We've got a pretty amazing story to kick things off this week. You might remember that in December last year we shared the unfortunate news that the $4,000 drone we'd purchased for the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people in the Amazon had been stolen in a violent hijacking by loggers. A few of our subscribers wrote back to ask if there was anything they could do, and generously sent us some extra donations.
Then we got an email from Mark Russell, one of our subscribers in New Zealand. We'll let it speak for itself.
How amazing is that? We were floored. This was an entirely unlooked for outcome, but we think it says everything you need to know about this community of readers. Mark's $4,000 donation (plus another few hundred dollars from other subscribers) is now in the hands of our friends in Brazil, and they'll be using it to buy a replacement drone kit. We'll let you know when that happens, and make sure we send some pictures too.
We've blurred out Mark's email out for privacy reasons, but if you'd like to get in contact or send him a message, let us know and we'll pass it on.
Good news
As tempting as it is, we're going to steer clear of Biden's first flurry of executive actions. Your feed, paper or television is probably filled with that news anyway - and no doubt you feel very differently about it depending on your political point of view. Instead, here's some other stories you might have missed:
Total has become the first major global energy company to quit the American Petroleum Institute due to its climate policies and support for drilling. This high-profile departure from the most powerful energy lobby on the planet is a sign of things to come; expect the trickle to become a flood as the Biden administration ramps up efforts to tackle climate change. Reuters
Vietnam just had an insane year for rooftop solar, with 7.4GW installed in less than 12 months. That's 25 times more than it installed in 2019: equivalent to more than half of Australia's entire capacity in a single year. By contrast, only 1.2GW of new coal capacity was added to Vietnam's grid in 2020, from projects that took years to plan and complete. IEEFA
The Naso people of Panama are celebrating a major victory after the country’s Supreme Court upheld their claim to 400,000 acres of ancestral lands encompassing some of the most pristine forests in Central America. “We will be able to continue what our culture and way of life represents: taking care of our Mother Earth, conserving a majestic forest, and protecting the planet from the effects of climate change.” Yale 360
Last year the Global Fund doled out over $8 billion to combat infectious diseases and strengthen health systems in developing countries. This is the highest amount of grants ever given out in a single year - and they all kick off this month. “This is an exceptional achievement that will help more than 100 countries continue the critical fight against HIV, TB and malaria." Relief Web
Development banks and states have just pledged over $14 billion towards planting the Great Green Wall to contain desertification in North Africa. It's welcome news; although numerous pilots have proven the project's viability over the last few years, it's been stuck in funding purgatory. This is a major step forward. The Tribune
China has passed a landmark environmental law protecting the Yangtze, one of the country's two 'mother rivers.' From the 1st of March, chemical projects near the river will be banned and relocated, sand mining will be restricted, and all fishing, including in tributaries, lakes and the estuary, will be forbidden (more than 400 million people live in the Yangtze basin). Reuters
The European Environment Agency says the continent's renewable power generation has doubled since 2005, and is now on par with coal and gas. Not only has this significantly decreased emissions, it's also yielded key improvements for soil acidification, air pollution and eutrophication - where freshwater is overloaded with nutrients, causing algal blooms and low oxygen levels. Reuters
The interior least tern, the smallest member of the tern family, has been taken off the US endangered list after 30 years of tireless work by states, federal agencies, tribes and conservationists. In the early 20th century, its feathers became a popular feature of women's hats, and by 1985 numbers had dropped to less than 2,000. Today, the population is over 18,000, with 480 nesting sites in 18 states. AP
Indistinguishable from magic
Virgin has become the third 'New Space' company to reach orbit, after SpaceX in the United States and Rocket Labs in New Zealand. It achieved the feat last Sunday after a 25m rocket, riding beneath the wing of a Boeing 747, detached itself over the Pacific and flew into space at 27,000 km/h, delivering nine satellites into Low Earth Orbit. CNN
In Israel, a legally blind 78-year old man has regained his sight after becoming the first person in the world to receive an artificial cornea that attaches to the eye wall without donor tissue. Immediately after the surgery the patient was able to recognize family members and read numbers on an eye chart. Engadget
A French company called Carmat just received regulatory approval for the world's first commercially available artificial heart. The 900g battery-powered device goes on sale in the second quarter of 2021, and is capable of replacing a real heart for years. Reminder: heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide and there's a major global shortage of donors. France24
Regular readers will have heard us enthuse about the MinION, a portable pocket-sized device that's revolutionized genomics by freeing DNA sequencing from the confines of laboratories. As useful as it is, one of its biggest drawbacks is accuracy - the error rate is around 5-15%. Not any more though. Canadian researchers have now devised a barcoding system that makes it 1,000 times more accurate. Sci Tech
It's almost obligatory for us to include new videos from Boston Dynamics. Their robots really are indistinguishable from magic. What's interesting about the latest effort is how critical the reaction has been; a lot of smart people are now dismissing them as "a company that just makes viral videos about robots." Haters gonna hate. Making steel, glass and plastic dance is very, very hard.
