• The top 10 energy transition developments of 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• How AI monitoring is cutting stillbirths and neonatal deaths in a clinic in Malawi by 82% in three years. The Guardian.
• MIT lab designs biodegradable material to replace microplastics in beauty products. Good Good Good.
• The gray seal population at a remote UK coastline has doubled in three years. BBC.
• Robots are fueling the next wave of solar farm development. Bloomberg.
• Between 2000 and 2020, access to safe water in China increased significantly from 45.7% to 91.3%, access to sanitary toilets rose from 18.7% to 78.5%, and access to hygiene bathing facilities climbed from 26.0% to 88.4%. BMC.

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• Middle schooler finds novel compound in goose poop. Scientists say it may fight cancer. Good Good Good.
• Sudan rolls out first malaria vaccines. Gavi.
• Amazon deforestation in Brazil plunges 31% to lowest level in 9 years. Mongabay.
• 2024 will be the first full year in which renewables generate more electricity than fossil fuels in the UK. The Progress Playbook.
• India now outpaces China in green investments as renewables surge. The Progress Playbook.
• Five medical breakthroughs in 2024. Scientific Discovery.
• Hawaiian crows return to wild for 1st time in more than 20 years. Axios.

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• India sees 79% drop in AIDS deaths, 44% decline in HIV infections since 2010. ABP.
• During 2000–2022, 47 priority countries achieved maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination, contributing to global declines in neonatal tetanus cases (89%) and neonatal tetanus deaths (84%). CDC.
• Vietnam’s per capita income has risen to about 4,650 USD from only 185 USD in 1993. Additionally, 10 extremely disadvantaged coastal and island communes successfully got rid of poverty. Vietnam Plus.
• Cervical cancer deaths are plummeting among young U.S. women. Science News.
• In these nine African countries, average incomes have more than doubled since 1990. As a result, the share of people living in extreme poverty and the rate of child mortality have declined in all nine countries. Our World in Data.
• Norway is on the cusp of completing a transition away from combustion cars. Bloomberg.
• China’s power firms are on track to cut coal’s share of annual electricity generation to below 60% for the first time in 2024. Reuters.
• In 10 seconds, AI model detects cancerous brain tumor often missed during surgery. Michigan Medicine.
• One genomic test can diagnose nearly any infection. UCSF.
• Robot that watched surgery videos performs with skill of human doctor. Hub.

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• Teen invents a solar-powered water purifier — made entirely of electronic waste — to help people impacted by floods. Good Good Good.
• TB deaths decline almost 80% among people living with HIV in Zambia. Longview News-Journal.
• Between 2000 and 2020, access to safe water in China increased from 45.7% to 91.3%. BMC.
• Completion of Dutch-Jordanian project brings clean water, improved sanitation to 125,000 people in Irbid. The Jordan Times.
• St. Paul to wipe out medical debt for 32,000 residents. MPR News.
• Since 2019, manufacturing jobs in 30 US states have witnessed the first full recovery after a recession since the 1970s. Stateline.
• Researchers develop crystals to harvest water from air, inspired by desert life. NYU Abu Dhabi.
• This malaria vaccine is delivered by a mosquito bite. Nature.
• Middle schooler leads $11.5 million project to build air filters for schools. NBC.
• Chile’s renewable energy surge pushes coal to new lows. The Progress Playbook.
• Türkiye increases solar generation by 40% in a single year. Ember.
• Global solar capacity hits 2 TW. It took 68 years for the world to install the first terawatt, and just two more to add the second. Global Solar Council.
• A two-year experiment found that coral reefs can endure in heated water better than expected. Anthropocene.
• Oldest known alphabet unearthed in ancient Syrian city. Phys.org.
• AI finds hundreds more Nazca Lines in Peru. New York Times.

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• GiveDirectly’s flagship cash program is 3 to 4 times more cost-effective than previously estimated. GiveWell.
• Veteran homelessness in the US reaches record low, decreasing by 7.5% since 2023. VA News.
• The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is the third most dangerous area for avian migration nationwide, and the “Lights Out” initiative has already proven to successfully reduce bird casualties. Good Good Good.
• Since Nairobi’s school lunch program launched in 2023, test scores, attendance and enrollment have increased significantly. 17 central kitchens have created 2,000 jobs. 300,000 children now are having a meal every day. Bloomberg.
• Australia’s emissions from generating electricity have fallen 30% since 2015 thanks to wind and solar. The Progress Playbook.
• Global electric vehicle sales on track for another record year. The Progress Playbook.
• Poverty rate in Latin America & Caribbean reaches lowest ever level. CEPAL.
• Warsaw has cut road fatalities by 55% in the last decade. Bloomberg.
• New analysis finds 99 percent of existing U.S. coal plants are more expensive to run than replacement by local wind, solar, and energy storage resources. Energy Innovation.
• Colombia outlaws child marriage after 17-year campaign. The Guardian.
• Cervical cancer could be the first cancer humanity eliminates. The Telegraph.

