• Thailand bans corporal punishment of minors. Asia News.
• Clean sources made up 41% of the world’s electricity mix in 2024. 80 countries now generate more than 50% of their electricity from clean sources and 47 get more than 75%. The Progress Playbook.
• Clean sources produce over 50% of US electricity for the first month on record. The Progress Playbook.
• Finland nearly coal-free four years ahead of schedule. Euronews.
• The number of proposed coal plants in the OECD region has decreased from 142 in 2015 to five today – a 96% fall. Carbon Brief.
• Adults who received a vaccine against shingles were 20 percent less likely to develop dementia in the seven years that followed vaccination. Nature.
• Japan creates plastic that dissolves in hours in the ocean and enhances soil health. Japan Daily.
• Thanks to AI sound analysis, an endangered bird was located for the first time in 30 years. Good Good Good.
• A new social media app punishes users for rage-baiting. Wired.

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• In 1990, 12.8 million children died before the age of 5, in 2023, that number dropped to just 4.8 million. Things are still bad, but they’re getting better. WHO.
• Last week would have been the 111th birthday of Norman Borlaug. The man who developed high-yield, disease-resistant wheat that sparked the Green Revolution, saving over a billion lives from hunger. Wikipedia.
• Vaccines have prevented 18.8 million deaths since 2000. Gavi.
• In 1995, an estimated 55% of Nepalis lived in extreme poverty. By 2023, this figure had plunged to just 0.37%. World Bank.
• In the past 15 years, New Zealand’s grid has went from 65% renewable electricy to 88%, driven entirely by economics, without government incentives. Clean Technica.
• Scientists develop concrete that captures carbon instead of emitting it. Northwestern University.
• California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles. Electrek.
• Paralyzed man stands again after receiving reprogrammed stem cells. Nature.

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• Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to end almost 40 years of conflict. Reuters.
• In the US, Medicaid expansion saved 27,400 lives by 2022. The Economist.
• Global average yields of cereal crops have tripled over the past 60 years. This has been crucial to feeding a growing population while sparing natural habitat from expanding agricultural land. Our World in Data.
• How China re-greened the most eroded place on earth. The Guardian.
• Texas broke its solar, wind, and battery records in one week. Canary Media.
• Covid ‘benevolence bump’ endures as acts of kindness 10% higher than before 2020. The Guardian.
• Tech millionaire builds village of 99 tiny houses for homeless neighbors in Canada. Good Good Good.
• Mediterranean monk seals make remarkable return from brink of extinction. ABC.
• In the past 25 years, 68 million child marriages have been averted. UNICEF.

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• $20k foldable tiny home can be installed in just 60 minutes: ‘Meeting the growing demand for housing’. Good Good Good.
• Man lives for 100 days with artificial titanium heart in successful new trial. CNN.
• U.S. battery capacity increased 66% in 2024. EIA.
• Almost 100 million people in Africa have gained access to electricity in recent years. Global Energy.

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• James Harrison, a man with an unusually high concentration of rare antibodies in his blood that can help prevent hemolytic disease in newborns, died recently. He helped save 2.4 million babies by donating blood. The Washington Post.
• Vaccines now save six lives per minute in Zimbabwe. The country has slashed under-five mortality from 93 to 48 deaths per 1,000 live births. Gavi.
• HPV vaccines help reduce US cervical cancer deaths by 62%. Gavi.
• Cambodia, once the world’s most mined country, is now almost landmine-free with the number of casualties plummeting from 4,320 in 1996 to just 49 in 2024. Construction Property.
• Texas sees steady decline in child abuse deaths after legislative changes. KSAT.
• India’s tiger population doubles in a decade. BBC.
• In 1987 there were only 22 remaining California condors, North America’s largest bird. There are 561 today, with 344 flying free. Knowable Magazine.
• Wind and solar power overtake coal in US for first time. The Times.
• UK emissions fall 3.6% in 2024 as coal use drops to lowest level since 1666. Carbon Brief.
• How Bangladesh rolled out the world’s largest off-grid solar program. The Progress Playbook.
• Scientists have developed a new rice strain that emits 70% less methane. Sci Tech Daily.
• Chilean scientists develop rice that uses half as much water. El Pais.
• Almost 100 million people in Africa have gained access to electricity in the past five years. Global Energy.
• In 2024, women in the US 16 and older earned an average of 85% of what men earned, up from 81% in 2003. Women between 25 to 34 years old earned 95% of what men earned, up from 88% in 2003. Pew Research Center.

