• Globally, the death rate due to chronic respiratory diseases fell by 41.7% between 1990 to 2019. The Lancet.
• Despite doom and gloom news reports, France has one of the lowest levels of inequality in the world, one of the highest life expectancies, its workers retire earlier than anywhere else in Europe, unemployment is the lowest it’s been since 2008, and it has the lowest climate footprint of any large wealthy country. The Guardian.
• Australia’s murder rate has fallen by 55% since the early 1990s. Since 2009, physical assaults are down by 39%, face-to-face threatened assaults are down 44%, and robberies are down 50%. The Conversation.
• Meet the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners: Alessandra Munduruku, who saved indigenous lands in the Amazon from mining, Chilekwa Mumba, who successfully sued the owners of a copper mine in Zambia, Delima Silalahi, who reclaimed swathes of Indonesia from a paper company, Zafer Kizilkaya, who expanded Turkey’s marine protected areas, Tero Mustonen, who pioneered peatland restoration in Finland, and Diane Wilson, who held a plastics company to account for dumping in Texas. Goldman Prize.
• 50 years ago, Project Puffin brought puffins back to Maine. There are now more than 1,300 breeding pairs. Down East.
• An estimated 68 million child marriages have been averted globally over the past 25 years. Unicef.
• World’s largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density. The Driven.

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• This year marks the 20th anniversary of Bush’s mammoth program to fight HIV and AIDS that turned the tide of the epidemic and has saved 25 million lives so far. The New York Times.
• Breast cancer survivorship doubles in Canada compared to 2007. Science Daily.
• Black unemployment rate hits record low 5 percent. The Washington Post.
• Last year, an initiative called Deworm the World helped India, Pakistan, Kenya and Nigeria provide treatment to around 249 million children. Evidence Action.
• Poland has experienced the longest uninterrupted period of growth in European history. Real GDP has increased sixfold in three decades, and the country has a record-low unemployment rate of 3%, lower infant mortality than Canada, higher female life expectancy than the US, and less violent crime than the UK. The Guardian.

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• In Cambodia, 99% of women now give birth with help from a trained healthcare provider, a huge increase from just over one in three women in 2000. Also, neonatal and under five mortality rates have rapidly declined over the past two decades and life expectancy has gone up. Khmer Times.
• There is no sixth mass extinction going on. Warp News.
• Critically endangered porpoise shows signs of recovery. Bird Guides.
• Volcanic microbe eats CO2 ‘astonishingly quickly’, say scientists. The Guardian.
• With bird-tracking AI and turbines that grind to a halt before strikes occur, today’s wind farms are safer than ever for travelers on the wing. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• By intervening early, often with small rent payments, a Portland shelter kept nearly 100 families out of homelessness last year, saving thousands of dollars in future rehousing costs. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Spain sees the world’s first lung transplant performed entirely by robot. Euronews.
• Convictions cleared for nearly 850K Michiganders as ‘Clean Slate’ program takes effect. Michigan Advance.

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• Uzbekistan parliament passes long-overdue legislation criminalizing domestic violence. Amnesty International.
• Despite the reputation of the broke Millennial, their incomes and homeownership rates are actually akin to those of Boomers and Gen Xers at the same age. The Atlantic.
• Fast EV chargers to nearly double on U.S. highways under expansion plan. The Wall Street Journal.
• New coral reef discovered in Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands. Reuters.
• Promising new AI can detect early signs of lung cancer that doctors can’t see. NBC News.
• Bacteria can be engineered to fight cancer in mice. Human trials are coming. MIT Technology Review.
• Does no-resumé, no-interview hiring work? New data say yes. Reasons to be Cheerful.

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• Between 1999 and 2020, the rate of deaths from heart attacks fell from 87 per 100,000 people to 38 per 100,000 people, and racial disparities narrowed by nearly half. American College of Cardiology.
• WHO certifies Azerbaijan and Tajikistan as malaria-free. WHO.
• Scotland’s minimum pricing linked to 13% drop in alcohol-related deaths, study finds. The Guardian.
• Harvard geneticists create an organism that is immune to all viruses. Freethink.
• The employment gap between white and black workers is the smallest it’s ever been. Axios.
• The chances that a newborn survives childhood have increased from 50% to 96% globally. Our World in Data.
• Gen Zers drink about 20 percent less alcohol per capita than millennials did at their age and the share of college-age adults abstaining from alcohol has grown from 20 to 28 percent over the last two decades. The Hill.

