A fortnight ago we picked a random selection of headlines from the top ten news sites in the world. The result was a visual assault, an information dump of the very worst sides of humanity, breathlessly described in the most lurid terms possible. Our conclusion? News sites should come with a health warning attached. A day later, this is what the Washington Post published in a newsletter called The Optimist.
We're very happy Vanessa found a home too, but seriously? This was the most inspiring thing one of the world's most respected newspapers was able to find in the same week that Iraq eliminated trachoma, the UN announced a 10% increase in global wet-nursing rates, Gabon signed a massive debt-for-nature deal, the US government protected a million acres around the Grand Canyon, and Brazil announced further falls in deforestation in the Amazon.
The message to readers is "the world is falling apart, and we looked everywhere for something to balance it out but all we could find was this story about an old dog." The Optimist? More like The Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here. That's the problem with good news. It's always fluff pieces. They're not hopeful, they're depressing. Someone should tell the Washington Post that it's not just democracy that dies in darkness, it's hope that dies too. Journalists should do better. If this newsletter can find 40 stories of progress every week with just one person, imagine what a proper newsroom with actual resources could do?
Good news you didn't hear about
School feeding programs have become some of the largest and most widespread social safety nets in the world, and more children now have access than ever before. The number of children benefitting from school meals worldwide is now 418 million, 30 million more than the 388 million reached before the pandemic in early 2020. World Food Programme
Oxford researchers have successfully tested a new malaria vaccine, known as RH5, which targets a different stage of the malaria parasite’s lifecycle than the RTS,S and R21 vaccines (we've covered those here before). A trial of 63 people in Tanzania showed a strong immune response in young children, suggesting this vaccine could work as a second line of defence. Ars Technica
Jeff Asher says US murder rates in 2023 are down nearly 13% in 114 cities with available data, and on track to fall this year at a level not seen in decades (if at all). This story is slowly getting some traction—here's the WSJ: 'While murders increased significantly in 2020 and 2021, other violent crimes declined. And since murders are waning in 2023, the chances of a long-term upswing in crime look slim.'
The US government has invested billions of dollars into creating a more inclusive, accessible, and equitable country for the 61 million individuals with disabilities in America. Now, on the 33rd anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act, it's proposing a new rule to make online access to state and local services easier for people with vision, hearing, cognitive, and manual dexterity disabilities.
Massachusetts has made its free lunch program permanent, paid for by proceeds from a new state tax on millionaires. A 4% tax on the state's wealthiest residents, approved by voters last year, will raise $1 billion, and a portion of those funds will be used to provide all public school students with free weekday meals. Progressive. Food Tank
Did you know that the global price of wheat is now lower than it was before Russia invaded Ukraine? Did you know that the EU has reached its target of filling 90% of gas storage facilities 70 days ahead of schedule? Did you know that the counter-offensive against Russia by Ukrainian forces is going a lot better than most media outlets are reporting?
Cambodia just completed a five-year project to improve high school education. It reached almost half a million students, built 30 new schools, constructed or renovated 832 classrooms, installed 276 laboratories or subject learning facilities, and upgraded the qualifications of 2,948 teachers and school leaders. World Bank
Could 2023 be the year that humanity stops polio? Pakistan has reported just two wild polio cases this year; Afghanistan, five. The virus appears to be cornered—transmission is now restricted to just seven districts in Pakistan and two provinces in eastern Afghanistan. 'We’ve never seen what we’re seeing now.' Nature
Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, has recently completed a major upgrade to its water system. It has constructed a new water treatment plant on a second river, increasing the volume of treated water by one-third; built a 95 km pipeline to bring that water to the city; and installed hundreds of thousands of new connections to supply households and communities along the line.
When we started the project in 2015, we provided water to around 800,000 people. Today, we increased the distribution to 1.7 million people and expanded the network to several neighborhoods previously without access.
