What went right this week: dispelling disinformation, plus more

Spain is cracking down on online fakery with a draft law targeting disinformation on digital platforms.

“We citizens have the right to defend ourselves from professional hoaxers,” said Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez, who has long voiced concerns about the threat that fake news poses to democracy.

If passed, the new bill will apply to social media influencers with large followings – 100,000 on a single platform, or 200,000 across multiple sites. They will be required to correct misinformation and could face court action if they fail to comply.

The law would also oblige platforms themselves to have mechanisms in place to handle disinformation complaints. The digital measure is part of the Spanish government’s broader ‘Action Plan for Democracy’.

“For those who dedicate themselves to lying and spreading hoaxes every day, the party is over,” justice minister Félix Bolaños posted on X, itself a platform awash with disinformation.

Image: Ottawa/iStock

The roll out of Martha’s Rule in almost 150 hospitals in England is driving “potentially life-saving changes”, the National Health Service (NHS) said this week. 

The patient safety scheme is named after Martha Mills, who died of sepsis in 2021, aged 13. Her mother Merope campaigned for patients and their loved ones to be given the right to request an urgent review of their care. 

So far, 143 hospitals have trialled Martha’s rule since it was introduced in May, resulting in nearly 600 calls to escalate concerns about a patient. Around half prompted an urgent review of care. Of those, 57 – around one in five – led to a change in treatment, such as receiving potentially life-saving drugs. Fourteen patients were moved to intensive care. 

Prof Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director of the NHS, said that Martha’s Rule was having a “transformative effect”, hailing it “one of the most important changes to patient care in recent years”.

Merope Mills said implementing it nationally would “greatly improve care, help change the culture and save lives”. 

Image: Drazen Zigic/iStock

Young climate activists in the US state of Montana celebrated a historic supreme court win this week after a ruling affirmed their right to a “safe and liveable climate”.

The judgement upheld an earlier district court decision,  which saw 16 young plaintiffs – aged as young as five – successfully sue the state over its pro-fossil fuel policies.

Their testimony included personal stories of climate change affecting their health, income and heritage. Nonetheless, Montana moved to overturn the 2023 judgement, but its bid was rejected in Wednesday’s ruling, which also obliges the state to consider the environmental and public health impacts of future fossil fuel projects.

“This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,” said Rikki Held, the lawsuit’s 23-year-old lead plaintiff. “We have been heard, and today the Montana supreme court has affirmed that our rights to a safe and healthy climate cannot be ignored.”

Image: Markus Spiske

Geothermal energy could become the cheapest source of dispatchable clean power on the planet within little over a decade, say the authors of a new report fresh out of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The largely untapped resource beneath our feet could also supply as much as 15% of global electricity demand by 2050, if costs continue on their downward trajectory.

The IEA forecasts costs will plunge by 80% to around $50 (£39) per megawatt hour by 2035, bringing them in line with existing nuclear and hydropower plants, and making geothermal competitive with solar and wind installations paired with batteries.

The IEA said that fossil fuel industries have a key role to play in the energy shake up, with capacity and skills transferable to developing geothermal projects.

“Geothermal is a major opportunity to draw on the technology and expertise of the oil and gas industry,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol. “New technologies are opening new horizons for geothermal energy across the globe, offering the possibility of meeting a significant portion of the world’s rapidly growing demand for electricity securely and cleanly.”

Image: Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant in Þingvellir, Iceland. Credit: Gretar Ívarsson.

The ‘Strictly effect’ is inspiring a wave of blind and visually impaired ballroom fans to sashay to UK dancefloors.

Blind comedian Chris McCausland and his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell lifted the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball in the finale of the flagship BBC show on Saturday. Victory came at the end of McCausland’s often emotional 13-week run, which won the hearts of the nation. 

Now it seems that McCausland’s win was also a victory for inclusivity on a broader stage. Rashmi Becker, who runs Birmingham-based inclusive dance studio Step Change, has been running a weekly ballroom class for blind people since 2017, and said she had been “overwhelmed” with enquiries since McCausland’s appearance on the show.

“There’s been such an uptick in people getting in touch about wanting to join the class,” she told Positive News. “It really shows you the power of a show like Strictly. Let’s hope it encourages more dance schools and teachers to be inclusive.”

Debbie Miller, from the Royal National Institute of Blind People, added: “It highlights the importance of diversity and has sparked so many positive conversations, which is what we need to raise awareness and dispel myths about living with a disability.”

Image: Nicola Selby

Eagle-eyed members of the public have helped halt the spread of Asian hornets in the UK.

The invasive, non-native species has rampaged across Italy and France, where its killing sprees devastated honeybee colonies.

The insect was first reported in the UK in 2016 and – left unchecked – would have colonised more than 1,500 sq km (579 sq miles) of the country by 2020, according to modelling by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH). 

