• France’s 2024 power grid was 95% fossil free. Bloomberg.
• The female primary school completion rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased from 48.5 percent in the year 2000 to 68.5 percent in 2023. World Bank.
• The number of non-white US Congressmembers has nearly-doubled since 2005. Pew Research Center.
• Drug overdose deaths in the US decreased 22% between August 2023 and August 2024, the largest decline in a one-year period. CBS News.
• Georgia certified malaria-free, the 45th country to achieve this milestone. WHO.
• Invasive ‘murder hornets’ are wiped out in the US. AP.

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• China smashes wind and solar installation records once again in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• Deaths from AIDS in India came down by 79 per cent while HIV infections fell by 44 per cent in 2023 when compared to 2010. abp.
• In 2021, the USDA re-evaluated the 50 year old Thrifty Food Plan, which estimates the cost of groceries, resulting in a 21% increase in food stamp benefits for more than 41 million people. Vox.
• 9 countries said goodbye to a devastating disease in 2024. NPR.
• Wage inequality has declined in two-thirds of countries worldwide since start of 21st century. International Labour Organization.
• In 1991, fewer than 15% of people in Bangladesh had access to electricity. Thirty years later, access was almost universal. Our World in Data.

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• US Congress passed multiple bills with bipartisan support that will benefit nature. The Nature Conservancy.
• In the US, we now have 10x more EVs on the road, nearly twice as many heat pumps, and 100x as much battery storage capacity as in 2016. RMI.
• Global EV sales were up 25% in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• AI spots unreported California wildfire, proving its ’emerging’ role in fire safety. Good Good Good.
• The Great Salt Lake could disappear in 5 years. This teen is using hydrogels to save it little by little. Good Good Good.
• Indonesia kicks off first free meal program for children, pregnant women in effort to counter malnutrition. Al Jazeera.
• Norway on track to be the first country to eliminate petrol and diesel engine cars. Fast Company.
• Renewables and nuclear accounted for 82% of the electricity generated in Spain and Portugal in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• Chile has reduced 1.03 million tons of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. World Bank Group.
• Two new methods break down forever chemicals using ordinary light. Nature.
• US airlines have transported passengers for more than two light-years since the last plane crash. Our World in Data.
• In 2023, unemployment in the European Union declined to the lowest point in over three decades. Our World in Data.
• Veteran homelessness in the US reaches record low, decreasing by 7.5% since 2023. VA.
• There’s been a 97.5% reduction in sleeping-sickness cases over the past two decades. Nature.
• Poverty in Indonesia drops by 1.84 million people since 2023. Jakarta Globe.
• Childhood cancer deaths in the United States have declined six-fold over the last seventy years. Our World in Data.

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• In the US, mass shootings dropped 24 percent in 2024 and gun deaths dropped 12 percent. The Trace.
• Florida high schooler invents accessible tech that alerts visually impaired users to oncoming obstacles. Good Good Good.
• Wind overtakes gas as the UK’s largest source of electricity in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• All of Chicago’s city buildings now run entirely on clean power. The Progress Playbook.
• Six highlights of the global energy transition in 2024. Ember.
• Tuberculosis rates dropped by more than 50% when Brazilian families living in poverty got a monthly cash payout. NPR.
• Kazakhstan’s snow leopard population reaches near-historic levels. The Times of Central Asia.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

• All fact-based optimistic news from 2024. Warp News.
• World’s largest volunteer network offers over 39,000 places to donate your time this holiday season. Good Good Good.
• Unprecedented decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts. Ars Technica.
• Starting next September, daycare will be free for all preschool-aged children in Tokyo, Japan. Motherly.
• The House passed the Paris Hilton-championed Stop Institutionalized Child Abuse bill after nearly three years she’s spent lobbying politicians in Washington on the issue of reform in the “troubled teen” industry. ABC News.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.