Today is CeCe’s birthday and CoCo temperature has been “normal” since 7:00 last night. That’s super good news. A little personal good news really helps me look at the world through rosier glasses. Here’s what else I found this weeks.

The wilding of the planet

Mother Nature approves of social distancing.

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The Himilayan Mountains can be seen from norther Indian State of Punjab.

Wow! That’s beautiful.

Pumas are roaming the streets of Santiago, Chile. Goats ravage flowerbeds in Wales, and mischievous monkeys and raiding refrigerators in India.

As a gardener battling deer and squirrels, maybe I wouldn’t look at monkeys raiding my refrigerator as good news. Still, it’s pretty amazing how life fills a void, don’t you think?

There’s been a dramatic drop in air pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide, smog and tiny particles.

We’re getting a glimpse of what might happen if we start switching to non-polluting cars.

Marry Lefer, NASA atmospheric scientist (Associated Press)

Milan makes way for bicycles and pedestrians

There’s a lot less traffic because of stay-at-home orders. Around the world, cities are re-striping streets to make way for more bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Detroit and Los Angeles suspended bus fares so essential workers can get around.

This, coupled with decidedly better air quality has gotten city planners thinking. Milan leads the way. Only a little over 10 miles from border to border, Milan is converting over 25 miles of streets to accommodate more bicycles and pedestrians.

Janette Sadik-Khan, a former transportation commissioner for New York City, is working with cities including Bogota and Milan on their transport recovery programmes.

A lot of cities and even countries have been defined by how they’ve responded to historical forces, whether it’s political, social, or physical reconstruction,” says Janette.

The Guardian

Pierfrancesco Maran, a deputy mayor of Milan said:

“We should accept that for months or maybe a year, there will be a new normality, and we have to create good conditions to live this new normality for everyone.

“I think in the next month in Milan, in Italy, in Europe, we will decide part of our future for the next decade. Before, we were planning for 2030; now the new phase, we are calling it 2020. Instead of thinking about the future, we have to think about the present.”

The Guardian

And then there’s this in Venice:

That’s one of the most delightful sights I’ve seen in a while.

What’s your good news this week?