The pleasure of whale songs, and more playgrounds for all

Age-inclusive playgrounds promote play and social well-being for more than the youngest

Anna C. Verna Playground in Philadelphia’s FDR Park features seven slides, climbing nets, and nature-based play spaces. But the playground’s greatest attraction is its 20-person elliptical “megaswing,” the largest in North America at 120 feet by 100 feet. It features rubber buckets for babies and low-swinging baskets in which parkgoers can lounge.

Playgrounds around the world are taking similar approaches. At Tom Lee Park in Memphis, Tennessee, people sit and talk on broad, flat swings, reminiscent of those on Southern porches. In Toronto, a “caregiver swing” allows parents and children to swing in tandem. Gorky Park in Moscow features a 141-foot-wide megaswing.

Designers note the importance of having challenging structures that invite problem-solving in a fun, public setting. “We are social animals, and play fosters social relationships,” says landscape architect Meghan Talarowski in Philadelphia.
Source: Bloomberg

Blue whales could be making a comeback in the Antarctic

The largest creatures ever on Earth, Antarctic blue whales saw their numbers plummet from 125,000 in the early 20th century to a few thousand today. But a newly released study found their calls and songs increasing over time, an encouraging sign of the effectiveness of decades of bans on commercial whaling.

 
Blue whales are also the loudest animals on the planet, singing louder than a jet engine. The study used sonobuoy listening devices in the Southern Ocean to record whale sounds between 2006 and 2021.

Analyzing thousands of hours of audio, scientists heard significantly more sounds as the study went on, possibly indicating that whale numbers increased. Greater abundance is only one possible explanation. An increasing volume of calls or changing distribution could also explain the findings. The study recommends further use of acoustic surveys for their cost-effective efficiency.
Sources: Yale Environment 360, Frontiers in Marine Science

The European Union adopted its first law targeting violence against women

The new rules make crimes including female genital mutilation, forced marriages, cyberstalking, and online harassment punishable by a minimum of one to five years in prison.

While countries from Italy to the Netherlands have laws meant to combat gendered violence, the broad directive now requires all 27 member states to bring the EU rules into force within three years. The EU estimates that some 600,000 women and girls have experienced genital cutting in the EU, and 10% have faced some form of online harassment since age 15.

Countries disagreed on whether the law should include an EU-wide definition of rape, and the law was passed without such a provision. The new law also imposes harsher punishments for offenses against children, spouses or former partners, public figures, journalists, and human rights advocates.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, European Commission, United Nations

To strengthen the startup pipeline, the UNDP is investing $1 billion across Africa

The United Nations Development Programme's Timbuktoo initiative is centered at 13 university centers and designed to foster closer ties between African universities and the startup economy, from research to commercialization.

Each Timbuktoo UniPod includes a design lab, maker space, and event area where innovators will have better access to resources and expertise. In Malawi, entrepreneur Sonia Kachale, who co-created a platform to streamline banking among financial institutions, said that UniPods were an “answered prayer” for innovators looking to “build companies ... that can be used by our people.”

UniPod hosts include 13 countries, from Rwanda to South Sudan. A separate Timbuktoo project will support innovation hubs in eight cities, including Lagos, Nigeria, and Cape Town, South Africa.
Sources: Semafor, United Nations Development Programme

Researchers may have found a way to ramp up green hydrogen production

Hydrogen fuel is considered green when renewable electricity is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. When stored in fuel cells, hydrogen can power everything from cars to factories with no greenhouse gas emissions. But scientists have struggled to produce green hydrogen at a scale that can compete with fossil fuels.

Typically, iridium is used as a catalyst to split water molecules, but it is also one of the rarest metals. By spreading out iridium atoms on a piece of manganese oxide – one of the most common compounds in Earth’s crust – a team in Japan reduced the amount of iridium needed by 95%, while maintaining hydrogen production.

Other scientists warned last year that care must be taken because excess hydrogen leaked into the atmosphere could increase methane levels. But the lead scientist working on the new catalyst, Ryuhei Nakamura, says that the method can be “easily transferred to real-world applications,” and his team is working with industry partners.
Sources: Riken, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment