Hundreds of rare birds rescued during Hurricane Ian - Shareables Hope & Optimism #8

This week: "Operation Noah's Ark", potential cancer vaccine, and Spain's return of lynx, vultures, and horses [View this email in your browser]( Hey everyone, As temperatures drop and cold winter winds arrive, we hope everyone is able to stay safe and warm. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be blessed with milder encounters with mother nature as we're reminded by the damage that continues to be caused by Hurricane Ian. These are times that truly test our spirits and we hope that we can help, if only a little bit, with uplifting yours. If it's your first time reading or a friend sent this to you, you can [subscribe here](. Photo courtesy via AP Photo/Robert Bumsted [(1) Hundreds of rare birds rescued from island cut off by Hurricane Ian]( Sometimes, light shines brightest during the darkest of times. Although Hurricane Ian has been the most unfortunate of events, it’s allowed humans to show what's possible when they truly unite and combine efforts for the greater good. Will Peratino and his partner, Lauren Stepp, would not leave their Pine Island home without their two lemurs and 275 parrots which included some of the world’s rarest. A good number of these birds were rescued from homes that could no longer care for them, and a few others were used for breeding rare species. Although authorities pleaded with Peratino and Stepp to evacuate and abandon their homes, they could only be persuaded with a rescue mission, dubbed “Operation Noah’s Ark,” as a condition. Stepp said, “We would not abandon them. I would never leave them. Never. If they cannot be fed or watered, they will die. And I can’t live with that.” Bryan Stern, the founder of Project Dynamo, was able to assemble four boats for this rescue. Volunteers spent several hours using nets and their bare hands to capture and cage these birds for rescue. These birds would likely not have been able to survive the violence of the storm, with 150mph gusts and destruction that rendered roads impassable and islands inaccessible. Peratino recalls, “To have every bird safe is a huge undertaking...I mean, it's almost impossible to do. So the kind of help we've gotten has been invaluable.” The undertaking was truly unimaginable. [(Full video)]( Photo courtesy via Staffan Widstrand/Rewilding Europe [(2) Lynx, wild horses and vultures return to eastern Spain in latest rewilding project]( We know we’ve done a number of posts regarding Europe’s rewilding initiatives but the recovery work they’ve done is truly commendable. Europe continues to pave the way and lead by example with their resounding successes. Their 20-year recovery strategy spans an area that’s more than 5x Greater London and aims to make the land more nature-friendly with diverse wildlife species. More specifically, the Iberian Highlands Rewilding Landscape project, which is the 10th initiative by Rewilding Europe, involves 850,000 hectares (2.1m acres) of rare, recovering lands east of Madrid that are inhabited by less than two people per square kilometer. For decades, people have been moving to cities, resulting in these highlands being some of the least populated areas in Europe. Consequently, many wildlife species, including deer, ibex, and wild boar, have started migrating back. Some of the species being reintroduced to eastern Spain include black vultures, lynx, and wild horses. Black vultures, with a wingspan of more than 3 meters (10ft), have already been brought back and GPS tagged for movement tracking. Elsewhere, 11 semi-wild horses were released near Mazarete which allowed for the successful birth of a baby foal. Finally, in approximately 1-2 years, the Iberian Lynx will be reintroduced - it was once one of the world’s most endangered cats, with fewer than 100 in number. We’re ecstatic for a much more vibrant and lively wilderness where animals can return to free and wild habitats that once belonged to them, restoring Earth to its natural beauty. [(Full article)]( Photo courtesy via BBC [(3) Vaccines to treat cancer possible by 2030, say BioNTech founders]( Like the scientists themselves, we’re cautiously optimistic when we hear this type of news, but it sounds like BioNTech may be possible to create a cancer vaccine “before the end of the decade.” Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, the husband and wife team and founders of BioNTech, explained that the mRNA technology behind their Covid vaccine could be rewired to direct the immune system to attack cancer cells. Changes can be made so that the vaccine contains genetic instructions to target cancer antigens, or proteins that are found on the surfaces of tumor cells. BioNTech was actually working on mRNA cancer vaccines prior to Covid but pivoted their focus given the urgency of the global health emergency. Further down in the pipeline, BioNTech also hopes to development treatments for various cancer types, including bowel cancer and melanoma. The difficulty lies in properly targeting the huge variety of proteins that can be found on cancer cells so that healthy tissues are not attacked. If they can successfully do this, it will truly be a breakthrough for cancer patients. [(Full article)]( “The future of humanity will move closer and closer toward the approach of Zen, because the meeting of the East and West is possible only through something like Zen, which is earthly and yet unearthly.” - Rajneesh As always, we'd love to hear your feedback regarding the newsletter. Let us know if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas and email us directly at newsletter@sbly.com. If you come across great news that you feel compelled to share, send it over to us [using this form here]( and we'll try to include some submissions in the upcoming emails! Thanks for reading! [:heart:][:wave:] See you in a few days for another happy start to the week! [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [About Shareably Media]( [Email](mailto:newsletter@shareably.net) If you enjoyed today's newsletter, share it with someone by clicking one of the buttons below! [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( Have feedback? Email us at newsletter@shareably.net! Did a friend forward this to you? [Subscribe here]( Want to advertise with us? Reach out using [this form here](. Copyright © 2022 Shareably Media, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at one of our websites. Please see www.shareably.net/about for a full list of our brands Our mailing address is: Shareably Media, LLC 12705 Bluff Creek DriveLos Angeles, CA 90094 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.