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• Deaths from tuberculosis in Africa fell by 26% between 2015 and 2021, saving an estimated half a million lives. WHO.
• Nigeria has made substantial progress in its fight against AIDS, with annual deaths declining from 264,463 in 2015 to 51,000 in 2022. Punch.
• Deaths from terrorism have fallen by over a third since their peak in 2015. Vision of Humanity (PDF link).
• Mother, child mortality rates decline in Laos. The Laotian Times.
• Oregon has approved $200 million for the state’s homeless. Oregon Capital Chronicle.
• World’s first mRNA vaccine against deadly plague bacteria is 100% effective in mice. Interesting Engineering.
• Suicide rates have fallen worldwide since 2000. Our World in Data.
• Global renewables capacity grew by 10% last year. Reuters.

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• There has been a 50 percent reduction in teenage pregnancy in Liberia since 2017. Liberian Observer.
• Minnesota has become the fourth state to provide free meals to all schoolchildren. MPR News.
• Cyclists now outnumber motorists in city of London. Forbes.
• AI develops cancer treatment in 30 days, predicts survival rate. New York Post.

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• Between 1989 and 2023, more than 5.8 million cancer deaths have been avoided in the EU. Annals of Oncology.
• India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign saved 3.4 million lives and prevented $18.3 billion of economic losses. The Times of India.
• Child mortality in Kenya declined by 22% between 2014 and 2022. Down To Earth.
• Child mortality rates in Tanzania have dropped to 43 per 1,000 live births in 2022 from 147 per 1,000 births in 1999. The Citizen.
• Uganda has registered a 37 percent decline in annual HIV/Aids deaths. The East African.
• The majority of countries now guarantee paid paternity leave. Axios.
• Between 1970 and 2023, the occupational death rate in construction declined by almost 80%, and during the same period the injury rate declined seven-fold. Construction Physics.
• Major crimes in the New York City subway system dropped by 9.1% in February, part of a larger 19.4% decline so far in 2023. Pix 11.
• A single injection of stem cells slashes risk of heart attack or stroke by 58%. Freethink.
• Scientists breed flame-resistant cotton. Freethink.
• Tirzepatide: a diabetes medication that also reduces obesity better than any other weight loss drug. Big Think.
• In 2022, benevolent acts like donating, volunteering, and helping a stranger were up about a quarter over pre-pandemic times. World Happiness Report.
• FCC orders phone companies to block scam text messages. Ars Technica.
• New Mexico governor signs bill ending juvenile life sentences without parole. CNN.
• Smoking rates declined by around one-fifth in Cambodia. Modern Ghana.
• 25 years after routine vaccination in the United States, rates of chickenpox have declined by over 97%. Chickenpox has been eliminated as a cause of death for people under 20. Scientific Discovery.
• Free childcare expanded in England. BBC.

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• Six ways the lives of girls are improving. Unicef.
• Lasers can help prevent surgical site infections in hospitals. Freethink.
• Using A.I. to detect breast cancer that doctors miss. The New York Times.
• Between 2000 and 2020, the annual number of women dying while pregnant or within 42 days of giving birth fell from 447,000 to 287,000. WHO.
• Child marriage banned in England and Wales. Independent.
• Australian unions celebrate 10 wins for women on International Women’s Day. ACTU.
• Child poverty in Canada reduced by 40% in 2020. National Union.
• Conservation efforts celebrated as 26 Australian species no longer need threatened listing. The Guardian.
• Texas Senate passes a bipartisan effort to close teen gun loophole. The Texas Tribune.
• Clean energy to make up 84% of new US power capacity in 2023. Canary Media.

For more good news, check out The Progress Network, and Future Crunch.

• Once thought to be extinct, the “dinosaur tree” which traces back to the Cretaceous period has made a comeback as an ornamental backyard tree. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• New studies show that four-day work weeks lead to fewer cars on the road and a decrease in carbon emissions. BBC.
• Low-wage jobs are becoming middle-class jobs. The Atlantic.
• US got a record-breaking 40% of its energy from carbon-free sources in 2022, report reveals. Euronews.
• Around 93 million women aged 15–64 have gained the same legal rights as men since 2010, when “no woman in the world” had the same legal rights in the areas measured: mobility, workplace, pay, marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, assets, and pension. Women, Business and the Law (PDF link).
• UK renewables generated more electricity than gas this winter. Belfast Telegraph.
• USPS to purchase 9,000 electric vehicles, install 14,000 charging stations. The Hill.
• The world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood is here. Bloomberg.

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