Victor Tauacale, Director, Mozambique Water Asset Holder and Investment Fund
Kenya looks increasingly like it could become an anchor for broader progress in East Africa. Last year it conducted peaceful and democratic elections, 87% of the population now has access to the internet, electricity access has increased from 32% of households in 2013 to 75% in 2022, and the grid is already over 80% renewable. Bloomberg
The last decade has also seen significant progress in healthcare. The percentage of mothers who deliver under skilled care in Kenya is now 89%, compared to 66% in 2013, resulting in a dramatic decline in maternal and child mortality rates. During the same period, under-five mortality fell from 52 to 41 per 1,000 births, and infant mortality from 39 to 32 per 1,000 births. Nation
Even more good news you probably didn't hear about
The number of human beings without access to electricity has fallen from 1.1 billion in 2010 to 675 million today. Millions of people are about to gain access to a lifesaving medicine for drug-resistant tuberculosis. The US government is spending a staggering $3.5 billion to repair communities through pedestrian, bicycle, and transit solutions; India’s infamous air pollution levels have finally started to decline; and volunteers in Cambodia recently vaccinated 75,000 dogs against rabies in just ten days. A landmark victory for First Nations in Western Australia, and a seminal moment for trans rights in Mexico. Free breakfast for all students in Pennsylvania and hundreds of new childcare centres in Michigan. Benin just launched a project to bring clean drinking water to 80,000 people; Morocco is rolling out a plan to heal soils across Africa; and Mauritius has become the first African country to implement the WHO's full package of tobacco controls.
The only home we've ever known
In a historic referendum, Ecuador has voted to stop oil drilling in the one-million -hectare Yasuní National Park in the Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Just 2.5 square acres of Yasuní contains more animal species than the whole of Europe. Voters opted to safeguard the unique biosphere by a margin of nearly 20%.
Finally, we are going to kick oil companies out of our territory! This is a major victory for all Indigenous peoples, for the animals, the plants, the spirits of the forest and our climate!
Nemonte Nenquimo, Waorani leader
Mexico just announced 13 new conservation areas covering 44,276 acres, adding to the now 200 total federally protected areas. Since taking office in 2018, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration has protected over four million hectares of land and water.. Mongabay
Brazil is cracking down on illegal mining in conservation parks and Indigenous territories. Operations have focused on the Alto Rio Guamá Indigenous territory, where 43 dredgers, 33 excavators and 30 pump engines have been destroyed. It’s one of the biggest federal actions against illegal mining in decades. Guardian
The leaders of a global wildlife trafficking gang have been convicted after a four-year investigation and a trial in Nigeria. These 'top-of-the-pyramid' traffickers were responsible for half the illegal trade in pangolin scales. This is the story of how they were outwitted by fake buyers and sting operations—conducted by a small European charity. BBC
This is a story of how rewilding has transformed a 3,500-acre estate in West Sussex, England, from a debt-ridden, conventional farm to a profitable haven of biodiversity. Amongst the hundreds of species that have returned is the stork, a symbol of hope, rebirth and regeneration. If you read one conservation story this week, make it this one. Mongabay
Serra da Capivara National Park in Brazil is home to the largest and oldest concentration of prehistoric art in the Americas, and its protection is thanks to one person: archaeologist Niéde Guidon, who has fought for 50 years to preserve the park while contributing to the social development of local communities. Mongabay
Three species recovery stories from the United States. The golden paintbrush, an endangered plant, has recovered from 20,000 plants in 1997 to over 325,000 today. A record-breaking number of green sea turtle nests have been counted on Texas beaches, and in Florida the Okaloosa darter, a tiny two-inch fish, has swum off the endangered species list thanks to a 30-plus-year conservation effort.
Volunteer environmentalists in Louisiana are restoring sections of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico with oyster shell reefs, created from the waste of hundreds of restaurants around the state. In nearly a decade of work, they've recycled almost 6 million kilograms of shells, protecting over 2,500 metres of shoreline. Other oyster shell recycling programs are happening around the US too. RTBC
Hot on the heels of the successful youth climate court case, conservationists in Montana have won another victory, convincing a judge to halt a 95,000-acre logging project due to its impact on global climate change and an isolated population of grizzly bears in the northwest of the state. Flat Head Beacon
And while we're on the subject... here's a feature in none other than Cosmopolitan about five of the young women involved in that landmark climate victory last week. 'Our voices can really, truly make a difference. It felt unbelievable. I never hoped for that broad and positive of a ruling.'
