198: The 13th Commandment

There are some weeks when writing a newsletter about progress feels really tone-deaf. This is one of them. The death toll from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria is now over 20,000 and rising. That's a difficult number to get your head around. Amidst the unimaginable devastation, rescue crews continue to work around the clock to pull off any last minute miracles and bring relief the survivors.

It's a vivid reminder of how far too many people still live so close to the edge. We can't predict these kind of events, but we do know that for the poorest and most vulnerable, their impact is far worse. The response has been heartening. Old rivalries have been abandoned, and the disaster has brought out the best of humanity, but this will be of small comfort to those who have lost everything, and now face years of suffering.

We're not sure what else to say. We're working on a donation, and will let you know about it soon. Our thoughts are with the rescuers and survivors, and all those who have been affected.

Good news you probably didn't hear about

In the year 2000, a grim cover story in Newsweek forecast that 30 million children in Africa would be orphaned by 2010 because of AIDS. It never happened - thanks in large part to the United States' PEPFAR program, which has provided over $100 billion in funding and saved 25 million lives in the last two decades. WaPo

Progress continues: 12 countries in Africa have reached 95% antiretroviral therapy coverage in pregnant women, 16 countries worldwide have eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV, and Botswana recently became the first high prevalence African country to be validated as being on the path to elimination. Common Dreams

India's Jal Jeevan Mission continues to be one of the great, unsung stories of human development. Almost 79 million households have been provided with access to a tap water connection since the program's launch in August 2019 - bringing the total to 111 million, or 56% of rural households in the nation. Financial Express

India's army of a million all-women community health workers, known as ASHAs, continue to be some of the world's great, unsung heroes of public health. In 2006, India's maternal mortality rate was 254 deaths per 100,000 live births. By 2020, ASHAs had helped slash that by over 60%, to 97 per 100,000 live births. MIT Tech Review

One of last year's biggest human rights stories was the Philippines' landmark ban on child marriage. New data is now showing that government efforts to prevent teen pregnancies are working too - pregnancy amongst women aged 15 to 19 declined from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2022. Asia News

Finland has passed legislation making it substantially easier for trans people to change their legal gender. The new law, passed by a large majority in parliament, means transgender people 18 and older can legally change their gender by a process of self-declaration, and no longer have to go through an onerous medical and psychiatric approval process first. Spain passed a similar law in December.

Madagascar has approved a new program to expand safety net services to at least 3 million people, or 13% of the country's extremely poor households, and Brazil has restarted its federal housing program “Minha Casa, Minha Vida” for lower income people. The Print

The number of mothers in the United States who smoke cigarettes during their pregnancy has declined by 36% in the last five years, from 7.2% in 2016 to 4.6% in 2021, an annual average drop of 8%. This is really good news - tobacco exposure is is one of the biggest causes of adverse pregnancy outcomes. US News

In a major labour rights victory, the US Department of Homeland Security has issued new guidance allowing migrant and immigrant workers who experience or witness labour or civil rights violations to receive protection against deportation, and temporary employment authorization. It's the result of years of worker-driven organizing and advocacy. HRW

The words no woman may be deprived of the right to termination of pregnancy have taken a step closer to being added to France’s constitution after being approved by the country's Senate. “At a time when so many women are still deprived of this right, when countries are taking it away from them or challenging it, France will continue to tirelessly defend it.” The Local

Australia has become the first country to recognise psychedelics as medicines. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved the use of MDMA and psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, for certain mental health conditions. They will be considered schedule 8 drugs - approved for controlled use when prescribed by a psychiatrist - from July 2023. ABC

If it bleeds it leads

Americans are more likely now than at any time in the past five decades to say there is more crime in their local area. 56% of of adults believe local crime has risen, and nearly 80% believe it’s up nationally. That’s the highest opinion in three decades. And yet, the violent crime rate today is about half of what it was 30 years ago, and the number of minors arrested for violent crimes has fallen nearly 80% since 1994. A vast gulf exists between actual crime and what people believe about crime in the United States. No prizes for guessing why. CBS Austin

Saving the world is cheaper than ruining it

Oh look, Vestas the world’s largest producer of wind turbines, has worked out how to recycle them, thanks to a new chemical process that breaks them down and keeps them out of landfill.  "Going forward, we can now view old epoxy-based blades as a source of raw material.” All the clean energy sceptics who suddenly cared about recycling are going to go mad for this story, right? Bloomberg

Between last August, when the Inflation Reduction Act became law, and the end of January, 100,000 new clean energy jobs have been created in the United States. Over 90 new clean energy projects in 31 states have been announced since the law was signed, representing a total of nearly $90 billion in new investment. Bloomberg

THE FUTURE: developers plan to add 54.5 GW of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity to the US power grid in 2023. More than half of this capacity will be solar (54%), followed by battery storage (17%). That means that more batteries will be added to the US grid this year than in all previous years combined.

