Hi everyone, Gus here. My new TED talk is out. If you're curious, here are some posts about my creative process, how we made the visuals, and what I learned along the way. If you're looking for some other recommendations, the conference opened this year with a conversation between Palestinian peacemaker Aziz Abu Sarah and Israeli peacemaker Maoz Inon, and I don't think anyone who was there will ever forget it.
Good news for people
Global life expectancy to increase by nearly five years by 2050
Will the future be better? The Global Burden of Disease Study, just published in The Lancet, forecasts that global life expectancy will increase by 4.9 years for males and 4.2 years for females between 2022 and 2050, largely driven by improved survival from cardiovascular diseases as well as from a range of communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases. IHME
Central African Republic rolls out R21 malaria vaccine
UNICEF has delivered 43,000 doses via air transport, marking the start of the WHO’s highly anticipated vaccination campaign. It's the first country to start using the R21 malaria vaccine in routine childhood immunisation. An additional 120,000 doses are slated to arrive in the next few days, a big moment for one of the most malaria-affected countries in the world. Gavi
India has made significant progress on tuberculosis
India’s efforts to ensure early detection and treatment, along with a host of community engagement efforts, have resulted in a decline of 16% in TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) and a 18% reduction in mortality since 2015. The Health Ministry has now set 2025 as the target for eliminating the disease altogether. The Hindu
There's new hope for an HIV vaccine
An experimental vaccine developed at Duke University has been shown to generate low levels of antibodies needed to target HIV in a small group of people enrolled in a clinical trial. It’s a first but much-needed step towards preventing infection. 'This is one of the most pivotal studies in the HIV vaccine field to date.' Wired
Some education success stories in Africa
In the DRC, the elimination of primary school fees in public schools has resulted in 3.7 million more children gaining access to education; Tanzania's results-based education financing program has led to an additional 1.8 million students enrolling in primary schools; and in Kenya, the Tusome program has improved the reading of Grade 1 and 2 students by the equivalent of 3-5 years of schooling.
New hope for Pakistan's mistreated workers
Germany is Europe’s largest economy and clothing importer, and its Supply Chain Act now requires companies with over 1,000 employees to minimize human rights violations across their supply chains. In Pakistan, the law is already compelling factories to comply with minimum wage laws, provide workers with written contracts, and give bonuses—and it looks like it's just the start. Fuller Project
Melinda French Gates is committing $1 billion to women's rights
The cavalry has arrived. 'Over the past few weeks, as part of the $1 billion in new funding I’m committing to these efforts, I have begun directing new grants through my organization, Pivotal, to groups working in the United States to protect the rights of women and advance their power and influence.' NYT
Marijuana moves closer to declassification in the United States
The US Drug Enforcement Administration is moving towards reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, recognising its medical uses and lower potential for abuse. This would move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, but it would not be legalised for recreational use. AP
Domestic violence rates in Australia fall by two-thirds since the 90s
The rate of women killed by their partners has fallen by two-thirds over the past 34 years, part of a long-term trend of domestic and acquaintance homicide rates falling by more than half since 1989. Factors cited include better victim safety, stronger home security, improved policing, economic affluence, an ageing population, higher imprisonment rates, and higher immigration. AFR
More good news you didn't hear about
A push to provide clean cooking options for over a billion people in Africa has raised $2.2 billion in pledges from governments and the private sector. The United States is slowly turning the tide on mass incarceration, expanding freedom and opportunity for millions. The real immigration crisis? Not enough immigrants. Crime in Seoul is declining, even as anxiety about the issue is rising. One man's determination has reduced traffic deaths on some roads in India by 40%, and his solution has been rolled out to the 15 most dangerous highways in the country. The Takaful and Karama (Solidarity and Dignity) Programme in Egypt now reaches 4.67 million vulnerable households. In Massachusetts, a 'millionaire's tax' has earned the state more than $1.8 billion for education and transportation. Won't somebody think about the kids? The coastal city of Beira, Mozambique, is using faster weather data and community mobilisation to better prepare for cyclones.
If it bleeds, it leads
Matthew Yglesias says it better than we ever could.
This is all, I think, a mistake.
Trends are broadly positive and have been for a long time. Many bad things continue to happen, but that has always been the case, and problems can generally be solved more effectively by trying to slice them down into specific, narrow pieces rather than lumping everything together. Most negativity results from conscious or unconscious framing choices that compete evolutionarily in a “survival of the most downbeat” framework.
The best thing to do to live a happy life is to feel like you are a person with agency and the ability to exert control over the world. And the best way to do that is not to tune out the problems of the world, but to cut down on the doomscrolling and try to think of specific ways you can take action to help with tractable problems.
Good news for the planet
European cities are embracing nature-based solutions
A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) has found that European cities are increasingly turning to nature-based solutions like urban forests, water management, and greening buildings to help combat climate change. Germany is leading the way, with green roofs and facades to enhance rainwater absorption, cool buildings, and improvements to air quality. WEF
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are reforesting a dried-out sea
Both countries are working with locals to plant drought-resistant plants in the dry lakebed of the Aral Sea to prevent sandstorms and mitigate the health impacts of toxic dust. Over the past five years, a forest covering 1.7 million hectares has taken root on the Uzbekistan side of the border, with an additional 200,000 hectares planned for this year. Mongabay
Wolverines to return to Colorado’s high country
Colorado lawmakers have approved a bill to restore North American wolverines to the Rocky Mountains for the first time since they were exterminated in 1919. Colorado holds about 20% of the wolverine habitat in the western United States and is key to ensuring the animal's survival. KSUT
Decrease in cancer-causing pollution from refineries in the US
Oil refineries across America have reduced their emissions of benzene—a toxic chemical that can cause leukaemia and other blood cancers—thanks to EPA regulations and monitoring. The number of refineries exceeding action level for benzene in 2023 halved from 2020, ensuring greater protection for hundreds of communities positioned nearby. Washington Post
Mangrove conservation in Rio de Janeiro
Over the past four years, the Green Guanabara Project in Rio de Janeiro has restored a huge area of mangroves, planting 30,000 trees in Guanabara Bay. The initiative will help safeguard one million residents in the nearby city of São Gonçalo from flood while preserving marine biodiversity and reducing river pollution. PBS
Succulent restoration in South Africa
An initiative in South Africa will restore a native carbon-absorbing succulent, called spekboom, over 100,000 ha of degraded land across the Eastern and Western Cape provinces. In addition to removing an estimated 30 million tonnes of carbon, the project will also create 1,000 jobs for local communities. Straits Times
The Recovering America's Wildlife Act is a bipartisan unicorn
The RAWA is poised for another vote on the US Senate floor. If successful, it will secure an annual $1.3 billion for wildlife agencies and $97.5 million for conservation work by tribal nations, reaching thousands more species in need of conservation and potentially restoring some populations before they become endangered. High Country News
US conservationists take on mining interests
A gold mining project in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains has been struck down to protect the habitats of unique species including bighorn sheep, golden trout, and the elusive slender salamander and Mount Lyell salamander. In Arizona, tribal nations have joined forces with the federal government to protect the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument from uranium mining.
Restoration of the Elwha reveals long-term benefits of dam removal
Scientists in Washington State studying the Elwha River delta over the decade since the dam came down have revealed the positive impact the dam removal has had on coastal ecosystems. Despite an initial die-off of kelp due to suspended sediment, the river’s mouth has now been completely transformed, with a series of lagoons and new ecosystems providing 'a beautiful deltaic habitat.' Hakai Magazine
More music for those who will listen
Scientists have created a butterfly forest in the Italian Alps to help boost the global butterfly population. The 'mountain jewel' plant, which was believed to be extinct in the UK, has been re-introduced in a top-secret location. A flightless bird and a gliding mammal thought to be extinct have been discovered in the wild. How the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida plan to stop oil drilling in the Everglades. Water quality levels on the Klamath River are improving amid dam removal work. A rare songbird's epic journey from the edge of extinction. Measures to protect India’s Ganges river dolphin are working, with population numbers increasing to 4,000. Increased protections for the world’s largest urban national park in Brazil. The 'remarkable' return of an endangered frog species in California. Meet the ‘River Champions’ who are fighting to preserve Europe’s last free-flowing rivers. A timely reminder from Brenna Quinlin.
Solarpunk is a valid belief system
China’s carbon emissions may now be ‘in a structural decline’
Two separate new analyses suggest that China’s carbon dioxide emissions peaked in 2023 and will start declining from this year onwards. Bloomberg is predicting that global emissions could fall as much as 2.5% in 2024, and an analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air has come to a similar conclusion, citing a fall of 3% in China’s carbon dioxide emissions in March.
