277: Nauseously optimistic

We're sending this out as the first results start to come in from the US election. A friendly reminder that from now until the final call, we're all living in the metaphorical equivalent of an airport lounge. Calories don't count, and money doesn't matter. Conversations with strangers are encouraged. No one will judge you for having a beer at 10am.

For what it's worth, the US stock market is at all-time highs, the uninsured rate is near an all-time low, life expectancy is at highest level ever, apartment construction hasn’t been this hot in half a century, inflation, illegal immigration, crime and obesity are falling, wages are higher than any point in history, the percentage of the population that is employed is near an all-time peak, productivity is outpacing every other comparable country, carbon emissions are declining, clean energy production is soaring, next month America's factories will start mass producing the most advanced technology on Earth, and it's still the wealthiest and most important nation in the world.

A conversation with Steven Pinker

If you're looking for a good way to distract yourself while you wait, then how about the final episode of our podcast for this season? It's not an exaggeration to say this newsletter wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Steven Pinker, he's been a guiding light for over a decade, and for long time, a loyal and very public supporter of the work we're doing here. After years of email correspondence, it was great to finally have a proper conversation.

Topics discussed include: why longstanding peace never makes headlines; the best metrics for human progress; the decline of mental health in rich countries; the problem with word police; changes in social norms and how they happen; why today’s election in the United States is better than 1968; the cognitive illusion perpetuated by mass media; the power of graphs and data to change beliefs; how to design better institutions; the lessons that Steven has learned the hard way; and the power of reasonable hope. 

This week's top stories

Deaths from air pollution falling worldwide
The Lancet has found that the number of people killed by air pollution from fossil fuels fell by almost 7% between 2016 and 2021, from 2.25 million to 2.09 million people. Researchers have attributed this to the closure of coal-fired power stations; $1.8 trillion went into clean energy last year, versus $1.1 trillion into fossil fuels. The Times

Meet the first star system to 'solve' the three-body problem
Astrophycists, and more recently sci-fi nerds, have long assumed planetary orbits around three or more stars would be fundamentally unstable due to the nature of the three-body problem. That's been thrown out with the discovery of the GW Orionis system, which has planets in orbit around all three of its stars, suggesting such a configuration is not only possible, but relatively common. Big Think

Global beef consumption appears to have peaked
USDA figures show that the world’s increasing meat demands are being met by pork and chicken rather than beef and that the global cattle herd, at 923 million heads, is at a record low. Cattle’s high water, land, and feed requirements may also be capping the ability for supplies to grow Bloomberg 🎁

A Kenyan river restoration project pays for itself and then some
In 2015, the Nature Conservancy launched a fund drawn from public and private sources to finance watershed restoration and reforestation around the Tana River, the water supply for Nairobi’s five million people. Since then, there has been over 50% reduction in sediment concentration in the river and 15% increase in annual water yield across watersheds. Mongabay

EU emissions on track for a record decline in 2024
The EU's emissions dropped 8.3% in 2023 - the largest annual decrease in decades - and it looks like they will plummet again in 2024, thanks to coal- and gas-fired power declining faster than predicted. “We are on track to meet our 2030 targets to reduce emissions by at least 55 percent if this momentum is maintained."

The coming revolution in climate-adapted crops and animals
Jennifer Doudna, the co-developer of CRISPR, says that many CRISPR-edited plants and animals are on the way, including cattle edited to have coats better suited to hotter temperatures, corn with shorter, stronger stalks to reduce storm damage, rice that's more drought tolerant than standard varieties, as well as crops that may suck up and store away more carbon dioxide. MIT

From the very beginning, of course, it was clear that this was going to be a powerful tool that could be misunderstood and could be misused. But it also has tremendous potential to help us tackle a lot of these challenges.

Giants rats join fight against illegal wildlife trafficking
Researchers have successfully trained African giant pouched rats to sniff out illegally traded animal parts and alert their handlers. The rats were taught to pick up on and remember the scents of elephant ivory, rhino horn, and pangolin scales against background scents, helping law enforcement to identify black market wildlife products. IFL Science

India closer to a tuberculosis-free future 
A highlight from the WHO's recent tuberculosis report - the incredible progress in India, which has the world's highest burden of the disease. Between 2015 and 2023 there was a 17.7% decline in TB incidence, more than double the global decline of 8.3%. The Hindu

Kenya commits to universal school meals coverage by 2030
Supported by the UN and The Rockefeller Foundation, Kenya has announced a new plan to expand its region-leading School Meals Programme from 1.9 million learners in 2023 to over 10 million by 2030. The government has also committed to a 'planet-friendly' approach to school feeding. Rockefeller Foundation

Solar energy brings hope in the remote Amazon
An often-overlooked benefit of the clean energy transition - access to energy for people that have never had it. In recent years, solar projects have multiplied in communities in the Amazon, thanks to an accelerated rollout by multiple countries, including Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. Dialogue Earth

The freezer, mobile phones and spotlights are now among the community’s most used, and most valued, bits of equipment. Though the night sky is no longer as starry with the increase in artificial light, the solar panels’ replacement of many of the generators has brought quiet and taken away the smell of burning fuel.

Winning streak extended for Japan’s LGBTQ+ community 
Earlier this year Japan's Sapporo High Court ruled that the government’s policy against same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, and now Tokyo's High Court has labelled the ongoing ban “a groundless legal discrimination based on sexual orientation." The victory creates more pressure on the government to legalise same-sex marriage. AP

Saving women’s lives across the world
The WHO has compiled a selection of powerful stories demonstrating how donor support has helped save the lives of women and girls globally. These include the training of traditional birth attendants in Latin America; initiatives to lower maternal mortality rates in Tanzania and Côte d'Ivoire; and the provision of vital services to children, pregnant women, and new mothers in Somalia.

The $1,000 wheelchair
Zack Nelson, the star of an 8.8-million-subscriber YouTube channel, and his wife Cambry, a wheelchair user, have launched Not a Wheelchair, a company aiming to provide customisable manual wheelchairs for $999. Quality wheelchair wheels often cost more than $500 and delivery can take up to six months. New Mobility