This week's top stories
Incredible progress on AIDS for Africa and India
Since 2010, national programs in Eastern and Southern Africa have prevented over 2.6 million new HIV infections in children - one of the top global public health achievements in decades, and in India, the world’s most populated country, new HIV cases have declined by 44% since 2010, surpassing global reduction rates of 39%.
Speed of EV adoption in China rattles global oil outlook
The speed at which China, the world’s biggest oil importer, is electrifying transport has stunned analysts and is freaking out oil majors. New energy vehicles make up about 10% of all cars on Chinese roads now, and that’s expected to exceed 20% by 2027 and could approach 100% by the 2040s. Chinese demand has made up 41% of annual global oil consumption growth over the past three decades. Bloomberg
Huge new protected area in Bolivia
The newly created Arroyo Guarichona is home to important freshwater reserves, floodplains, grasslands, forests, and endemic species. Covering almost 2000 km2, the establishment of the new municipal protected area is the result of cooperative efforts from local communities, rural farmers, and Indigenous peoples. Andes Amazon Fund
Here's a more hopeful assessment of the SDGs
The UN often warns that we are not on track to meet the 2030 SDGs. However, a study of 24 indicators has found global progress on 18, with the clearest accelerations in progress on AIDS, and access to electricity. “Overall, a nuanced assessment of the SDGs can offer encouragement alongside the sober realism that current conditions demand.” Brookings
Global improvements in electricity access continue
Earlier this year the IEA reported that the number of people without electricity declined from over 760 million in 2022 to below 750 million in 2023 - and that India and Indonesia both reached universal access between 2021 and 2022, and Bangladesh followed in 2023. Data for 2024 suggests improvements are set to continue. IEA
Moore's Law shows no sign of slowing down
Analysis of computing power over 128 years reveals an unbroken exponential increase, with capacity doubling roughly every 18 months. The trend has survived multiple technology transitions, most recently from GPUs (green dots) to application-specific integrated circuits (yellow and orange dots). The pattern looks set to continue for at least another 20 years. Buckle up everyone. Future Ventures
India takes out mass, nationwide journal subscription
The Indian government is about to give 18 million students, faculty and researchers free access to nearly 13,000 journals after striking a major deal with global publishers. This is huge news for India’s scholars, who are the third biggest contributors of research papers globally but often prevented from reading them by high subscription fees. Until now. Science
Christian institutions divest from fossil fuels
Religious institutions with $3 trillion in assets have led the way in divesting from fossil fuels. At COP29, an international coalition of Christian organisations announced that 27 religious groups, including dioceses, have divested from fossil fuel investments. This decision is rooted in Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', which calls for environmental stewardship. Amen to that? La Croix
Norway on the cusp of eliminating sales of combustion vehicles
Norway is about to become the first country in the world to almost eliminate sales of new combustion-powered cars. How did they do it? With a multi-pronged approach including wide availability (more than 160 electric models available), consistent policy incentives and of course the economy, stupid. “When the economics are good, people buy EVs in large numbers.” Bloomberg 🎁
Ocean conservation wins in Israel, Norway and the Baltic Sea
Israel just announced five new nature and heritage preservation areas, including its first national marine park, the EU has adopted conservation measures to prohibit bottom fishing at five sites in the Baltic Sea, and an environmental political party has successfully blocked Norway's plans to open large areas of its Arctic sea bed for exploration of metals and minerals.
Scientists track cells with biological 'barcodes'
For decades biologists have dreamed of finding a way to capture the trajectory of our cells over time, to help unpack bodily mysteries – like how exactly cells form organs. Now labs in Zurich, California and beyond are on the path to doing just that, engineering cells to record their own history, by inserting distinctive bits of genetic material that act as 'barcodes' as the cells divide. New York Times 🎁
Arizona enshrines the right to abortion
Arizona has a record of draconian bans on abortion, including this 1864 ban but also more recently a 15 week ban with no exceptions. This was the result of decades extremists trying to control women's bodies in Arizona. 23 governors before me and 38 legislatures before the one here couldn't or wouldn't repeal this law and I'm so proud that we got that done. We are mothers, daughters, sisters and wives, your co-workers, neighbours and friends. Abortion is healthcare. Reproductive rights are human rights and I'm happy to stand up for both of those things and now Arizona has the right to abortion enshrined in our state's Constitution.
