Today’s Solutions: January 11, 2025

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young man helps elderly blind man cross the road

This app connects the blind with guides for safer city travel

This month, UK-based startup Travel Hands, a spin-off from digital accessibility company VIP World Services, plans to launch an app designed to help visually impaired people navigate the busy streets of the London metropolitan area. Back in 2013, Travel Hands founder and CEO Ishan Jha was Read More...

Two happy dolphins swim together underwater

Travel company discontinues bookings with captive whale or dolphin shows

Marine biologists and activists are increasingly calling for the end to dolphins and whales held in captivity, especially for entertainment purposes, as these environments do not give them the space, social connection, and mental stimulation their complex brains need to thrive. Captive sea Read More...

New Navy ship named after gay

New Navy ship named after gay rights leader Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office, but before he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978, he was forced out of the Navy for his sexual orientation. Milk served in the Navy for four years, but was forced to resign because he was gay. Read More...

three sad minks in a small cage

Ireland to become 15th European country to ban fur farming

Minks, foxes, weasels, and other furry friends can breathe a collective sigh of relief—Ireland is to go ahead with its fur farming ban, which will be enforced in 2022. This makes Ireland the 15th European country to do so. Ruth Coppinger, a politician from the People Before Profit/Solidarity Read More...

Philadelphia police car and police officer

Philadelphia will no longer pull drivers over for low-level infractions

Last week, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney signed the Driving Equity Act, making it the first major city in the US to ban low-level traffic stops. The law, which will go into effect in early 2022, will also require city police to collect and publicly release data on traffic stops. Multiple studies Read More...

Doctor performing blood test on smiling patient

This simple blood test can quickly identify 50 types of cancer

We recently shared news of an AI-supported blood test that can detect many types of cancer. Now, another iteration of this solution is available from a California-based company called GRAIL. The company’s new test, called Galleri, is intended to be used in concert with other early cancer Read More...

A large group of minority skateboarders pose with their skateboards outside

Meet the woman on a mission to diversify the world of skateboarding

The world of skateboarding has been dominated by the typical “white boy” skater, which is what Marie Mayassi, who introduces herself as “born in Paris but originally from Congo,” noticed when she first took up the sport four years ago. Determined to change the scene’s lack of Read More...

Small Indigenous village on the bank of a river

COP26 announces $1.7 billion funding for Indigenous forest protection

Indigenous communities play a vital role in environmental preservation, and to bolster the power of Indigenous wisdom in conservation, the governments of the UK, US, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands have announced a $1.7 billion funding pledge to support Indigenous peoples in reversing forest Read More...

oil wells against a sunset

US to begin regulating methane emissions from oil and gas wells

Oil and gas wells, even abandoned ones, are a huge source of emissions. These sites are particularly known for their methane emissions, a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide. A recent NASA project identified particularly problematic emissions sites, and now, for the first time ever, Read More...

Old-fashioned clock next to pumpkin and fall foliage

Why we have daylight saving time and how you can help your body adjust to it

Daylight savings time 2021 If you live in the US, tomorrow marks the official end of daylight saving time, also known as “fall back.” Despite widespread pushback against the concept of daylight savings, it is still practiced in 48 states (Hawaii and Arizona opt out). Today, we’re sharing the Read More...