28 Sep to 4 Oct
By Harry
The lookback
Rescuers steadied injured and orphaned animals, clean power hit new highs, and more people found homes.
Where things are happening: United States, Kenya, China, Antarctica, Germany, Australia, United Kingdom
01
People and rangers showed up for animals in trouble
Across these stories, people stepped in when wild animals ended up injured, orphaned or otherwise stranded, and worked to get them safely back on their feet.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Strangers freed a great horned owl impaled on barbed wire and a humpback whale tangled in fishing gear off Washington, while rescuers in California gathered 204 olive ridley turtle eggs before storms could destroy the nests.1,2,3 In Kenya, rangers rescued an orphaned elephant calf named Daba near the Galana River, a day-old black rhino calf called Chamboi in Tsavo West, an elephant calf named Korbessa pulled from a well in Meru, and a newborn hippo named Bumpy found beside his dead mother in the Rift Valley, all now being raised at Sheldrick Wildlife Trust sanctuaries, while a Kentucky rehab center worked to scrub paint off a box turtle named Pickett before returning her home.5,6,7,8,4
02
Clean power keeps breaking its own records
Across several countries, new or growing renewable projects pushed clean electricity to fresh highs and proved it can work in extreme conditions.1,2,3,4,5,6 Utah's Fervo Energy opened a round-the-clock geothermal plant in just 23 months, while China switched on a 2 GW offshore wind cluster in the South China Sea expected to generate 6.6 billion kWh a year.1,2 On Australia's main grid, solar and wind briefly supplied 80% of power, and in Antarctica three wind turbines have run for 15 years, saving about 122,000 gallons of diesel at McMurdo Station and Scott Base.5,3
03
More roofs, fewer people left without one
Stories from this week described new progress in housing people and reducing homelessness in the US and UK.1,2,3,4,5 California reported 8,391 fewer unsheltered people in 2025, its largest drop in 16 years, with 110,000 people housed since 2023 and 682,000 homes built since 2019, while the US Department of Veterans Affairs gave a record $1.17 billion to groups aiding homeless veterans after 51,936 were housed this year, the most in seven years.1,3 In Denver, a nonprofit opened a residence for homeless college students, in Wisconsin a vacant factory lot became 20 affordable homes, and in the UK councils gained new powers to bring homes left empty for six months back into use.2,5,4
Wildcard
Finalists Win Big Laughs in The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards – LOOK
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards announced 40 finalists for 2026, chosen from over 10,000 entries submitted from 112 countries.
Read it at Good News Network
That's the week. The next one's out Monday morning.