Katie Hobbs, Governor of Arizona, 26 November 2024
China completes its own version of a Great Green Wall
A greenbelt of about 3,000 km was completed last week around the Taklamakan, China’s largest desert. Part of a national effort to end desertification and curb sandstorms, the tree planting effort took 46 years and spans more than 300,000 km2. Reuters
Austria has replaced all Russian gas with renewables
In November, Russian energy giant Gazprom cut off its gas to Austria after 50 years of flows. However, thanks to a bumper year for both hydropower and wind, utilities are in a strong position to make do with only minimal gas supplies over the next several months, thanks to the ongoing reconfiguring of the Austrian power system away from fossil fuels.
Italy’s Motor City changes course
Turin, once dominated by Fiat's auto factories, has transformed itself in the last 20 years into a public transport and biking heaven. Today, it's crisscrossed by 80 bus routes, eight tram lines, 22 subway stations, and 258 km of bike lanes. Some 95% of Turin residents now live within 300 meters of a transit stop, and fewer than half of local trips happen in a car. Bloomberg
A new generation shows signs of change: Car registrations among Turinese 25 or younger fell by a third between 2012 and 2022, and only 39% of local 18-year-olds have a driver’s license. It is a trend that Foglietta says she has personally observed. “When I go to the Polytechnic Torino, students tell me they have a driver’s license, but not a car,” she said. “Maybe having a car is not the most desirable thing for young people anymore, because they better appreciate public transit, the cycle paths, and just walking in our city.”
Bridging the hope gap
One of our readers, high school teacher Graeme Mitchell, just sent us this TEDx video, which was recently selected as an Editor's Pick. About a decade ago, he became really worried about how media was causing hopelessness amongst his students. In response, he started a pioneering program for fostering evidence-based optimism and equipping learners with the tools to drive real-world change.
The teachers involved reimagined their curriculum - dedicating half of all class time to showcasing stories of progress - and the results have been nothing less than astonishing. "It's as if we've hit a refresh button." If you're an educator, and especially if you work with young people, this is well worth ten minutes of your time.
Dr Graeme Mitchell - How to save our children from cynicism. "In this talk, I explore a simple but powerful idea: the information we consume shapes the way we think and act. By curating the right inputs, we can transform fear into action, pessimism into progress, and build a future filled with possibility."
Human progress
Maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination going well
The WHO's maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination initiative has led to an 89% decline in reported neonatal tetanus cases between 2000 and 2022, and an estimated 84% decline in neonatal tetanus deaths. As of 2023, 47 of 59 priority countries have validated as achieving full elimination. CDC
Vietnam’s revolution in poverty alleviation
Vietnam is the only Asian country to have adopted a multidimensional poverty reduction initiative; it's been a key pillar of government policy since the 1980s. The result has been an astonishing generational change - per capita income rose from $185 in 1993 to $4,650 in 2023, a 40-fold increase. Last year, ten disadvantaged coastal and island communes successfully eradicated poverty. Vietnam Plus
Steep decline in cervical cancer deaths among US women
An analysis of data from 1992 to 2021 shows a dramatic drop in mortality for U.S. women under 25. “We had a hypothesis that since it’s been almost 16 years [since the HPV vaccine was introduced], that maybe we might be starting to see [the] initial impact of HPV vaccination on cervical cancer deaths." Science News
Mums 'turn out in force' for new malaria vaccine in Liberia
The first cohort of 45,000 Liberian children is being immunised against malaria in counties that have recorded high malaria case-loads. With awareness-raising messaging going out in local languages over the radio, some mums have walked up to four hours to have their babies vaccinated at the nearest health facility. Gavi
First new treatment for asthma attacks in 50 years
Benralizumab, an injection, is already used in the most severe cases, but new evidence suggests it could be used routinely for millions of people who suffer regular attacks each year. Researchers have found that using injections rather than steroids on routine asthma sufferers can reduce hospitalisations, repeat treatments and death. BBC
The nine African countries achieving economic growth
In Mauritius, Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Mozambique, people’s average incomes have more than doubled since 1990. The resultant increase in living standards has meant that extreme poverty and child mortality rates have declined in all nine countries. Our World In Data
World Bank supports vital health and social programs in Africa
In Guinea, a regional healthcare program has seen a ten-fold increase in births attended by skilled health personnel, and in Tunisia, a social assistance initiative called Amen ('safety' in Arabic) has reached 10% of the population with monthly cash transfers and over 20% with free or subsidised healthcare services. “When they open up all the opportunities for you, you become hopeful about the future.”