Information superhighway
Get ready to revise everything you know about evolution. The latest science is showing that genes don't just move vertically along ancestral lineages. They move sideways, carried across boundaries from one genome to another by infective agents such as bacteria and viruses, in something called 'infective heredity.' The tree of life is a lot more tangled than we thought. Anthropocene
Crypto enthusiasts are calling CEO Ross Stevens' annual letter to his shareholders at Stone Ridge the most important Bitcoin essay of 2020. It's worth reading, we promise. "With the option, now, of a monetary system governed by rules instead of rulers, on behalf of myself, my family, and the firms I’m responsible for leading, I’ve made my choice."
A team of Nepali climbers just reached the summit of the world's second highest peak, K2, in winter, one of the last great feats left in mountaineering. It's an incredible achievement. The descent alone, executed in a state of oxygen-starved exhaustion, involves rappelling several kilometers of fixed rope to reach the foot of the mountain. Awesome. Nat Geo
One of the great internet traditions. Curmudgeonly, super-smart, wise-ass old dudes Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky reprise their now legendary State of the World on The WELL. Now in its 20th year, it still looks like something from the darkest nightmares of a UX designer, but that's part of the appeal. Persevere and you'll find gold, including Sterling's description of fashion in Ibiza...
...and gems like this reminder from Caitlin Johnstone, that Just Because The System Is Stacked Against You Doesn’t Mean The Universe Is. "The manipulative sociopaths and their schemes are just the faintest blips against that vast backdrop. And then they die, as Sheldon Adelson has so kindly reminded us. The universe is not against you. The bastards have not won. Keep your head high and your eyes wide, beautiful rebel."
Humankind
Meet Daniel Kasprowicz, a 29 year old dietician from Poland fighting to save malnourished children in the mountain region of Anivorano, Madagascar.
In 2011, while studying dietetics at the Medical University of Gdańsk, Daniel travelled to the island as part of his thesis on malnutrition. When a disabled five year old girl offered to share her food scraps with him, his life changed forever. Daniel has spent the last nine years in Madagascar caring for hundreds of children. Frustrated by the lack medical staff, equipment and basic medicine needed to save lives, he decided to build a hospital for women and children in the area.
In 2019, he launched a crowdfunding campaign, which has now reached its target goal of €150,000. The hospital will begin construction this year and provide not only medical care, but education on disease prevention, an exchange program for foreign medical volunteers, and employment for local staff. Daniel also plans to grow rice and crops at the facility as both a food source and a way of raising funds to keep the medical facility operating.
“Many people told me that it was impossible to raise such a huge amount of money unless you were famous. I just believed in the goal, and thanks to social media, even in the pandemic the target was achieved.”
The bastards have not won. Keep your heads high and your eyes wide. We'll see you next week.
Much love,
FC HQ