Saving the world is cheaper than ruining it
Here's a statistic to remember next time you get caught in the climate doom loop. The amount of global renewable capacity rose by 13% last year, which is great, but this year it's expected to jump by a third. That kind of growth puts the world on track to triple renewables capacity by 2030 and keeps 1.5 °C within reach. IEA
China has installed as much solar in the past seven months as the United States has in the past six years, up 160% year on year, and almost as much wind as the US has installed in the past three years, up 70% year on year. On the flip side, it has added 32 GW of coal and gas, up 80% year on year—but a lot of that seems doomed to end up either stranded or underutilised. Lauri Myllyvirta
The country's state planner has started taking the problem of recycling energy materials seriously, with a new set of technical standards governing decommissioning, and the announcement of a recycling system for ageing solar panels and wind turbines. Smart move: this is likely to be a global, multi-trillion dollar industry. Reuters
Global investment into renewables skyrocketed to $358 billion in the first six months of this year, a 22% rise compared to the first half of last year and an all-time high for any six-month period. Solar was the key driver, making up two thirds of investments, a staggering 43% rise compared to the same period in 2022. BNEF
The US Department of Energy has released new data finding that energy jobs grew in nearly every county in 2022. 'This new data confirms what we’ve been seeing and hearing on the ground in states across the country: Bidenomics is working, and the clean energy transformation is creating good jobs in every pocket of America.'
Janet Yellen on the IRA:
Since President Biden took office, companies have committed more than $500 billion in investments in clean energy and manufacturing.
Jesse Jenkins on the IRA:
This is a personal account of the final days of the fight to pass the nation’s first comprehensive climate law, and of how the Inflation Reduction Act remarkably arose from the ashes of near-defeat.
Nigeria is building West Africa’s first solar factory and may be on the verge of a boom in rooftop solar, as the recent ending of an expensive gasoline subsidy has undercut the economics of fossil-fuel powered generators. Around 46% of Nigerians still have no access to electricity, so a boom in rooftop solar would be a huge help. AP
The clean energy transition is speeding up in Poland, a nation of 38 million and home to some of Europe's most polluting power plants. The war in neighbouring Ukraine has focused minds on the security benefits of wind and solar, and an upcoming election looks likely to tilt the scales even further.'The end of coal in Poland is happening, whether the government likes it or not.' SP Global
And maybe, South Africa too. 'Now a different kind of activity is taking place on the site, transforming it into a beacon of clean energy. The beating of coal-fired swords into sustainable plowshares has become the new narrative for the Mpumalanga province, home to most of South Africa’s coal-fired power stations, including Komati.' Wired
US farmers are really into agrivoltaics, which has completely changed the narrative that solar is a waste of productive land. The partial shade of solar panels improves crop yields while conserving water and soil, and the relationship is reciprocal, as the vegetation beneath the array creates a cooling microclimate that improves solar conversion efficiency. Clean Technica
New York has announced a new set of rules which require all of the city's 78,000 rideshare vehicles to be either zero-emission vehicles or wheelchair accessible by 2030. The requirement will start at 5% next year, increase to 25% by 2026, and then increase by 20% each year, reaching 100% by 2030. Clean Technica
BYD, the largest EV maker in the world, has completed an agreement to take over the abandoned Ford factory in the state of Brahia in Brazil. The company plans to use the factory to produce vehicles primarily for the domestic market. This is a big deal—Brazil is one of the world’s largest car markets. Folha de S.Paulo
India just approved plans for a nearly $7 billion scheme to deploy 10,000 electric buses in 169 cities over the next decade, along with charging and associated infrastructure facilities. The eventual goal is to have a fleet of 50,000 electric buses nationwide. Reuters
Another gamechanger from CATL, the world's biggest battery manufacturer. It's just unveiled a new EV battery dubbed Shenxing, or 'god-like movement,' which can refuel for 400 kilometers (250 miles) of range in 10 minutes. That's within shouting of the weekly average for drivers in the United States. Hang on to your hats. Tech Crunch
'From the outset, we considered Shenxing as a product for everyone, a battery available for every car.'