China had a massive year for solar in 2022, adding around 87.4 GW (twice as much as all of Europe added together). What's even more mind-boggling is that most of it, 65%, was rooftop solar, thanks to their whole-county rooftop solar programme, one of the most innovative and impactful clean energy policies in the world, and the one with the most potential to be replicated elsewhere.

Wondering what your kids are going to do when AI takes all the jobs? Well, we're going to need a lot more electricians if we’re going to electrify everything. Robots aren't going to install those EV chargers, or connect all the solar panels, heat pumps and induction stoves. Canary

A floating solar panel project in a Brazilian reservoir has reduced water evaporation by 60%, preventing an estimated 794,000 litres of water from evaporating daily. The project's success highlights the potential for floating solar to not only generate clean energy but conserve water in regions facing water scarcity.

A Dutch company has received approval for the use of their floating solar technology in open oceans. Instead of being anchored, their modular system uses the sea surface as a support, 'like a waterlily resting on water' opening the door for large-scale projects in open ocean environments. Offshore Energy

They're not the only ones working on this either...

Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of people. Adani, the world’s largest private developer of new coal mines, and operator of Australia’s most detested mine, has lost more than $100 billion after a report exposed evidence of "brazen accounting fraud, stock manipulation and money laundering." BBC

More good news here in Australia, after the government blocked a proposal for a major mine near the Great Barrier Reef on environmental grounds. It's the first time a proposed coal mine has been rejected under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. CNN

Minnesota just passed a 100% clean energy requirement into law. The bill requires all the state's utilities to produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040, implements safeguards to ensure marginalized communities benefit from the transition, and prioritizes equitable development of clean energy and the growth of local union jobs. Electrek

European industries are switching to high-temperature, high-efficiency heat pumps. Combined with the boom in residential use, the EU is now hoping for a heat pump revolution. According to the IEA, heat pumps are three to five times more efficient than gas, and if run on solar, wind, hydropower or waste heat, have no emissions at all. Yale360

Slovakia has unveiled its first ever climate law, which will officially enshrine in legislation the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. “It is our first climate law in history. For the first time, we will learn how to adapt the country to the challenges of the 21st century." Euractiv

Renewables supplied 88% of Portugal's electricity consumption in January, as heavy rains coupled with good wind and solar conditions sharply reduced the use of gas. The country aims to generate 80% of its electricity from renewables by 2026, up from around 60% in 2022. Reuters

A night train from Amsterdam to Barcelona is one of 10 new routes that's just been approved by the European Commission. The services will help “break down the many barriers to cross-border rail” at a time when more people are embracing slow, low-carbon travel. Other approved routes include a sleeper train from Stockholm to Berlin, and a Prague to Copenhagen service.

2022 was the year in which EV disruption went global. With two digit growth being the rule in most countries, strange things have started to happen, like Tesla cracking the global top 10 (of all light-duty vehicles) and BYD starting to challenge Volkswagen’s domination in China. Disruption in the automotive industry is now the norm. Clean Technica

Top selling electric vehicles globally, 2022

The only home we've ever known

It's the 50^th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, a piece of legislation that has protected more than 1,600 wildlife species in the United States since 1973. Thanks to the ESA, at least 227 species have been saved from extinction and 110 species have seen a tremendous recovery including American alligators, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and humpback whales. E Magazine'

An agreement between coastal nations to restrict use of fish aggregating devices in the Indian Ocean is a huge win for yellowfin tuna. These devices have a high environmental cost and 97% of yellowfin tuna trapped by drifting devices are juveniles. The restrictions are also good news for endangered turtles, sharks and other marine mammals. Guardian

Canada is making good progress towards its goal of conserving 25% of its oceans by 2025, with several marine protected areas in the works:

• The Tang.ɢwan-ḥačxʷiqak-Tsig̱is Reserve off the coast of Vancouver Island will span 133,000 km² of underwater mountain ranges and deep-sea hydrothermal vents that support unique marine species.
• A new network of protected marine zones named the Great Bear Sea will safeguard a 10 million-hectare corridor of ocean from the top of Vancouver Island to the Canada-Alaska border.
• The Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala Marine Refuge will protect 2,000 hectares of rich marine biodiversity including 240 marine species and a unique ecosystem of fragile and slow-growing corals and sponges.