Why? This has a lot to do with it.
Clean electricity on the cusp of overtaking fossil fuels in United States
In March 2024, renewables and nuclear generated 49.4% of the USA's electricity, and in April 2024, it built 3,980 MW of carbon-free electricity generating capacity. How much fossil fuel capacity was added in that same month? 1 MW. The country is getting close to the point where, for the first time in generations, fossil fuels will provide less than half its electricity.
Big legal climate win for island nations
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea handed down a victory for small island nations facing an emissions-induced brink, ruling that signatories of a UN convention should 'take all measures necessary' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. China, India, and the European Union are among those convention participants, but the US isn’t. Grist
India sees record quarterly solar installs
New data show India is notching unprecedented solar records. The country added more than 10 GW of solar in the first quarter of the year, a nearly 400% year-over-year leap. Some of those new sites were delayed projects, but sharply falling costs in the past year can’t hurt the stacked project pipeline going forward. Economic Times
Massive renewables project in Australia adds wind power
The developer of the world’s largest renewable energy project says it’s reducing the amount of solar and storage capacity at the Australian site to 12 GW and 32 GWh, respectively—but only because they’re adding 12 GW of overnight wind power. Grids in both Australia and Singapore will offtake the power, the latter via an undersea cable through Indonesia. Renew Economy
Solar takes the lead from coal power in Texas
Although still heavy on fossil gas, Texas is racking up solar successes as of late. In March, it generated more solar power than coal power for the first time ever—and this month notched a nationwide record of 19.1 GW. To put things in context, Texas built more clean capacity in April than California did in the first four months of the year. FT
Offshore wind gears up in the Philippines
An analysis from RMI identifies offshore wind development zones in three Filipino waterways that could be tapped in time to support the country’s 2030 renewable energy goal and help relieve high power prices. Almost all of the country’s offshore wind technical potential—some 178 GW—will require floating turbines because of deep waters.
Brazil keeps boosting EV sales
Brazil’s EV market is already the largest in Latin America, and recent sales figures show that the country isn’t looking to drop its lead. In April, battery electric vehicle sales increased a mind-boggling 1,120% over the year prior. Chinese automakers are selling the most units, with some finalizing big Brazilian manufacturing plans. Clean Technica
Ford, Hyundai securing high EV sales in the United States
Electric vehicle registrations in the United States rose 5.2% in the first quarter of the year, with two manufacturers at the head of the pack. Price cuts at Ford helped sell over 20,200 vehicles during that time, an 86% jump over the year before, while Hyundai says its 'all-in' approach to the American EV market has helped double vehicle registrations in the same period.
On electric vehicles, ignore the vibes and follow the numbers
After months of hand-wringing over the 'slowdown,' it turns out EV sales are booming for most automakers in the United States. In fact, for most, the first quarter of 2024 was a blockbuster. Six of the ten biggest EV makers saw sales grow at a scorching pace compared to a year ago—up anywhere from 56% at Hyundai-Kia to 86% at Ford. April sales have come in even hotter. Bloomberg
What's the opposite of doom-scrolling?
'I went to China and drove a dozen electric cars. Western carmakers are cooked.' The EU just approved a law to hit gas imports with a methane emissions limit. France announces winners of world’s first commercial-scale floating wind auction. Australia's mining sector gets serious about the clean energy transition. Notable progress towards public EV chargers in the US (a lot more still needed, though). Major tech companies commit to buying 20 million tons of nature-based carbon removal credits with stronger safeguards. A lot of people are working towards a just transition in West Virginia. Vermont is on the cusp of mandating 100% clean electricity by 2035. Revenues from carbon pricing are now over $100 billion. Scientists say they've found a way to recycle cement from demolished concrete buildings. Electric vehicles and heat pumps definitively shown to be less emissions-intensive in 95 countries. Watch an electric vehicle absolutely smoke a Lamborghini, Porsche, Jaguar, and Maserati.