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• Teen tobacco use falls to 25-year low. Axios.
• Eight countries pledge to ban corporal punishment. The Guardian.
• More women than ever will serve as U.S. governors. The 19th.
• A cloned black-footed ferret successfully gave birth — marking the first time a U.S. clone of an endangered species produced offspring, and an opportunity to rebuild the black-footed ferret population. NPR.

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• Between 2016 and 2021 the number of people killed by air pollution from fossil fuels fell by almost 7 per cent, from 2.25 million to 2.09 million, largely thanks to the closure of coal-fired power stations. The Times.
• EU greenhouse gas emissions down 8 percent in 2023. Politico.
• Researchers were able to train rats to pick up on the scent of illegally trafficked elephant ivory, rhino horn, African blackwood, and pangolin scales. IFL Science.
• Australia to slash $10 billion off student debt amid cost of living pressures. Reuters.
• Ozone hole continues healing in 2024. Earth Observatory.
• Texas woodpecker no longer endangered after 54 years. Chron.
• Thailand moves to end statelessness for nearly 500,000 people. UN News.
• Plants absorb 31% more CO2 than previously thought. SciTech Daily.

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• New York hit its distributed solar goal a year early. Renewable Energy World.
• New ‘bioplastic’ degrades in water faster than paper — and could replace Styrofoam, other single-use plastics. Good Good Good.
• China’s emissions have flatlined amid blistering renewables rollout. The Progress Playbook.
• The EU got 52% of its electricity from renewables in second quarter of 2024. The Progress Playbook.
• How a nearly extinct crocodile species returned from the brink in Cambodia. AP News.
• The Cuyahoga River was so polluted, it used to catch fire. Now it’s making a comeback. NPR.
• US power grid added battery equivalent of 20 nuclear reactors in past four years. The Guardian.
• PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle by accident. BBC.
• The American chestnut may be the first tree species brought back from functional extinction. MIT Technology Review.
• Half a pound of this powder can remove as much CO₂ from the air as a tree. Los Angeles Times.
• In the 1980s, mountain gorillas in Rwanda were on the brink of extinction due to poaching and habitat loss. Now they’re doing so well that they need more space. World Economic Forum.

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• The company Equatic has created a technology that extracts hydrogen from seawater while also removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in the ocean. Heatmap.
• The Saiga antelope was close to extinction in 2003, when the population was down to 21,000. The population has increased to 1.3 million today. Actual News.
• Egypt declared malaria-free after 100-year effort. BBC.
• Viet Nam eliminates trachoma as a public health problem. WHO.
• Queensland’s youth crime rate has halved across the past 14 years. ABC.
• Since 1970, 37 countries have cut the probability of their citizens dying before they reach age 70 in half. Duke Global Health.
• Between 2000-2022, there has been a 75% decline in youth incarceration in the United States. The Sentencing Project.
• Fentanyl deaths in the U.S. have dropped faster than expected. NPR.

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• The Global Fund partnership has saved 65 million lives and cut the combined death rate from AIDS, TB and malaria by 61% since 2002. Friends of the Global Fight.
• Elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in India. WHO.
• Global EV and PHEV sales just reached a new record in September. A whopping 1.7 million electric vehicles were sold around the world, an increase of 30.5% year-over-year. Inside EVs.
• New cervical cancer treatment regime cuts risk of dying from disease by 40%. The Guardian.
• Global teen pregnancy rates have dropped by one-third since 2000. Our World in Data.
• Breast cancer mortality rates overall have dropped by 44% since 1989, saving approximately 517,900 lives. American Cancer Society.
• 2024 sees smallest summer surge in gun violence rates in 6 years. American Progress.
• China’s buoyant airborne turbine reached a record height of 500 meters above ground generating power at a rate of over 50 kW. China Daily.

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