• Sweden sends just 1% of its trash to landfills. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• How a homeless shelter in a school paid off in the classroom. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• This startup designed an electric cargo ship to cross the ocean. Fast Company.
• Argentina’s new genetically engineered, drought-tolerant wheat could have large environmental benefits. The Breakthrough Institute.
• Largest double-sided solar farm in Europe opens in Greece, supplying power to 75,000 households. Euronews.
• Researchers have rejuvenated a 53-year-old woman’s skin cells so they are the equivalent of a 23-year-old’s. BBC.
• World’s largest bee, thought to be extinct, found in Indonesia. Freethink.
• Advocates back new federal legislation to end homelessness across the country. The Progressive.
• New blood test predicts risk of heart attack and stroke with twice previous accuracy. The Guardian.
• New UV light safely kills 98% of airborne pathogens indoors. Freethink.
• Disney creating over a thousand affordable housing units in Central Florida. The Hill.
• Community land trusts are making housing affordable because it’s owned by the community. Goodgoodgood.
• Medical drones in Rwanda deliver blood faster than by road, and there’s been a 67% decrease in blood product expiration. The Lancet.
• Instead of a wall, the cities of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico are building a binational park on the border for citizens of both countries to share. Dezeen.
• Massachusetts, which now has its lowest incarceration rate in 35 years, is closing its oldest prison. WBUR.
• Indonesia passes landmark bill to tackle sexual violence. Al Jazeera.
• India’s maternal mortality rates are in decline. The Telegraph.
• India has almost wiped out extreme poverty. Hindustan Times.
• Wind power has become the main source of electricity generation in Spain. Tech Xplore.
• By 1952, Svalbard’s walruses were nearly gone, due to more than 300 years of ivory hunting. The latest study, in 2018, put that number at 5,503. Smithsonian.
• Fishing net deaths of endangered sea lions drastically reduced in South Australia. ABC.

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• In 2021, clean electricity sources generated more of the world’s electricity than coal. Ember.
• New Jersey’s last coal plants to close, saving customers as much as $30 million. Bloomberg.
• Despite the $4.3 million that Amazon spent on anti-union consultants in 2021, workers at a Staten Island Amazon warehouse successfully voted in a union. CNBC.
• Guinea worm has nearly been eradicated. Cases have dropped from 3.5 million in 1986 to just 15 cases in 2021. The National.
• The most accessible tuition-free college plan just became law in New Mexico. Jezebel.
• House passes bill to limit cost of insulin to $35 a month. The New York Times.
• The World Happiness Report says we became kinder and more generous last year. Giving, volunteering, and helping strangers were all up 25%. The Nonlinear Life.

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• New unemployment claims drop to lowest level since 1969. Axios.
• The portentous comeback of humpback whales. Nautilus.
• Biden administration takes on racial disparities in home valuations. Bloomberg.
• Skilled-trades programs are booming. NPR.
• First ever gene therapy gel corrects rare genetic skin condition. New Scientist.
• Drugs seem to help regenerate mouse lungs damaged by cigarette smoke. New Scientist.

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• Between 2000 and 2020, 52 out of the WHO’s 59 priority countries achieved elimination of maternal and neonatal tetanus, global cases decreased by 88%, and deaths decreased by 92%. WHO. (PDF link)
• In the past decade, the Clean Cooking Alliance has helped over 400 million people access clean cooking fuels and technology, saving an estimated 4.6 million lives from premature deaths linked to household air pollution. Clean Cooking Alliance.
• Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated more than $3.8 billion to 465 non-profit organizations, including Planned Parenthood and Habitat for Humanity since last June. Reuters.
• After a decrease at the beginning of the pandemic, black business ownership is now higher than pre-pandemic. Women are driving that growth. NPR.
• The Nigerian state of Zamfara is close to eliminating lead poisoning cases among children linked to hazardous gold mining in the region. The Guardian.

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• Endangered bat not seen in 40 years found in Rwanda. The Guardian.
• NIH launches clinical trial of three mRNA HIV vaccines. NIH.
• In Sweden, drones are beating ambulances to the scene — and saving lives. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• In a remote corner of California, a state program successfully shelters homeless people. LA Times.
• Covid restrictions prevented dengue in hundreds of thousands of people in 2020. The New York Times.
• New Mexico’s governor just signed a bill to make college tuition-free. CNN.
• New York closes 6 state prisons as inmate numbers drop. NBC New York.
• EPA OKs plan to release 2.4 million more genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and California as part of an expanded effort to combat transmission of diseases like Zika, dengue fever and canine heartworm. NBC News.
• “Drug factory” beads implanted in mice take out tumors within a week. New Atlas.
• State-of-the-art “living” concrete alternative soaks up carbon and heals itself. Anthropocene.

