Repairing the Brain, $20 Hearing Aids, and Turning Parking Lots into Power Plants
byAndrew McGivern | Good News Podcast Host - Positive News and Inspiration
The Great News Podcast is brought to you by the Daily Quote, the podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way.
Today, we’re looking at how the empty space in our cities is being turned into a powerhouse of clean energy. Plus, we’ll explore breakthroughs in repairing the brain, a $20 medical device set to disrupt an entire industry, and why your kitchen pantry might hold the secret to stopping dangerous mosquitoes.
Our lead story today focuses on a global shift to turn ”stranded assets”, specifically, the massive amounts of asphalt used for parking lots, into solar farms.
Meanwhile, in France, the Senate passed a policy requiring similar canopies for large lots, which could generate energy equivalent to 10 nuclear reactors. In the U.S., California’s Senate Bill 49 is looking to provide tax incentives for these ”miniature power plants,” with estimates suggesting that covering just 400 square miles of parking lots could power 6.5 million homes.
If you like the Great News Podcast, you’ll love the Great News Letter, because the Great News Podcast is great, but the Great News Letter is greater. Link is in the show notes. Next, we have a double-header of breakthroughs in neurological repair.
In the world of affordable healthcare, a group called Founders Inc. has reinvented the hearing aid by studying the mechanics of the human ear. While a standard hearing aid can cost an astronomical $4,700,this new version is being brought to market for just $20, potentially making life-changing technology accessible to millions for the first time.
Finally, scientists at Yale have discovered that garlic acts as a powerful birth control for mosquitoes. A natural compound called diallyl disulfide blocks the mating and egg-laying process in species that spread diseases like Zika and yellow fever. Interestingly, it's not the smell that deters them, but a specific taste receptor in their tiny organs that triggers an avoidance behavior.
It's time for the speed round, where we squeeze in even more positivity: