Absolutely Unnecessary

go to About:config find media.mediasource.enabled and toggle it to false find media.cache_readahead_limit and change it to 9999 find media.cache_resume_threshold and change it to 9999

additionally if you'd prefer mp4 to webm

also in about:config, find: media.encoder.webm.enabled media.mediasource.webm.audio.enabled media.mediasource.webm.enabled media.webm.enabled and toggle them all to false

note! this will limit video to 1080p

It’s Erica with your new dose of Feel Good News — stories to remind us the world’s not so bad after all.

1. Appeals court blocks Republicans’ bid to dismantle Grand Canyon national monument

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously dismissed every argument from the Arizona Legislature, including claims about lost mining revenue, in a lawsuit challenging the creation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni — Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The court ruled that the legislative leaders lacked standing to bring the lawsuit because all of the harms they claimed the monument would cause were speculative. The monument was designated by President Joe Biden in 2023 in response to advocacy from Native American communities whose ancestral homelands are located in and near the Grand Canyon. The court rejected the legislature’s claims about lost tax revenue, water supply, and energy prices, and found that the legislature failed to show any concrete injury from the monument’s creation.

2. Sweden goes back to basics, swapping screens for books in the classroom in attempt to reverse declines in reading, math, and science.

Sweden is moving away from a heavy reliance on digital technology in schools and returning to more traditional teaching methods, including the use of physical textbooks and handwriting. This shift is in response to declining test scores and concerns that excessive screen time and digital distractions have hindered students’ learning, especially in foundational skills like reading and writing. The Swedish government is investing heavily to provide every student with physical textbooks and has also announced plans to make schools cellphone-free. While digital technology is not being completely removed from classrooms, the goal is to introduce it more selectively and at later stages of a student’s education, after basic skills have been firmly established. This recalibration of technology’s role in education reflects a growing debate, not just in Sweden but also in the US, about the potential drawbacks of excessive digitalization in schools.

3. Carney announces $3.8B to protect nature. Government plans to create new national parks and marine reserves.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced $3.8 billion in new funding to protect nature, as part of the federal government’s goal to protect 30% of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030. The government plans to create new national parks and marine reserves, including the Wiinipaawk Indigenous Protected Area and National Marine Conservation Area in eastern James Bay, and the Seal River Watershed National Park in Manitoba. Up to 14 new marine-protected and conserved areas and up to 10 new marine conservation areas would also be created, aiming to protect 28% of Canada’s waters. The federal Conservatives criticized the announcement as “illusions”, arguing that the government has failed to meet its own environmental targets in the past.

4. Despite claims of his death spreading on social media, the world’s oldest known land animal, a giant tortoise named Jonathan, remained alive and well on Wednesday, April 1, the reptile’s caretaker said.

Despite claims of his death spreading on social media, the world’s oldest known land animal, a giant tortoise named Jonathan, remained alive and well on Wednesday, April 1, the reptile’s caretaker said. Jonathan the tortoise is very much alive, and the account claiming his death is a fake. Jonathan has spent most of his life living in St. Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic Ocean, and is thought to have been born around 1832. He holds the records for the world’s oldest living land animal and the oldest chelonian, the category of reptiles including all turtles, terrapins and tortoises.

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That’s it for last week :)

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From the article:

My favorites:

73% of people globally feel safe walking alone at night, the highest ever recorded

UN high seas treaty ratified, allowing for nations to extend major protections to marine environments

Extreme poverty falling

China, once one of the major emitters, is investing heavily in green and renewable energy

India's tiger populations has doubled in the last decade

Amazon deforestation in Brazil is at its lowest level in 11 years

Hey there, it’s Erica! Welcome to another edition of Feel Good News — here’s your weekly dose of uplifting stories.

1. Goodbye to the idea that solar panels “die” after 25 years: New Swiss study shows real-world performance after 3 decades still over 80%, average annual loss about 0.25%, thermal stress and quality key factors. Their long-term economics are better than many people assume

A new analysis suggests that solar panels can continue performing well beyond their typical 25-30 year warranty period. Researchers examined six solar arrays in Switzerland installed between 1987 and 1993, and found that most panels still produced over 80% of their original power after three decades. The key factors were temperature, with lower-altitude panels facing higher thermal stress and degrading faster, as well as the quality of the panel materials. This contrasts with earlier studies that found faster average decline. The findings are significant, as they suggest solar can provide long-term economic benefits for homeowners and contribute to reducing air pollution and associated public health impacts. The study highlights the importance of real-world, long-term data in understanding solar panel durability.

2. Steve Martin and Martin Short Pause Comedy Show to Honor Catherine O’Hara: ‘“Catherine O’Hara, I met when she was 18 years of age, and all these years later, she has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with,” said Short alongside Martin.

Steve Martin and Martin Short paid tribute to the late Catherine O'Hara during their comedy show in Austin, Texas. They described O'Hara as the “greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel” they had worked with over the years. The tribute came just hours after O'Hara’s death was announced on Friday. O'Hara was a longtime friend and collaborator of Short, and she had previously worked with Martin on the 1994 film “A Simple Twist of Fate”. Since her passing, many celebrities have shared heartfelt messages and tributes to the beloved actress, including her “Home Alone” co-star Macaulay Culkin and her “The Studio” co-star Seth Rogen, who described her as “hysterical, kind, intuitive, and generous”.

3. US judge allows last of five offshore wind projects halted by Trump to proceed

The Trump administration had halted the construction of five offshore wind projects in December 2025 due to national security concerns. However, a federal judge has now ruled that Denmark’s Ørsted can proceed with its Sunrise Wind project off the coast of New York. The judge found that the suspension of construction would cause irreparable harm to the project, as it could result in the loss of specialized vessels needed for installation. The ruling also applies to Ørsted’s Revolution Wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. While the construction freeze has been lifted, the offshore wind industry continues to face political risks under the Trump administration, which has been skeptical of wind power. The Sunrise Wind project is 45% complete and expected to start operating as soon as October, providing enough power for nearly 600,000 homes.

4. Bill Nye to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor at the 4th Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards

Bill Nye, a renowned science educator, engineer, television presenter, inventor, and New York Times bestselling author, is set to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the 4th Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards. Nye is being honored for his outstanding contributions to science education, having inspired multiple generations of children through his TV shows, including “Bill Nye the Science Guy.” The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences also announced its 2026 Children’s & Family Gold Circle and Silver Circle Honor Society inductees, as well as the winners of Individual Achievement in Animation and Outstanding Public Service Initiative awards. The awards ceremony will take place in New York on March 1 and 2, 2023.

5. 111 child marriages prevented in Punjab in a year

In the past year, the Punjab government has successfully prevented 111 child marriages across the state. The minister for social security, women and child development, Baljit Kaur, provided district-wise details, with the highest number of cases prevented in Fazilka (18) and the lowest in Barnala, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, and Sangrur (one each). To strengthen the child marriage prevention framework, the state has appointed 2,076 child marriage prohibition officers, including child development project officers, and encourages citizens to report any suspected cases through the child helpline number 1098 or by contacting the nearest prohibition officer.

6. As the ozone layer heals, so too does public faith in science-led collaboration. It shows that collective decisions grounded in evidence can achieve measurable results within a single generation. Global environmental restoration is possible when nations commit to shared goals.

The healing of the ozone layer is one of humanity’s greatest environmental success stories. Once on the brink of irreversible damage, the ozone layer is now steadily recovering due to global action grounded in scientific evidence. The ozone layer shields life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and its depletion caused by chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) led to the creation of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. The treaty mandated the global phase-out of ozone-depleting substances, and as a result, the ozone layer is projected to return to pre-1980 levels by mid-century. This success demonstrates that science, political will, and shared responsibility can help reverse environmental harm. The healing of the ozone layer also highlights the importance of equity in environmental agreements, as the Montreal Protocol included flexible timelines and financial support for developing countries. The ozone layer’s recovery prevents millions of skin cancer cases and protects UV-sensitive ecosystems, offering hope that global environmental restoration is possible when nations commit to shared goals and remain dedicated to the course of action.

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That’s it for last week :)

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““The Great Pacific Garbage Patch can now be cleaned,” announced Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, the wonderkid inventor who’s spent a decade inventing systems for waterborne litter collection.

Recent tests on his Ocean Cleanup rig called System 002, invented to tackle the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic pollution, were a success, leading Slat to predict that most of the oceanic garbage patches could be removed by 2040.

Intersections of ocean currents have created the massive floating islands of plastic trash—five slow-moving whirlpools that pull litter from thousands of miles away into a single radius.

The largest one sits between California and Hawaii, and 27-year-old Slat has been designing and testing his systems out there, launching from San Francisco since 2013.

GNN has reported on his original design for the floating device, but his engineering team improved upon it. System 002, nicknamed “Jenny,” successfully netted 9,000 kilograms, or around 20,000 pounds in its first trial.

It’s carbon-neutral, able to capture microplastics as small as 1 millimeter in diameter, and was designed to pose absolutely no threat to wildlife thanks to its wide capture area, slow motion, alerts, and camera monitors that allow operators to spy any overly-curious marine life…