Peru has become the first South American country to recognise wildlife trafficking as part of organised crime. The new regulation will allow judges to lift bank and tax secrecy and hand out penalties of up to 20 years in prison for criminal leaders. More than 5,000 species of trafficked wildlife are seized in Peru every year. Dialogo Americas

A bold initiative to regrow 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon has delivered almost 20% of its target despite the pandemic and an increase in fires. Launched in 2017 as a collaboration between a music festival and conservation groups, the project uses a seed-planting method called muvuca to spread a varied mixture of native seeds to assure a higher diversity of trees. Conservation

Over the last decade, the amount of deforestation caused by palm oil has declined every year in Indonesia, the world’s largest producer. In 2021, it hit a 22-year low, and Malaysia has seen a similarly positive trend. “I don’t want to sit here and say that the palm oil industry has suddenly become shiny green and sustainable, but it’s mostly stopped deforestation." Vox

Last week it was toroidal propellers, this week it's fish-friendly turbines. Conventional hydro turbines kill 22% of fish that pass through, but a new design from a company in California has blunted, curved edges that allow safer passage. In one test, 131 American eels passed through a turbine spinning at 667 rotations per minute and all survived. RTBC

A company in India has recycled over 300 million cigarette butts from the streets of New Delhi and reprocessed them into a range of products, including mosquito repellent, compost and stuffing for toys and pillows, by bleaching the fibre with organic chemicals to neutralise the toxins. Euro News

The UK has unveiled an ambitious environmental blueprint to clean up air and water, boost nature and reduce waste over the next five years. Under the plan everyone will live within 15 minutes' walk of a green space or water, and at least 500,000 hectares of wildlife habitat will be restored to protect the country's rarest species, from hedgehogs to red squirrels. BBC

Indistinguishable from magic

This story is wild. Scientists are starting to use artificial intelligence to communicate with animals. By analysing the vocalizations of bats and the dances of bees, they've been able to uncover far more complex forms of animal language, and in some cases, begin to communicate back to the colony or the beehive. Scientific American

A startup in Seattle has invented a bladeless flying car that looks like it's straight out of the Jetsons. Their vehicle replaces standard spinning propellers with a 'Fluidic Propulsion System' that they describe as “a bladeless fan on steroids.” Kind of like strapping one of those fancy Dyson fans on to the back of a small plane? Big Think

Researchers from Texas have found a new layer under the Earth’s crust called 'melt.' It's located 160 km deep and is part of the asthenosphere, the soft boundary that allows the smooth movement of tectonic plates via the mantle. Reading this story, we were reminded that plate tectonics is still a pretty new science - it only gained widespread acceptance in the 1960s. IE

Engineers from the University of Sussex have figured out a way to use electric field links to enable qubits to move between quantum computing chips with unprecedented speed and precision. This allows chips to slot together like a jigsaw puzzle, resolving a major challenge in building quantum computers that are large and powerful enough to tackle complex problems.

Personalized medicine FTW. An international study of 7,000 patients using 39 different drugs has shown that adjusting dosage according to a patient’s unique genetic profile results in 30% fewer serious side effects. “For the first time, we have proven that a tailored strategy works at a large scale within clinical practice. There is now enough evidence for us to proceed with implementation.” NL Times

Self-driving trench diggers. Drones that digitally re-create buildings. Roomba-like devices that outline where every beam on a floor should go. Robots that can lay bricks, put up drywall and tie rebar, and heavy machinery that can operate on its own. The construction site of the future is already here. WaPo

A great deep dive on 3D printed houses from the New Yorker. “What if we could build houses that work twice as good in half the time at half the price? What kind of problems could we solve? What kind of opportunities would open up before us. Humans are amazing, life is a miracle, and we can do this.”

Humankind

25% of the population, 100% of the future

Meet Melati and Isabel Wijsen, sisters and co-founders of Bye Bye Plastic Bags, an NGO in Bali that drove the government to ban single-use plastic bags and sparked a global movement.

Melati was 12 and Isabel was 10 when they started their mission. The sisters grew up witnessing the plastic waste accumulating in rice fields and along their beloved beaches. On a fateful day in 2013, they were given a lesson at school about significant changemakers like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, and decided they didn’t want to wait until they grew up to do it.

That night, after brainstorming all the issues facing Bali and what they could realistically do as kids, the sisters set themselves a goal to eliminate plastic bags, and Bye Bye Plastic Bags (BBPB) was launched.

Despite their youth, BBPB was no school project. By 2014 Melati and Isabel had created a plastic bag-free pilot village, a social media following and volunteers. Ready to expand their mission, they started a petition to get the government on board but despite their innovative approach to reach 100,000 signatures by standing behind the customs desk at Bali airport, they failed to get the government’s attention.

Frustrated, the sisters looked to Ghandi for inspiration and pledged a hunger strike until they were granted a meeting. Thanks to their social media following, they secured a meeting with the governor within 24 hours. Their efforts resulted in the Bali government banning plastic bags in 2019.

Melati and Isabel, who are now 21 and 19 years old, have brought their anti-plastic message to the United Nations and the World Economic Forum. There are BBPB teams in over 50 locations around the world and the sisters have gone on to create the 'Mountain Mamas' a social enterprise for women to make cloth bags and 'Youthtopia,' a platform to help other young changemakers pursue their goals.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re too young or you won’t understand. We’re not telling you it’s going to be easy. We’re telling you it’s going to be worth it. Us kids may only be 25% of the population but we are 100% of the future.

That's it for this week, thank you for reading. We'll leave you with the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth commandments, courtesy of the machine.

Much love,

Gus, Amy and the rest of the team