However, the UKCEH said that “no significant spread” has materialised, thanks largely to rapid reporting of suspected sightings, and swift action by exterminators.

It’s a similar picture in Germany and the Netherlands. “Our predictions suggest that the attempts to tackle the yellow-legged hornet in these countries have so far been successful in limiting its spread,” said the UKCEH’s study lead, Dr Richard Hassall. 

Co-author prof Helen Roy added: “The contributions of volunteers to citizen science initiatives such as the Asian Hornet Watch app are inspiring.”

Image: Gilles San Martin

Endangered Polynesian storm petrels (pictured) have returned to a remote island in the South Pacific after a century-long absence, thanks to a hi-tech restoration effort.

Conservationists used poison-laden drones to eradicate the invasive rats, which had populated Kamaka in French Polynesia. With the ground cleared for the storm petrels’ return, they then used solar-powered loudspeakers playing birdcall to attract them back to the island. The birds have since been spotted scouting the area for nesting sites.

With as few as 250 mature Polynesian storm petrels remaining in the wild, the hope is that Kamaka can sustain new breeding colonies.

“This remarkable progress brings hope for the future, as the Polynesian storm-petrels reclaim their island home,” said Tehotu Reasin, landowner of Kamaka Island. “These seabirds bring critical nutrients from the ocean to the island, which cascades down into the surrounding marine environment benefiting fish and corals. The entire ecosystem can once again thrive.”

Image: Seabirding Japan

From the South Pacific to the Caribbean where the near-extinct Sombrero ground lizard (pictured) is thriving once more following a habitat recovery initiative.

Sombrero Island lies 34 miles (54 km) off the coast of Anguilla and was on the brink of ecological collapse due to guano mining, invasive mice and hurricanes. 

Numbers of the eponymous Sombrero ground lizard dwindled to fewer than 100 in 2018, but a joint effort between the Anguilla National Trust, Flora and Fauna and Re:wild has resulted in more than 1,600 sightings.

The conservation initiative involved removing rodent pests and replanting native species, including sea bean and prickly pear. It’s good news, too, for Sombrero’s other unique residents, which include a bee and the wind scorpion.

Justin Springer, Caribbean programme officer for Re:wild, said the region is one of the most diverse on the planet, but also has the highest extinction rate.

“Recoveries, like the one that the Sombrero ground lizard is making, are beacons of hope. They are proof that if we make the effort to address the threats, nature has an amazing capacity to bounce back,” he said.

Related: The barren island that came back from the dead

Image: Fauna & Flora

It’s a region already renowned for its astonishing biodiversity – and now the Greater Mekong can add another 234 creatures to its long list of denizens.

That’s the number of new plants, reptiles, amphibians, fish and mammals found in the area straddling Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in 2023.

The discoveries have been documented in a new report released this week by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Among the finds was a soft-furred, fang-toothed ‘vampire’ hedgehog, a high-altitude crocodile newt and a new species of dragon lizard that has concealed itself on Laos’ jagged karst pinnacles for millions of years.

The WWF said that the count was likely to be just the tip of the iceberg as it excluded invertebrates such as spiders and butterflies, as well as fungi, mosses and algae.

“Although these species were just described by science last year, they have been living in the unique habitats of our region for many millennia,” said Chris Hallam, WWF-Asia Pacific regional wildlife lead. “Each of these species is a critical piece of a functioning, healthy ecosystem and a jewel in the region’s rich natural heritage.”

Image: Basile Morin

A police force in south-west England is deploying pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) to help curb drink and drug driving.

Devon and Cornwall police are using AI-powered safety cameras trained to spot driving behaviour consistent with being under the influence. 

In the world-first trial, the cameras alert officers further up the road who can stop the vehicle and carry out roadside tests for drink and drugs.

The ‘Heads Up’ technology, developed by Australian firm Acusensus, has already helped police catch motorists using phones or driving without seatbelts.

“We are all safer if we can detect impairment before it causes an incident that could ruin lives,” said Geoff Collins, UK general manager of Acusensus. However, critics of AI surveillance warn that in the wrong hands it could pose a threat to privacy. 

Image: Ram

‘Wildflower warriors’ are set to bring a riot of colour along a new four-mile stretch of tarmac after harvesting and sowing enough seed to cover 45 acres of banks and verges. 

The Eden Project National Wildflower Centre (NWC) has spent five years working on the link road’s landscaping strategy, alongside Cornwall council and the civil engineering consultancy, Griffiths. 

“We want to ensure the new road is as natural and biodiverse as a road can be, featuring an abundance of wildflowers that are typical of the Cornish countryside,” said NWC project manager Stephanie Knights. 

Read the full story here.

Image: Emily-Whitfield-Wicks
Main image: Mika Baumeister