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• Nearly 24% decline in U.S. drug overdose deaths. CDC.
• By 2023, Denmark had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% compared 1990, and will likely cut its emissions by 50% this year. Reuters.
• Fetus receives life-saving medication before birth in medical first. Science Alert.
• New sickle cell treatment cures disease at lower cost than gene therapies. Axios.

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• 10 ways investing in children’s well-being changed the world. UNICEF.
• Between 1990 and 2021, the global death rate for suicide declined by almost 40%, indicating that intervention and prevention are working. IHME.
• The rate of deaths from drowning dropped by 38% between the year 2000 and 2021. WHO.
• Tanzania has reduced maternal mortality by 80% between 2016 to 2022. AfricaCDC.
• There has been a 37% drop in child marriages in Malaysia from 2019 to 2023. Free Malaysia Today.
• Since 2019, Mackenzie Scott has given $19 billion to more than 2,000 nonprofits. One charity expanded its refugee efforts from 29 to 71 countries. Another went from serving meals to approximately 2.5 million people a day, to 10 million. CBS.
• Homicides in the US dropped 16% in 2024 from the previous year. Axios.
• Americans are paying less for college, on average, than they were a decade ago. The Atlantic.
• In the 1920s, there were just 54 European bison, all in captive areas, but thanks to rewilding efforts there are now around 10,000. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Wind and solar are expected to meet nearly 50% of power demand in Texas this spring. Reuters.
• Last undiscovered tomb of Tutankhamun dynasty found. BBC.
• America’s first car-free neighborhood is popular with its residents two years in. Dwell.

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• Malaria deaths in Kenya drop by 93 per cent over eight years. The Eastleigh Voice.
• Iraq’s poverty rate dropped from 21.5% in 2022 to 17.6% in 2024. Shafaq.
• In these nine Asian countries, child mortality has more than halved since the year 2000. Our World in Data.
• Cold-related deaths have fallen 65% since the 1990s. Think Global Health.
• Tanzania reduced maternal mortality by 80% over seven years. Africa CDC.
• China has created or restored more than 10,000 square km of wetland since 2012. Xinhua.
• Artificial intelligence is now used to locate abandoned fishing nets in the ocean. Oceanographic.
• Global sales of combustion engine cars have peaked. Our World in Data.

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• Child mortality in Malawi has plummeted from 234 deaths per 1,000 live births to just 49 since 1992. Nyasa Times.
• World Health Organization (WHO) report reveals a 38% drop in the global drowning death rate since 2000. WHO.
• A year into new initiative, Denver no longer has any homeless veterans living on the street. Good Good Good.
• In Bradford, England, a clean air zone has reduced visits to the doctor for respiratory illnesses and heart problems by around 25%. The Guardian.
• Wind and solar accounted for nearly two-thirds (65%) of Lithuania’s power generation in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• In 2004, it took the world a year to add a gigawatt of solar power — now it takes a day. Our World in Data.
• 95% of all new power capacity in the United State added to the grid in 2024 was carbon-free. Distilled.
• Family of beavers save Czech government $1.2 million by finishing a 7-year dam project in just a few weeks. Fortune.

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• In 2000, over 100,000 young Americans were locked up in juvenile detention facilities. By 2022, that number had plummeted by 75%. New York Times.
• ​In 2015, less than half of the world population was in the range of a 4G network. That figure is now 90%. Our World in Data.
• Niger is the first country in Africa to be declared free of river blindness. WHO.
• Sleeping sickness has been eliminated in Guinea. WHO.
• Malaria cases in the South East Asia fell from 22.8 million in 2000 to 4 million in 2023 – a reduction of 82.4%. WHO.
• Cardiovascular disease mortality has fallen massively since the 1950s. Our World in Data.
• 2024 saw one of the lowest ever death tolls from natural disasters. Sustainability by Numbers.
• Global emissions of local air pollutants have probably passed their peak. Our World in Data.
• A bipartisan coalition of 24 U.S. governors pledged to continue the country’s work toward achieving Paris Agreement goals. Sustainability.
• Solar overtakes coal in Europe for the first time in 2024. Ember.
• Türkiye has doubled its solar capacity in just 2.5 years, surpassing its current target more than a year ahead of schedule. Ember.
• India doubled its tiger population in a decade. NPR.
• New wonder material designed by AI is as light as foam but as strong as steel. Live Science.
• 14 of the 20 amino acids that life on Earth uses to make proteins and all five genetic code components were found on the asteroid Bennu, suggesting the early solar system had most of the ingredients needed for life. NASA.

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