovered that the area had experienced a 176% increase in above-ground biomass.

The project could be a new way forward in restoring vital tropical forests and saving all of our smoggy human asses.

5. Scientists Finally Get Mice to Just Chill Out Already

Via jax.org

Mice, as we all know, are icky. But some brave scientific minds recently got into the heads of those tiny red-eyed monsters and discovered something new: brain cells that seem to control anxiety levels.

In controlled studies, the scientists were even able to inhibit the cells' production and reduce anxiety in the mice.

This find could have a game-changing impact on anxiety research and how it's treated in humans--good news for the estimated 1 in 5 adults who suffer from it in the US.

And a special "hurry up" from this 1-in-5 adult, who would really love to go to sleep at night without doing a full perimeter check.

4. Ramen's Good for You Now

No, of course not really.

But it is better.

And for something that frankly I never would have thought could be improved (because it's already perfect), this is great and unexpected news.

Obviously, you'd still be better off eating kale or almost anything else not dehydrated, but Nissin claims the new Top Ramen has less sodium, no artificial flavors, and no MSG.

So you can let some of your guilt go at least, next time you reach for a salty 10-cent bag of heaven.

3. Baltimore Teacher Heats Things Up

Via gofundme.com

The nation came together in January when Baltimore schoolteacher Samierra Jones found herself having to crowdsource funds when her school's heating failed and left her young students huddling in their coats all day for warmth.

She asked for 20k in donations to buy space heaters and coats for the kids, since the educational powers that be weren't solving the problem.

The issue caught NFL player Aaron Maybin's attention and he boosted the cause, helping Samierra to far surpass her 20k goal--by over $60,000.00.

They've raised so much that they've been able to distribute space heaters to other classrooms in need. Best of all, the national attention has brought the shameful treatment of Baltimore's school children to light, something that has lit a fire under the city's school board and city council.

Sure, a more uplifting story would be "Baltimore school board takes human and compassionate approach to education and treats their students like people, not ice molds" but I'll settle for the people in charge having to own up to their voters.

2. NYC is Going Hump Crazy

NOAA / Via popsci.com

That's right folks, grab your slickers and peg legs, because humpback whales are back in New York thanks to decades of water cleanup efforts.

And their numbers seem to be steady too, enough so that whale watching is now an actual NYC tourist attraction.

Who says you can't go home again?

1. Denver Works It Out

Via goodnewsnetwork.org

Denver, the US capital of people saying "shwoop, shwoop, shwoop," while miming the act of skiing, has a new claim to fame.

Near the end of 2016, the city instituted a new program which hired homeless members of the population to do various city jobs at a rate of $12.50/hr.

Now the numbers are in, and of the 284 homeless that participated in the program, 110 have reportedly found longterm work with the help of the initiative.

Going forward, they're looking to add more work days per week and open more positions for female and disabled members of the homeless population.

Here's lookin' at you, Denver.

Shwoop, shwoop, shwoop.