Indistinguishable from magic
Birth of universe's earliest galaxies observed for first time
Using the JWST, researchers in Denmark have become the first to see the formation of three of the earliest galaxies in the universe, more than 13 billion years ago. 'Whereas the James Webb has previously shown us early galaxies at later stages of evolution, here we witness their very birth, and thus, the construction of the first star systems in the universe.' Newsweek
New warp drive concept could twist space
A team of physicists has discovered that it’s possible to have a real, actual, physical warp drive and not break any known rules of physics. One caveat: you can't actually build the necessary spaceship engine, and even if you could, it wouldn't be able to exceed the speed of light. However, the research still represents an important advance in our understanding of gravity. Ars Technica
Researchers discover hidden step in dinosaur feather evolution
Palaeontologists in Ireland have discovered that some feathered dinosaurs had scaly skin like reptiles today, thus shedding new light on the evolutionary transition from scales to feathers. The discovery suggests that soft, bird-like skin initially developed only in feathered regions of the body, while the rest of the skin was still scaly, as in modern reptiles. The Conversation
Unseen details of human brain structure revealed
We know this is the second time we've reported this, but it's worth remembering next time you hear another breathless prediction about general artificial intelligence. This image, from the study in Science earlier this month, shows a single human neuron, with the ~5,600 nerve fibres that connect to it. Now consider that a human brain contains approximately 86 billion of these things.
Driverless cars in the US are making 50,000 trips a week
For a technology that's supposedly overhyped, autonomous vehicles are doing pretty well. Waymo says its taxis are now doing more than 50,000 paid trips every week in Phoenix, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. 'Fully autonomous ride-hailing is a reality and a preferred mobility option for people navigating their cities every day.' Engadget
Big step forward for lab-grown human sperm and eggs
Biologists in Japan have figured out how to ensure that the chemical tags on the DNA and associated proteins in artificially produced sperm and eggs are placed properly. The team identified a protein, BMP2, as critical for promoting this process, known as epigenetic reprogramming, marking a significant step towards generating human sperm and eggs in vitro. Nature
World's first tooth-regrowing drug to be given to humans
The world's first human trial will begin in a few months in Japan, less than a year on from its success in animals. The treatment deactivates a protein which suppresses tooth growth. It will be trialled on 30 males age 30-64, and, if successful, will pave the way for the medicine to be commercially available as early as 2030. Nikkei
New generation of solar cells paves the way to battery-free devices
'Every six seconds, in a factory on the northern fringes of Stockholm, a top secret printer is spewing out sheets worth thousands of euros apiece. Each one contains 108 miniature solar cells that will soon find their way into everyday gadgets – from keyboards to headphones – that will fundamentally change how we interact with technology.' Independent
The information superhighway is still out there
Long time readers will know we've had an ongoing fascination with Unreal Engine, the software framework used to make video games. To our delight, the New Yorker has done a big feature on the company and its CEO, Todd Sweeney. “It’s probably going to be in our lifetime that computers are going to be able to make images in real time that are completely indistinguishable from reality."
Amy McCarthy tried to be a tradwife for the weekend. It didn't go well. 'When I woke on Sunday morning it was not with a sense of relaxation from having engaged in all these slow, supposedly fulfilling tasks, but instead the rage of a 1950s housewife obligated to do this work day in and day out.' Eater
Economics blogger Chris Dillow has a great concept: the difference between 'strong link' problems and 'weak link' problems. 'A weak-link problem is where success depends upon the quality of the worst component, whereas a strong-link problem is where it depends upon the quality of the best.' He uses the English football team as an example: the strong-link version has a collection of attacking players who are genuinely world class, whereas the weak-link version has a shoddy defence that makes at least one howler every game. In sport, the distinction isn’t decisive, but if you're running an organisation, it can reframe your entire approach.
Happy 20th birthday to Gmail (can you believe it's that old?). Caitlin Dewey, who writes the excellent Links I Would Gchat You newsletter, has written about how searching her archive felt like stumbling upon a box of old journals. 'You have emails like this too, I’d imagine — happy emails and sad ones. Emails lost to time or memory or the unrelenting deluge of other, newer messages. Maybe it’s the first or last email you got from someone you treasure, or an announcement that changed your life, or a conversation you remembered wrong.'
OK, here's a confession. People always say 'Bach was a genius,' but if you're not classically trained, it's not immediately obvious why. I mean, it's easy enough to appreciate the technical skill and musicality of the musician playing a Bach piece, but why does everyone seem to think there's so much more to it? If you've ever had similar questions, well then this 10-minute video is for you. We get it now. The best explanation we've ever seen of why Bach is so revered.
That's it for this edition, thanks for reading. We'll see you next week.
With love,
Gus and Amy
