• 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.

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

• Türkiye’s massive fundraising campaign for quake survivors tops $6B. Daily Sabah.
• Between 2018 and 2021, the malnutrition-related stunting rate in Indonesia saw an unprecedented decline, from 30.8% to 24.4%. World Bank.
• Poverty in Uganda is on a long-running decrease, having fallen from 56% in 1993 to 20.3% in 2021. UNDP.
• In the past six years Ghana has reforested over 628,000 hectares of land, putting the country seven years ahead of its target to restore 2 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Afrik21.
• Conservation efforts celebrated as 26 Australian species no longer need threatened listing. The Guardian.
• Illinois is set to mandate paid leave for nearly all workers. CBS News.
• Millennials are just as wealthy as their parents. Quartz.

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

• Record number of new arctic foxes in 2022. Warp News.
• India reports 98.7% decline in Kala-azar cases, the second deadliest parasitic killer globally after malaria. Times Now.
• The U.S. prison population had declined 25% since reaching its peak in 2009. New Jersey and New York have reduced their prison populations over 50% since their peak. The Sentencing Project.
• Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest fell by 61% in January compared to a year earlier. Reuters.

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

• The United States’ PEPFAR program, which has provided over $100 billion in funding to fight AIDS in Africa has saved 25 million lives in the last two decades. The Washington Post.
• In India, almost 79 million households have been provided with access to a tap water connection since August 2019. Financial Express.
• In 2006, India’s maternal mortality rate was 254 deaths per 100,000 live births, one of the highest in the world. By 2020, ASHAs (accredited social health activists) had helped slash the maternal mortality rate by over 60%, to 96 per 100,000 live births. MIT Technology Review.
• In the Philippines, pregnancy amongst women aged 15 to 19 declined from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2022. Asia News Network.
• Madagascar to expand access to social protection for extremely poor households. In total, at least 3 million people, or 13% of extremely poor households, will benefit from the project. The World Bank.
• The number of mothers in the United States who smoke cigarettes during their pregnancy has declined by 36% in the last five years. US News.
• A recent Gallup poll found 80% of Americans believe crime has risen. That’s the highest opinion in three decades. However, according to FBI and Justice Department statistics, the violent crime rate today is about half of what it was 30 years ago. CBS Austin.
• It’s the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act which has saved at least 227 species from extinction and helped 110 species to recover including American alligators, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and humpback whales. E Magazine.
• A bold initiative to regrow 73 million trees in the Brazilian Amazon has delivered almost 20% of its target despite the pandemic and an increase in fires. Conservation.
• Now is the best time in history to love and be loved. The Progress Network.
• Renewables will be world’s top electricity source within three years, IEA data reveals. Carbon Brief.
• More people are living to be 100. Changing America.

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

• Ten good news stories for kids in 2022 including bans to child marriage and corporal punishment. Human Rights Watch.
• A new law protecting women against discrimination and sexual harassment has come into effect in China, the most significant reform to women’s rights in 30 years. China Business Law Journal.
• Simple tweak to colon cancer treatment reduces relapse risk by 28%. Freethink.
• Several products that can analyze your urine every time you pee will be launched during the year. Warp News.
• The unemployment rate hit an ultra-low 3.4%. To find a water mark lower than that, you’d have to go all the way back to 1953. Axios.

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

• Nineteen countries including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda, have reduced child mortality by more than 75% since 1990. Unicef.
• Average net primary school enrollment in Western and Central Africa is close to universal, rising from 50% in the 1990s to nearly 90% today. The World Bank.
• Unemployment rate is the lowest in 50 years. The New Republic.
• Median weekly earnings rose 7.4% last year, outpacing inflation. Biggest pay raises went to Black workers, young people and low-wage earners. The Wall Street Journal.
• Over the first two decades of the 21st century, the disparity between Black and White state imprisonment rates fell by 40%; in 2020, Black adults were imprisoned at 4.9 times the rate of White adults, down from 8.2 times in 2000. Council on Criminal Justice.
• 2022 saw one of the lowest ever death rates from natural disasters. Our World in Data.
• For more sustainable affordable housing, just add mushrooms. Architect David Benjamin is bringing his biology-inspired recipe for construction materials to an affordable housing project in Oakland, California. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Women in Sierra Leone can finally own land. Quartz.
• Wind farms deliver economic jolt to rural middle America. Pew.
• Wind and solar were EU’s top electricity source in 2022 for first time ever. Carbon Brief.
• Maryland lawmakers eye four-day workweek. Changing America.

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

• The Democratic Republic of the Congo certified free of Guinea-worm disease. WHO.
• Between 2014 and 2021, the South-East Asia Region recorded 73% reduction in measles deaths and 64% reduction in measles cases. Five of the 11 countries have eliminated measles, and two countries – Maldives and Sri Lanka – have eliminated rubella as well. WHO.
• In India between 2017 and 2021, measles has decreased by 62%, and rubella by 48%. WHO (PDF link).
• Saudi Arabia is making strides in women’s rights. Strict dress regulations, mandatory gender segregation, and a ban on women drivers were abolished. ABC.
• Almost half of electricity in Germany was generated from renewables in 2022. IEEFA.
• Congress’s bipartisan deal to spend billions more fighting HIV and malaria abroad. Vox.
• Hawaii to make preschool available for all 3-4 year-olds. AP.
• Postpartum haemorrhage: Niger halves blood-loss deaths at clinics. BBC.
• Gentle policing: Social workers team up with Raleigh officers to successfully respond to over 1,000 calls. WRAL News.

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

• There’s been a 33% overall reduction in cancer deaths since 1991 and an estimated 3.8 million deaths averted, mostly due to the decline in tobacco use. American Cancer Society.
• Here are all the positive environmental stories from 2023 so far. Euronews.
• EU solar deployment rate soars by almost 50% in 2022. Energy Monitor.
• A powerful laser can redirect lightning strikes. Science News.
• Medicare begins to rein in drug costs for older Americans. The New York Times.
• 118th Congress is most racially diverse to date. The Hill.
• 118th Congress breaks record for lesbian, gay and bisexual representation. Pew Research Center.

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

• Why the ozone hole is on track to be healed by mid-century. Vox.
• The green jobs boom is benefiting the people who need it most. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• How Jersey City got to zero traffic deaths on its streets. Bloomberg.
• New antibody therapy works for 73% of multiple myeloma patients. Freethink.
• Number of populist world leaders at 20-year low. The Guardian.
• The economy is improving in three major ways. The Atlantic.

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

• 183 ways the world got better in 2022. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Adolescent risk behaviours (such as drinking, smoking, drug use, crime, and sex) have declined markedly in high-income countries between 1999-2019. ScienceDirect.
• Teen birth rates have declined 77 percent in the past 30 years. Child Trends.
• There are more than a billion fewer people living below the International Poverty Line today than in 1990. Our World in Data.
• Carbon dioxide emissions in the European Union reached a 30-year low this November despite Russia. The Hill.
• This new sea salt battery has 4 times the capacity of lithium. Euronews.
• Minimum wage rises in more than half of U.S. states. Yahoo!
• Cancer vaccines are showing promise. National Geographic.
• Secret Congress delivers more good news on clean water. Slow Boring.
• Income inequality has been falling for a while now. Slow Boring.

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