Good News Friday

  • 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.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • 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.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • 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.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • 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.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • 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.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • 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.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • France’s 2024 power grid was 95% fossil free. Bloomberg.
  • The female primary school completion rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased from 48.5 percent in the year 2000 to 68.5 percent in 2023. World Bank.
  • The number of non-white US Congressmembers has nearly-doubled since 2005. Pew Research Center.
  • Drug overdose deaths in the US decreased 22% between August 2023 and August 2024, the largest decline in a one-year period. CBS News.
  • Georgia certified malaria-free, the 45th country to achieve this milestone. WHO.
  • Invasive ‘murder hornets’ are wiped out in the US. AP.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • China smashes wind and solar installation records once again in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
  • Deaths from AIDS in India came down by 79 per cent while HIV infections fell by 44 per cent in 2023 when compared to 2010. abp.
  • In 2021, the USDA re-evaluated the 50 year old Thrifty Food Plan, which estimates the cost of groceries, resulting in a 21% increase in food stamp benefits for more than 41 million people. Vox.
  • 9 countries said goodbye to a devastating disease in 2024. NPR.
  • Wage inequality has declined in two-thirds of countries worldwide since start of 21st century. International Labour Organization.
  • In 1991, fewer than 15% of people in Bangladesh had access to electricity. Thirty years later, access was almost universal. Our World in Data.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • US Congress passed multiple bills with bipartisan support that will benefit nature. The Nature Conservancy.
  • In the US, we now have 10x more EVs on the road, nearly twice as many heat pumps, and 100x as much battery storage capacity as in 2016. RMI.
  • Global EV sales were up 25% in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
  • AI spots unreported California wildfire, proving its ’emerging’ role in fire safety. Good Good Good.
  • The Great Salt Lake could disappear in 5 years. This teen is using hydrogels to save it little by little. Good Good Good.
  • Indonesia kicks off first free meal program for children, pregnant women in effort to counter malnutrition. Al Jazeera.
  • Norway on track to be the first country to eliminate petrol and diesel engine cars. Fast Company.
  • Renewables and nuclear accounted for 82% of the electricity generated in Spain and Portugal in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
  • Chile has reduced 1.03 million tons of carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. World Bank Group.
  • Two new methods break down forever chemicals using ordinary light. Nature.
  • US airlines have transported passengers for more than two light-years since the last plane crash. Our World in Data.
  • In 2023, unemployment in the European Union declined to the lowest point in over three decades. Our World in Data.
  • Veteran homelessness in the US reaches record low, decreasing by 7.5% since 2023. VA.
  • There’s been a 97.5% reduction in sleeping-sickness cases over the past two decades. Nature.
  • Poverty in Indonesia drops by 1.84 million people since 2023. Jakarta Globe.
  • Childhood cancer deaths in the United States have declined six-fold over the last seventy years. Our World in Data.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.

Good News Friday

  • In the US, mass shootings dropped 24 percent in 2024 and gun deaths dropped 12 percent. The Trace.
  • Florida high schooler invents accessible tech that alerts visually impaired users to oncoming obstacles. Good Good Good.
  • Wind overtakes gas as the UK’s largest source of electricity in 2024. The Progress Playbook.
  • All of Chicago’s city buildings now run entirely on clean power. The Progress Playbook.
  • Six highlights of the global energy transition in 2024. Ember.
  • Tuberculosis rates dropped by more than 50% when Brazilian families living in poverty got a monthly cash payout. NPR.
  • Kazakhstan’s snow leopard population reaches near-historic levels. The Times of Central Asia.

For more good news, check out Fix the News and The Progress Network.