Some people are not good in a crisis. They argue, weep, panic or, if they’re anything like me, find someone to blame.

Fortunately, humanity in general is quite good at crises. Certainly good at causing them, but often good at confronting them too.

Take Notre Dame Cathedral. On Monday night, it came within minutes of total ruin. By Tuesday afternoon, there was already a restoration plan and almost a billion euros in pledges.

A resurrection, then, and just in time for Holy Week. There were a few dissenting voices, arguing that it was wrong to pledge so much money for a building when perhaps it could be better used on poverty programs. But then Jesus himself had a view on that.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The poor you will always have with you ...

If you know where to look, there is no shortage of examples of people meeting crises halfway and making a decent fist of it. The Extinction Rebellion protesters in London this week have reminded us that the climate crisis might be the most desperate of all.

So our Upside team went out looking for people trying to do something about it. And from an orchestra in Sweden, to commuters in England and dendrophiles in New Zealand, we found plenty. Do let us know what you think needs to happen on climate change, by emailing theupside@theguardian.com.

Data!

We promised long ago to include a weekly data segment, a chart headed in the right direction, a number to cheer us all up.

Well, to make up for lost time, this week we have three, sort of.

First, more people are in jobs in the UK than ever before.

Second, an improbable number of butterflies swarm through the Middle East.

And finally, eight per cent of us shop online while on the toilet, apparently.

The will of the British people, via Delayed Gratification

What we liked

This piece of work by the economist Lucas Chancel, at Sciences Po, in France, highlights income inequality around the world with a tool to enable you to see how much better/worse off you are than the rest of your compatriots.

The New York Times piece about a school funded by a basketball star that is doing great things.

And of course, the Pulitzer Prize winners.

What we heard

After doing some carbon footprint calculations, I convinced the wife to get rid of our car. We now push our daughter to nursery in a bike trailer, which has enough room for shopping and her friends.

I cycle and commute by train and walk more. We use a car club when these does not suit. We catch taxis home on the occasions when it is really raining.

We are looking at investing in more bicycles with racks for the family.

I am trying to engage others, this being the most important thing that we ALL need to do.

Steven Olsen, responding to our carbon cutter callout

I am sequestering all the plastic from my household that is generally not recyclable – KitKat wrappers, “string” bags for onions, black plastic food trays, old Biros, bits of broken toys etc. I do this by cramming it into two-litre milk cartons. Every kilogram of plastic stored in this way is not sent for incineration so keeps 3.25 grams of CO2 out of the atmosphere. I will be responding to the govt’s consultation on harmonisation of kerbside waste collections and recommending that all households do this so that it can be sent off for plastic-to-plastic pyrolysis as that gradually becomes more widely available. I calculate that if one third of households did this it would be equivalent to taking 500,000 cars off the road each year.

Patrick Cosgrove, responding to our carbon cutter callout

Lots of coverage today in the Guardian about the difficulties faced by our state schools. To act as a counter balance to this, here is the latest newsletter (pdf) from the school my daughter attends. What they achieve is remarkable.

Robert, via email

Where was the Upside?

In Amsterdam, where two stolen Van Gogh paintings were finally returned to public display.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Back by popular request ... Van Gogh’s View of the Sea at Scheveningen. Photograph: Getty Images

Also, anywhere that is luxuriating in a long Easter weekend. Enjoy.

Thanks for reading. Tell a friend about us. Get in touch with your best ideas, so we can then pretend they are ours. Write to theupside@theguardian.com.