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• Worried about political polarization in the U.S.? Most people identify as neither Republican nor Democrat, give more money to charities than to political organizations, and don’t watch polarizing news. Axios.
• 175 nations agreed last week to fast-track a treaty to curb plastic pollution. Bloomberg Green.
• Denver has expanded the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program, which dispatches licensed mental health professionals instead of police for certain 911 calls. 9News Denver.
• Delaware is shrinking racial gaps in cancer death. NPR.
• An oral medication shows benefits treating Type 1 diabetes for at least two years after diagnosis. UAB.
• Nanorobots propelled by magnets can be used repeatedly without fuel, offering a sustainable and cost-effective way to clean up industrial wastewater. NewScientist.
• Target is raising its minimum wage to as much as $24 an hour. NPR.
• Saudi Arabia has eliminated trachoma. WHO.
• Japan’s 10-year cancer survival rate increased to 58.9%. Nippon.
• Large-scale treatment decreases prevalence of Schistosomiasis by 60% among school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO.
• U.S. adopts rules easing path to green cards for abused, neglected minors. Reuters.
• Britain pardons all men convicted under historical laws that criminalized being gay. Global Citizen.
• New Zealand’s brown kiwi no longer threatened as population swells to 20,000. Stuff.
• Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery. ABC News.

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• Polio has nearly been eradicated in Pakistan. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
• Move over, crypto. A record number of workers are becoming millionaires with their boring 401(k)s and IRAs. Washington Post.
• We can now use CRISPR to fight tick-borne diseases. Freethink.
• A Florida plan to save manatees is working — thanks to 25 tons of lettuce. NBC News.
• Belgium approves four-day week and gives employees the right to ignore their bosses after work. Euronews.
• US approves new headlights that won’t blind oncoming drivers. AP News.
• A major barrier to affordable housing is finally falling. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• By altering the blood type of lungs, researchers raise the possibility of universal organs for transplants. STAT.
• There’s finally a malaria vaccine. Meet the woman making sure it reaches Kenya’s children. Global Citizen.
• Psychedelic therapy for depression still effective one year later. New Atlas.
• These eye drops could replace your reading glasses. Scientific American.
• Advances and breakthroughs in mental health worth celebrating. Good Good Good.
• Mutation protecting against Alzheimer’s edited into human cells. Freethink.

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• Overall, the practice of female genital mutilation has been declining over the last three decades. In the 30 countries with nationally representative prevalence data, around 1 in 3 girls aged 15 to 19 today have undergone the practice versus 1 in 2 in the late-1980s. Unicef.
• There’s been a 48% drop in Rubella cases between 2012 and 2020 due to the rubella vaccine. WHO (PDF)
• In the two decades since Portugal decriminalized the personal possession of all drugs, new HIV infections, drug deaths, drug-related crimes, and the prison population all fell sharply. Transform.
• The number of euthanized dogs has hit record low, saving millions of lives. Time.
• In 2021, Indonesia rehabilitated 300,000 ha of peatlands, representing 25% of its four year target. Mongabay.
• In Australia, wind and solar provided five times more power than gas in 2021. Coal is down to 62.8% too. The Age.
• New minimum wage announced for South Africa. Business Tech.
• Federal internet program reaches 10 million households. Axios.
• Texas restaurant workers are eligible for free child care. Eater.
• MIT scientists create a super plastic that’s two times stronger than steel. Fast Company.
• A twist on stem cell transplants could help blood cancer patients. Wired.
• Immunity-boosting breast cancer drug could save thousands, finds UK research. The Guardian.
• Revolutionary ‘bionic’ pacemaker capable of reversing heart failure now set for human trials. Study Finds.

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• The United States passes bipartisan legislation that will overhaul how workplace sexual assault and harassment claims are handled, eliminating a central source of protection for the perpetrators. The New York Times.
• Pakistan’s new law aims to protect women in workplace. Human Rights Watch.
• Puerto Rico teachers will get a $1K a month salary boost. NBC News.
• 10 states passed laws to protect hospital patients from heavy medical debt. The Wall Street Journal.
• Malaria-preventing bed nets save children’s lives with impacts that can last for decades. Science.
• 2 cancer patients “cured” after promising immunotherapy treatment. Axios.
• Walking again after paralysis: Early study suggests stimulation could jolt spinal cord back to life. STAT.
• Tiny homes, big dreams: How some activists are reimagining shelter for the homeless. NPR.
• Bionic eye implants enable a blind person to see again. Freethink.
• A roadway will charge your electric vehicle while you’re driving. Axios.

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• These simple green lights could save sharks and turtles from fishing nets. Science.
• How HIV elimination is within Australia’s reach. BBC.
• A Swedish company plans on using crows to pick up cigarette butts. The Hill.
• Crime is down from pre-pandemic levels in San Francisco and other cities. Reason.
• UK ovarian cancer death rate down 17% since 2017, study suggests. The Guardian.
• Chemists turn carbon emissions into a solid — instantly. Anthropocene.
• From the start of the US vaccination campaign through the end of November 2021, Covid-19 vaccines prevented about 1.1 million deaths and 10.3 million hospitalizations in the United States. Vox.
• U.S. economy grew 5.7 percent in 2021, fastest full-year clip since 1984, despite ongoing pandemic. Washington Post.
• Fur seals in New Zealand were hunted close to extinction, but in the century since the sealing industry collapsed, they have recovered to more than 200,000. The Guardian.
• As we enter the Year of the Tiger, WWF looks back on all the progress made in tiger recovery since the last Year of the Tiger in 2010. WWF.
• 2021 was a banner year for solar power in the European Union. All EU states are currently on track to reach their 2030 solar goals, with Latvia and Estonia already meeting their 2030 solar targets, and Poland, Ireland, and Sweden expected to reach them next year. Yale360.

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