Belgium sex workers gain right to sick days and maternity pay
The law took effect on December 1st and gives sex workers the same employment protections as any other employee. The first law of its kind in the world, it was created to end a grey zone which saw sex work decriminalised in Belgium in 2022 but without conferring any protections or labour rights on sex workers. The Guardian
Conservation measures have improved Brazilians’ overall health
Researchers estimate that enhanced conservation measures in the Amazon, which have reduced forest fires and pollutant gases, have prevented 18,000 hospitalisations and 680 annual deaths in the region. Other studies have found that reducing deforestation and habitat loss can lower the risk of zoonotic diseases. DW
Behind the scenes of Nairobi’s pioneering school lunch program
We recently shared a wonderful interview with Nairobi Governor Sakaja Arthur Johnson, who championed the successful program. Peter Leung takes a closer look at the workings of Giga Kitchen, the huge, high-tech, low-carbon kitchen feeding 60,000 kids across the capital daily at the cost of roughly five US cents per meal. RTBC
Environmental protection
Indigenous peoples get legal power to return in Ecuador and Peru
In 2025, the Siekopai will expand their land titles and create a pathway to permanently protect over 20,000 km2 of rainforest within national parks in Ecuador. In Peru, they’re going to dismantle the legal and political barriers to titling an estimated 161,000 km2 of ancestral Indigenous territory, setting set a legal precedent for millions of other Indigenous people across the region. Wired
Fisheries summit marks wins for swordfish, setbacks for sharks
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has adopted a landmark "harvest strategy" for North Atlantic swordfish, designed to ensure long-term sustainability and resilience to climate change. While the summit also agreed on tropical tuna management, efforts to ban shark finning were blocked by Japan and China despite support from 42 nations. Mongabay
Deep-sea mining in Norway blocked
An environmentalist political party has successfully blocked the government’s plan to offer mining permits in 2025. Despite opposition from a coalition of 32 countries, Norway had planned to open large areas of its Arctic sea bed for exploration of metals and minerals. Reuters
Unlikely rewilding spots - tea plantations and cemeteries
In southern India, Indigenous communities are successfully bringing back native forests in the midst of tea plantations after decades of efforts, and in cemeteries across the United States, groundskeepers are ripping out invasive plants to encourage native species to take their place while forgoing pesticides.
Nearly 200 years ago, British colonists installed tea plantations in the Western Ghats mountains in India. Now, ecologists are removing tea trees from disused farms and planting seeds native to this biodiverse region.
International cooperation returns hundreds of animals to Madagascar
Madagascar just welcomed home almost 1,000 endangered tortoises and lemurs after Thai police seized them in a historic anti-trafficking operation in May. The alarming scale of wildlife trade to Thailand threatens the biodiversity of Madagascar, where 90% of species are found nowhere else. TRAFFIC
Brazil to protect controversial roadside areas in the Amazon
Unallocated public areas, including the 47 million hectares of forest around Amazonian highways, have seen a more than 30% increase in deforestation even as clearing rates are plummeting elsewhere. The government now has a plan to prioritize the protection of these areas to ensure the health of the overall rainforest. Mongabay
An otter success for rewilding in New Mexico
After being overharvested from their historic range in New Mexico rivers since the early 1900s, river otters are making a comeback. Since 33 individuals were reintroduced into the Rio Grande in 2018, the population is now at around 100 and has also expanded their territory. KRQE
California tribes propose three new national monuments
The proposals would protect around 4,000 km2 from mining and fossil fuel exploration as well as species like bighorn sheep and desert tortoises and would designate the tribes as stewards, which research shows produces favourable ecological outcomes. Grist
The energy transition
Global battery storage soars in 2024
We said 2024 was going to be the year of the battery - and it has been. Global battery storage capacity has surged by 76% in 2024, and BloombergNEF expects the energy storage market in 2035 to be ten times larger than it is today. Growing storage capacity is integral to the transition as it helps to store clean energy and keep a consistent, reliable supply.