Indistinguishable from magic
The JWST is starting to throw up some chunky mysteries. Astronomers have noticed that a surprising number of young galaxies have cyclones churning in their centres. The best explanation for these 'tornado-hearted' galaxies is that large black holes are whipping the gas clouds into a frenzy—but justifying their presence may force a rewrite of theories around star and galaxy formation. Quanta
Can't decide what's more cyberpunk: Kenyans getting their eyeballs scanned by a metallic silver orb in exchange for magical internet money controlled by Silicon Valley billionaires, or Saudi Arabia teaming up with Dutch horticulturalists to build 'synthetic climate' greenhouses with AI-controlled lighting and water systems on the outskirts of a 170-km-long city in the desert.
Or maybe this? Scientists have trained a computer to analyse the brain activity of someone listening to Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall,' and based only on the observed neuronal patterns, recreate the song (albeit a muffled, underwater version). The findings offer a first step towards creating more expressive devices to assist people who can’t speak. NYT
A research team was combing the coastline of southwest Portugal in 2019 in search of evidence about how its ecosystem had changed over time when they stumbled upon an astonishing and unexpected scene: bees that had been mummified in subterranean sarcophagi for nearly 3,000 years. NYT
Scientists at Stanford have invented a new kind of paint that keeps buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. In experiments, the new paints reduced the energy used for heating by about 36% and for cooling by almost 21%. In simulations of a typical mid-rise apartment building in the United States, total heating, ventilation, and air conditioning energy use declined by 7.4%.
Engineers in Belgium have invented ultra-thin, flexible, lightweight solar panels made from copper-indium-gallium and selenium that are only one millimetre thick. Although thin, the solar panels are robust and can be integrated into various surfaces, and the developers' company is already in talks to produce them commercially for truck roofs. Innovation Origins
A patient in Jerusalem has become the first person in the world to undergo a procedure to repair an unstable spinal fracture using augmented reality. The operation involved AR assistance guided by a surgical spine robot, allowing the team to apply surgical screws in an extremely precise fashion along the spinal column. JPost
Cargill, the world’s largest agricultural trader and America's largest private company (!) hauls 225 million tons of cargo around the globe each year on hundreds of colossal vessels. One of those ships is now being powered, in part, by wind. The 80,000-ton Pyxis Ocean just finished her maiden voyage from Shanghai to Singapore, assisted by two massive steel and composite-glass 'sails.' Bloomberg
The information highway is still super
For fans of one of the most underrated movies of the 90s, Twister (that's all of us, right?)—a long read in National Geographic about real-life storm chasers. During peak season, hundreds of them fan out over Tornado Alley, a belt between South Dakota and Texas, their vehicles bristling with radio antennas and radar dishes, their dashboards outfitted with computers and satellite-linked televisions. Imagine if your hobby involved dropping probes in the path of 322 km/h winds?
Arthur C. Brooks with some tips on how to apologise. Try to remember it's not as costly as you think, take full responsibility for your actions, and use your apology as a way of developing your resources of fortitude and virtue. Atlantic
A story about prison, birds, and redemption. 'Once those birds planted themselves outside our window, those barriers melted away. The dayroom was packed, with guys from different gangs and races squeezing in together to observe the swallows at work. We watched their every move, pointing, laughing, and yelling like we were close friends. In those moments, we could let our guards down, forget about prison politics, and just be ourselves.' The Appeal
Maybe you don't think a 3,200-word essay on Shiva is your kind of thing, but then again, maybe you didn't know that a long line of physicists—Einstein, Bohr, Schrödinger, Heisenberg, and Oppenheimer, among others—were intrigued or obsessed with him; that Carl Sagan called his cosmic dance 'the most elegant and sublime' of the creation myths; or that CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider, has hosted a towering two-metre statue of Śiva Naṭarāja for over 18 years. Asymptote
That's it for this week! Thanks for reading. We'll see you next Wednesday :)
With love,
Gus and Amy
