What went right this week: a new approach to drugs, plus more

The UK’s first drug consumption room has been credited with saving lives, with those running it claiming it has “exceeded expectations” since it opened in January.

The Thistle provides a safe space for users to consume illegal substances in Glasgow and helps them access drug treatment programmes and additional support for things like mental health. 

The Scottish government-funded facility has reportedly been used more than 1,200 times and medics have been on hand to help with more than a dozen overdoses.

“Lives have been saved, people who have felt marginalised and distant from support are engaging with staff and the early feedback from service users and wider partners is positive,” said Glasgow councillor Allan Casey.  

Critics fear supervised injection sites encourage drug use, but supporters point to evidence from similar facilities – including in Switzerland and Canada – which have reduced overdose deaths and helped users access support.  

Scotland has the highest drug death rate in Europe. Deaths are also rising sharply in England and Wales. “I want to see these facilities set up in cities across Scotland and the UK,” Peter Krykant (pictured), a former heroin addict and campaigner for drug policy reform, told Positive News.

Image: Peter Krykant

Sewage. There’s no shortage of it. Could it be a renewable energy of the future? 

Scientists are optimistic after a pioneering facility that converts wastewater into “climate-neutral” methanol opened in Germany. 

The test plant in Mannheim takes biogas from sewage, purifies it, and uses green hydrogen to convert it into methanol, which can be used as shipping fuel.

“This is an innovative approach that shows how available resources can be used in a smart and climate-friendly way,” said Prof Thomas Hirth of Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, which built the facility.  

Hirth and his team believe that the plant offers a blueprint for others to follow, claiming the fuel could help reduce shipping’s impact on the climate. The sector accounts for roughly 3% of global emissions. 

The high cost of producing green hydrogen, however, may prove to be a barrier in the short term. But with around 80,000 sewage treatment plants in Europe, there is plenty of wastewater to go round.

Image: Venti Views

Finland has phased out the dirtiest fossil fuel four years ahead of schedule after its last coal-fired power plant closed for good on Tuesday.  

The smut-belching Salmisaari facility in Helsinki (main picture) was the last continuously used coal plant in Finland. Its closure follows a collapse in coal use in the Nordic nation, which has doubled the amount of energy it gets from wind since 2020.  

Like the UK, which phased out coal last year, Finland has replaced imported fossil fuels with domestically produced wind power, strengthening energy security, cutting emissions, and boosting the economy. A recent report from the Confederation of Finnish Industries found that wind power is now “the biggest enabler of Finland’s economic growth”.

“Finland has shown what’s possible when clear political signals are matched with rapid investments in renewable power,” said Cyrille Cormier of Beyond Fossil Fuels, a campaign group. “Wind alone has more than covered the gap left by coal and fossil gas, proving that renewable energy can be scaled fast, particularly when government policy creates the right conditions.”

Image: Tapio Haaja

Carbon emissions continued their downward trend in the UK last year, according to official figures, which showed a 4% decline in climate-warming gases.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the fall was thanks to reductions in fossil fuel use in the energy sector and industry. It added that emissions generated in the UK are now 54% lower than in 1990. The UK aims to reduce carbon emissions by 68% by 2030 and 81% by 2035 compared with 1990 levels. 

The latest fall was cautiously welcomed by Greenpeace’s Doug Parr, who said it showed that “the UK’s efforts to tackle climate change are working”. However, he cautioned that “while emissions are falling, we’re still very much dependent on expensive and polluting gas for our energy”.

Image: Ming Jun Tan

“I would go out tonight, but I haven’t got a stitch to wear.” So sang Morrissey on The Smiths’ song This Charming Man – if only he’d had access to a clothes library like the one that has launched in Shropshire, England. 

The pioneering shared wardrobe scheme in Oswestry library allows visitors to loan outfits like they’re books. 

It was launched by Lizzie Dibble (pictured) who believes that her clothes lending project could help bring in new footfall to the UK’s beleaguered libraries, as well as introducing readers to the romance of secondhand fashion.

“If we can make it work in Oswestry there is no reason it can’t work in other communities,” said Dibble, who plans to take the idea to other libraries. 

Read the full story here.

Image: Sarah White / With Love From …

Lowering the level of ‘bad cholesterol’ in your blood could cut your dementia risk by as much as 26%.

That’s according to a new study published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry on Wednesday. Echoing the findings of other similar studies, it found that people with low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) – also known as ‘bad cholesterol’ – have a reduced risk of dementia. 

What’s more, it suggested that statins – a widely prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication – could offer a protective effect against dementia, even in those who already had cholesterol levels within a lower range.

The South Korean study reached its findings after analysing the heath records of 50,000 adults. While its findings were welcomed by the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, it stressed that more research was needed. 

“Dementia risk is complex and influenced by many factors,” said Dr Julia Dudley, head of research for the charity. “Without a detailed picture of what’s going on in the brain we do not know if there is a direct link between lower cholesterol and reduced dementia risk.”  

Processed meats, cakes and hard cheeses are among the foods that contain bad cholesterol. Olive oil, oily fish, and avocados, meanwhile, contain good cholesterol.

Image: Tim Mossholder

An over-the-counter test for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and trichomoniasis has been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

The at-home test for women can be bought without a prescription and delivers results within 30 minutes. The FDA said the test would help patients who are concerned they may have a sexually transmitted infection but fear getting tested. 

“Home tests can give people information about their health from the privacy of their home,” said the FDA’s Courtney Lias. “This can be particularly important for sexual health tests for which patients may experience fear or anxiety, possibly resulting in delayed diagnosis or treatment.”

Image: Andrea Piacquadio

Hundreds of schools and hospitals are set to benefit from bill-slashing solar panels thanks to a landmark investment by the UK government. 

Around £200m has been made available to put solar arrays on the roofs of schools and hospitals, lowering electricity bills. 

It’s the first investment made by state-owned GB Energy, which launched in 2024 to supercharge renewables and bring down bills.

Though the announcement was broadly welcomed, only around 200 schools are set to benefit from the investment, leaving others to raise the money themselves through community share offers. 

Image: Remco Guijs

Companies that make misleading claims about their green credentials face huge fines in the UK, where regulators have been given additional powers to crack down on greenwashing.

From next Monday, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will have the power to hand out fines of up to 10% of global turnover (or £300,000, whichever is higher) on firms caught greenwashing. Until now, fines for greenwashing have rarely exceeded £1m.

“For far too long, large corporations have gotten away with rampant greenwashing, enabling them to continue their climate-wrecking practices and exploit climate-conscious consumers,” said Maddy Haughton-Boakes, senior campaigner at the Changing Markets Foundation.

“[The CMA’s new] powers should act as a deterrent to companies hoping to dupe consumers with more greenwashing, and a catalyst for UK businesses to focus instead on genuine, effective solutions to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.”

Meanwhile, in Germany, regulators handed Deutsche Bank-owned asset manager DWS a €25m (£21m) fine this week after the firm was found guilty of making misleading statements about its environmental and social investing credentials.

Image: Anastasia Shuraeva

Could the simple act of sharing seeds boost our mental health as well as biodiversity? 

A small study in northern England found that people who shared seeds saw a small uptick in their mental health – findings echoed by similar studies elsewhere.

Author Kathy Slack, whose new memoir Rough Patch explores how growing vegetables helped her recover from burnout and depression, was unsurprised by the research. 

“Sowing a seed is an act of hope,” she said. “Not to be overly dramatic about it, but when you’re wondering whether it’s worth even bothering to stick around any more, planting a seed is like a promise to your future self.”

Read the full story here. 

Image: Sue Loughlin
Main image: Vladislav Zolotov