Quote:McDonald’s will soon banish cheeseburgers and chocolate milk from its Happy Meal menu in an effort to cut down on the calories, sodium, saturated fat and sugar that kids consume at its restaurants.

Diners can still ask specifically for cheeseburgers or chocolate milk with the child’s meal, but McDonald’s said that not listing them will reduce how often they’re ordered. Since it removed soda from the Happy Meal menu four years ago, orders for it with Happy Meals have fallen 14%, the company said.

Quote:Irish company announces its pioneering wave energy convertor will be built in Oregon and deployed on the Hawaiian Island of O’ahu in autumn 2018.

Quote:Half of UK adults adopting ‘vegan-buying behaviour’ as number of full-time vegans grows four-fold in 10 years

Quote:Populations of all kinds of wildlife are declining at alarming speed. One radical solution is to make 50% of the planet a nature reserve

Quote:The United States into the largest incarcerator in the world, not just by the numbers, but per capita as well. The system imposes harsh, unfair, devastating, and long-lasting consequences for millions of people. African Americans are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana use then caucasians, but the rates of usage are similar.

Quote:The world’s first floating wind farm, which is located off the coast of Scotland, is showing that generating great amounts of energy is possible in places with deep seabeds. Although Scotland’s floating wind farm only switched on three months ago, it’s already performing far better than expected. In fact, the farm’s five floating turbines can generate enough power for 20,000 homes at full capacity.

Quote:Plenty of research suggests that animals, from the chicken to the octopus, can feel in a similar way to humans. Despite our knowledge that animals have sentience, we continue to ignore this and allow for inhumane practices like branding to be done on animals. If animals can feel, shouldn’t they at least be treated as morally equivalent to humans? It may seem as if few people think so now, but we are moving towards a better relationship with ‘lower’ creatures. Just look at the rising political representation that animals are gaining from parties like the Labour Party in the UK and The Party of the Animals in the Netherlands.

Quote:Disposable diagnostics tests such as pregnancy tests require small batteries or fuel cells to work. Considering that these devices can typically only be used once, an engineer is developing small, nontoxic, inexpensive fuel cells that can be disposed of without ecological impact.There are two reasons why these single-use fuel cells are incredible. First, they are made mainly using paper; and second, instead of relying on lithium, these paper fuel cells use bodily fluids such as saliva and blood.

Quote:The Minister for Education, Richard Bruton has confirmed the change in a circular released today, stating that it is a constitutional right for students who chose not to participate in religion class to be offered an alternative, meaningful program.

Quote:A cascade of courtroom standoffs are beginning to slow, and even reverse, the EPA rollbacks thanks to the administration’s ‘disregard for the law’