China cuts coal’s share in energy mix below 60%
For the first time, China has reduced coal’s share of its energy mix to below 60%, driven by a surge in renewable energy. Coal accounted for 58.7% of electricity generation in the first ten months of 2024, down from 61.6% a year earlier. Meanwhile, wind power hit a record 11% of the energy mix in October 2024. This marks a vital shift for the world’s largest emitter. Reuters
More good news for solar in Germany and the USA
Germany is set to add a record 17.5 GW of solar capacity in 2024, reaching a total of 100 GW - enough to power 75 million households, roughly twice the population of Germany - and in the United States, 15 states have seen solar capacity grow by over 50% this year, and the country is on track for another record-breaking year, with over 32 GW) of utility-scale solar installations expected in 2024.
Australia back on track to reach 82% renewables by 2030
In 2024, Australia set a new record by launching 7.5 GW of energy capacity, surpassing the previous high of 7.16 GW in 2020. This achievement brings the country closer to delivering 32 GW of new capacity, including 23 GW from wind and solar and at least 9 GW of four-hour storage by 2030. A hopeful sign for a nation long reliant on fossil fuels. Renew Economy
United Kingdom on track for EV targets
The UK's electric vehicle sales target of 22% for 2024 will likely be met. An increase in public charging infrastructure, flexible regulation and improved vehicle availability are driving the momentum toward the goal - and the benefits for the UK economy are clear. “If the UK embraces electrification, our car industry’s economic output could increase by 35%. ECIU
World’s largest shipping company deepens green investments
Shipping accounts for 3% of global emissions, and the world’s largest container company, Maersk, is working to change that. By 2030, the Danish giant aims to use 15-20% alternative fuels as part of its strategy to reach net-zero by 2040. A mix of biodiesel, green methanol, and bio-methane is being tested, with nearly 6% of the fleet expected to be powered by green methanol by 2030. Reuters
Vitovoltaics anyone?
Sun'Agri, a French agrivoltaics specialist, has shared the results of its 2024 harvests at two pilot agrivoltaic sites in southern France. The results showed that grape yields under solar panels were 20% to 60% higher than in areas without PV. The highest increase, 60%, was seen in Chardonnay grapes, followed by Marselan (30%) and Grenache blanc (20%). PV Magazine
Scientific discovery
Ancient rock art reveals spiritual history of Amazon
For most of the past century, political unrest and geographic challenges have prevented access to a vast trove of rock paintings on the cliffs of Colombia’s Serranía De La Lindosa. Now researchers, working closely with Indigenous elders, have documented tens of thousands of motifs, from geometric shapes to a human-headed lizard, capturing a history of otherworldly beliefs. Science Alert
A step closer to building houses on Mars
NASA scientists have invented a new type of concrete using synthetic Martian and lunar soil. Waterless, 3D-printable and quicker to cure than the regular variety, the sulphur-based compound could open the door to building programmes on the moon and Mars – and make construction on Earth more efficient too. MIT Technology Review
This is what a particle of light looks like
For the first time, physicists have defined the precise shape of a single photon, solving a puzzle that had eluded them for decades. Photons interact with their environment in limitless ways, making them exceptionally difficult to model. But the research team found a way to compute the seemingly intractable problem, producing 'almost as a byproduct' this groundbreaking image. Enjoy! Phys.org
New photonic chip enables ultrafast processing with light
MIT researchers have developed a chip that can perform all key computations of a deep neural network using light rather than electricity. The device achieved 92% accuracy while completing tasks in less than half a nanosecond, matching traditional hardware performance. Built using standard manufacturing processes, it could represent the next architecture for computing. MIT
Breakthrough stem cell treatment restores vision
Three people with profoundly impaired vision have seen significant improvements in their eyesight that have lasted more than a year, following the world’s first transplants of reprogrammed stem cells to heal injured corneas. It’s one of several trials underway globally to treat eye disease with tweaked stem cells, suggesting a powerful new way to tackle this massive global health burden. IE
