We Can Sip Wine Because the Dinosaurs Died – CNN 5 Good Things

‘Hey there, I’m Krista Bo with your weekly dose of feel-good news. You’ll hear about a teen track star who’s going to the Olympics this month in Paris.

You know, it’s every kid’s dream to be in the position that I am in right now.

Plus, how the death of dinosaurs may have led to the birth of wine. From CNN, this is 5 Good Things.

‘Dogs and humans deserve second chances, don’t you agree? Well, that’s the whole point of Unchained, a nonprofit that connects at-risk youth in California with homeless dogs for an eight-week training program. It’s meant to help get the dog adopted while also teaching kids who train them responsibility, compassion, and empathy.

When our kids are thanked for what they’re doing and helping, you know, give a dog a second chance at life, we see the shift in them.

Melissa Wolf is the founder of Unchained, and she’s been selected as one of this year’s CNN Heroes. Unchained works with teachers, professional dog trainers and licensed mental health specialists inside juvenile detention centers and schools for the training course with the kids.

We don’t know their stories or what their rap sheet is. They may share a very similar story with their dog, that their dog has experienced neglect or abandonment or maybe abuse. We get to go in with a blank slate.

The kids teach the dogs to be better behaved. And the dogs teach them just as much.

I learned a lot of social skills and how to control my emotions a lot, to be more focused, more attentive.

I’m doing so good in life. I just got off probation. Everything’s just good, you know?

‘Unchained has worked with more than 450 young people whose dog training skills have helped more than 220 dogs find forever homes. She said she’ll be a self-proclaimed crazy dog lady for the rest of her life, but she’s all in it for the kids who can have a hard time getting out of the juvenile justice system.

So if we can capture kids early on, help them become their best person, best version of themselves, then maybe we can stop that cycle.

To learn more about Unchained and their work, head to CNNHeroes.com. The link is also in our show notes.

‘It’s safe to say Quincy Wilson is a rising track star. He broke a world record in the 400 meter at the Olympic trials, not once, but twice this year. And now the 16-year-old is the youngest ever U.S. male track Olympian. Quincy ultimately didn’t qualify for the 400 meter. But days later, he got an exciting phone call telling him he’d been picked for Team USA’s 4×400 meter relay roster.

You know, it’s every kid’s dream to be in the position that I am in right now. Ever since I’ve gotten the call, ever since I’ve been on the track, running on the track, I’ve been giving it my all, running my hardest.

‘Quincy is a rising junior at his high school in Potomac, Maryland. His coach, Joe Lee, said Quincy tries his best at everything. He’s a straight-A student and brings that same commitment to the track.

It’s still kind of surreal because he’s not some big, imposing figure. He makes up for that with great heart and great effort. And, you know, he gives us everything, and it’s a pleasure to coach him.

Quincy said he thinks about the “why” when he runs.

I’m running for my bigger brothers. If I’m able to showcase my talents, I want to be able to give them the best possible chance to be able to get a gold medal and bring it back home to the United States.

Some clothing stores can be kind of weird about returns, but this kids’ clothing store in Maine would rather you return the clothes you buy from them so they can repurpose them. Kate and Nick Bergmann started Peace House Studio back in 2020.

We wanted to make children’s play clothes that were really bright and beautifully designed and very comfortable and durable, but we wanted to find a way to make them sustainable and keep them out of the landfill when people were done with them.

So they encourage customers to return the clothes they buy from their store.

When kids outgrow the clothes, no matter what condition they’re in, we will buy them back for a small amount of store credit and patch them up visibly. So, they become a whole new piece of clothing and we resell it as used clothing.

Peace House Studio sells joggers, sweatshirts, tank tops and shorts made from organic cotton for newborns all the way up to eight years old, which you can find at PeaceHouseStudio.com. They’re even working on offering clothing for older kids and adults soon. Nick said what really drove them to start this business is that they wanted to do something good, especially for their three young daughters.

I’ve always grown up with the idea that our parents are trying to make the world a better place for us, and that’s what I want to do for my children, is to make a better place where they don’t have to see the images of mountains of clothing being shipped all over the world to be disposed of.

Growing up, my family and I loved watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. I’m personally terrified of them, but I’ve always thought, hey, it’s their water, we’re just swimming in it. Marine biologist Diego Cardeñosa has loved sharks ever since he was a child.

And as soon as I realized that they were going through a conservation crisis, I wanted to help what I love the most.

‘Even if some of them are a little scary, sharks play a number of key roles in the ocean, and more than one-third of all shark species are facing extinction, according to one conservation group.

The demand for their products and the demand for their fins or meat is their ultimate threat.

That’s why Diego created a portable DNA test to help catch shark fin smugglers at the shark trade’s busiest ports in Spain, Asia and Central and South America. Ocean pollution is a threat for sharks, too, and the Dive Against Debris project is trying to change that.

Dive Against Debris is a citizen science monitoring program where scuba divers around the world can remove marine debris anywhere from plastics to metal to different types of items.

Jack Fishman works with divers for the nonprofit PADI Aware Foundation. They certify scuba divers but also work in ocean conservation.

As scuba divers, we are ocean optimists, and one step at a time, every small action you take can lead to big waves of change.

He says the divers’ work not only makes marine life underwater safer, but they also give trash collection data to governments so they can create new policies that might prevent the spread. Jack said they’ve been able to remove more than 2.3 million pieces of marine debris around the world.

The next time you enjoy a glass of wine or snack on some grapes, thank the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. More on that next.

I’m sure we’re all aware of what happened 66 million years ago: An asteroid hit Earth, and dinosaurs went extinct. But, apparently, new research suggests happy hour and snack time would look much different had that not happened.

If it weren’t for that event, we would not be able to enjoy a nice glass of wine.

‘Mónica Carvalho coauthored the study published in the journal Nature Plants, that suggests the grapes we eat and drink today exist because the dinosaurs don’t. They found fossilized grape seeds in Colombia, Panama and Peru dating from 19 to 60 million years ago. So they hypothesize that forests and new plant species, including grapes, were able to thrive because T-rexes and their friends weren’t stomping all over them.

The other thing is that after dinosaurs went extinct, we see this rapid diversification of birds and mammals, which are, you know, great dispersers for fleshy fruits such as those of grapes.

The research underscores the resilience of plants and their ability to adapt to changing environments, and the need to take care of the animals that help move things along.

All right, that’s all for now. Join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Host David Rind and CNN’s Alayna Treene discuss what went down at the Republican National Convention this week and the policies former President Donald Trump and his party are pitching.

5 Good Things is a production of CNN Audio. This episode was produced by Emily Williams and me, Krista Bo. Our senior producer is Faiz Jamil. Greg Peppers is our Supervising Producer. Matt Dempsey is our Production Manager. Dan Dzula is our Technical Director. And Steve Lickteig is the Executive Producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Joey Salvia, Haley Thomas, Alex Manasseri, Robert Mathers, Jon Dianora, Leni Steinhardt, Jamus Andrest, Nichole Pesaru, and Lisa Namerow. Special thanks to the CNN Heroes team and Katie Hinman. And thank you for listening. If you like the show, please consider following it and leaving a good rating and review. It helps other people find the show and spread the good vibes. Take care. ‘Til next time.