New exoskeleton could slash workplace injuries
Car maker Hyundai has unveiled a ‘wearable robot’ it claims can boost strength and prevent musculoskeletal injuries among industrial workers. The battery-free device made of lightweight carbon composite reduces shoulder strain by up to 60% and deltoid muscle activity by up to 30% for people doing overhead work, says the company, and could herald a new line of robotic aids. Hyundai (YouTube)
AI can find hard-to-spot brain cancer in ten seconds
When a surgeon cuts out a brain tumour, they often leave some of it behind. That’s a major problem: residual tumours can grow back faster than the original and have a terrible effect on survival rates. Now researchers have built an AI-powered diagnostic tool that can quickly spot any remaining, removable cancer during surgery, with average accuracy of 92%. Michigan Medicine
This means that we can detect tumour infiltration in seconds with extremely high accuracy, which could inform surgeons if more resection is needed during an operation.
Todd Hollon, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Michigan Medical School
Deep ocean creature like nothing seen before
Scientists have discovered a ghostly, deep-sea creature that sheds new light on the biology of molluscs. The bioluminescent nudibranch, with billowing cape and fringed tail, is the first known of its kind – living not in shallow waters like others of its order, but 2,200 meters below the Pacific’s surface. "When we first filmed it… everyone in the control room let out a loud 'Oooooh!'” Science Alert
The best bits of the internet (Gus)
“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realised I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites.” With that sentence, the world was introduced to Murderbot, one of the most iconic sci-fi characters of the 21st century. As a big fan of the series, which hides delicate, nuanced and deeply, grumpily human stories behind its pulpy exterior, I was delighted to come across this Wired feature on its creator, Martha Wells, who only found major success at age 60 after decades of writing in relative obscurity.
The air is a little musty with the smell of old books, and a middle-aged woman with wavy gray-brown hair bows her head as she takes the podium. She might appear a kindly librarian or a cat lady (confirmed), but her mind is a capacious galaxy of starships, flying bipeds, and ancient witches. She is Martha Wells, creator of Murderbot.
Tom Whitwell learned 52 things in 2024 (as well as each year before that) and once again, it's one of the best end-of-year lists out there.
Last month, Slate did a feature on the 25 most important American recipes of the last 100 years. Meh. You don't need to read it. What you do need to read is one of the writers, Dan Kois, deciding to cook his way through all 25 at home over the course of a month. It’s exhausting. And relatable. And very funny. Slate
No, Elon Musk is not going to colonise Mars, and neither is anyone else. Defector
Finding ourselves on this lush, beautiful, abundant planet is not some testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of life. Nor is it a coincidence. This is where life could happen; we are here because this is where we could be. Even here, even where things were as comfortably laid out as our brightest minds could ever imagine, it took billions of years, reproductions beyond counting, before any individual life got advanced enough to think something as silly as "Hey, let's go live on Mars."
It's the 50th anniversary of Donald Johanson's discovery of Lucy in Ethiopia, a fossil that redrew the human family tree, showing that walking upright came before big brains in human evolution and cementing Africa as humanity's birthplace. Today, with over 300 similar fossils found, Lucy remains our key reference point for understanding early human anatomy, even as she raises provocative questions about our own species - the last hominin standing after apparently outcompeting all our cousins, from Homo erectus to Neanderthals. Nautilus
That's it for this edition, thanks for reading! Next week we'll be in your inboxes twice, first with a bit of an end-of-year wrap up and housekeeping, and then again with our lessons from Season Three of the podcast.
And then, mark your diaries, our annual good news list comes out on the 19th December 2024. Work is already underway...
With love,
Gus and the rest of the FTN team