💡 Fact-based optimistic news from November
⚕️ Egypt has eradicated malaria. 🐝 The number of bee colonies in the world is increasing. 🎓 People worldwide have high trust in scientists.
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Three favorite news from November:
⚕️ Egypt has eradicated malaria.
🐝 The number of bee colonies in the world is increasing.
🎓 People worldwide have high trust in scientists.
Scroll down a bit and you'll find all of this month's fact-based optimistic news.
Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist
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💡 Fact-based optimistic news
🌐 The ozone hole over Antarctica continues to shrink
The ozone hole over Antarctica was the seventh smallest since 1992. Scientists estimate that the ozone layer could be fully restored by 2066.
🧬 CRISPR adapts crops and livestock to withstand warmer climate
Scientists have already created cattle with shorter coats for warmer climates and rice that can handle drier conditions. Several companies are now working to develop corn with shorter and stronger stalks that reduce the risk of damage during severe storms.
📉 Deaths from air pollution decrease globally
Deaths caused by air pollution from fossil fuels decreased by 7 percent between 2016 and 2021.
🌡️ New material captures CO2 more efficiently than large trees
A new yellow powder material captures carbon dioxide from the air 10 times faster than other materials. The material can be reused hundreds of times without decreased effectiveness.
⚡ 550% increase in data centers led to only 6% higher electricity consumption
More efficient computer chips have reduced energy intensity by 99 percent since 2008. IEA predicts that data centers will account for only 3 percent of increased electricity consumption by 2030.
🚣 The Cuyahoga River was so polluted it caught fire - now it's making a comeback
The Cuyahoga River in Ohio has undergone a dramatic improvement from being one of America's most polluted waterways to now having water quality good enough to reintroduce sturgeon. The river that used to regularly catch fire due to industrial pollution is now home to blue herons and bald eagles.
👩⚕️ Tuberculosis steadily declining
Global tuberculosis cases have stabilized after pandemic increase - 10.8 million cases in 2023 compared to 10.7 million in 2022. Mortality continues to decline - 1.25 million deaths in 2023, down from 1.32 million in 2022.
🔋 EV sales increase while gas car sales continue to decline
China grew by 35 percent and North America by 10 percent. Sales of new gas-powered cars have decreased by approximately 25 percent since 2017.
🐠 Coral reefs show unexpectedly strong resilience to warming
Coral reefs continue to grow even under warmer conditions according to a new two-year experiment in Hawaii. The experiment shows that coral reefs can survive if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius.
🎓 People worldwide have high trust in scientists
A new comprehensive study shows that the majority of people in 68 countries have high trust in scientists and their methods.
💓 Heart failure mortality has steadily decreased over 25 years
Deaths from heart failure have decreased by two percent annually between 1997 and 2022. New medications and improved medical technology help patients live longer after diagnosis.
🍦 The age of miracles is not over - McDonald's ice cream machine crisis gets a solution
The US government is tackling one of the greatest crises of our time - McDonald's broken ice cream machines. Franchise owners can now repair the machines themselves without depending on the manufacturer.
🤝 Google's AI succeeds in uniting people better than human mediators
DeepMind's new AI system achieved 56 percent acceptance for joint statements, compared to 44 percent for human mediators. Agreement increased in five out of nine discussed issues.
🐷 AI interprets pig sounds to improve their well-being
A team of researchers has developed an AI algorithm that can translate different pig sounds into emotional states. The algorithm can distinguish between positive and negative emotions in pigs by analyzing their grunts, screams, and other sounds.
🌎 Buy time: How we can reduce global warming by 0.5 degrees in the short term
Methane is 86 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide but disappears from the atmosphere after just 12 years. By focusing on reducing methane emissions, we can have a rapid effect on global warming.
🚭 Youth smoking at lowest level in 25 years
Only 8 percent of American teenagers use tobacco products, the lowest figure since 1999. E-cigarettes are the most used tobacco product with 5.9 percent of youth users.
✌️ Global fight against inflation nearing victory, according to IMF
IMF predicts global inflation will drop from 6.7 percent in 2023 to 4.3 percent in 2025. The inflation reduction has been achieved without a global recession, and the US economy continues to grow by 2.8 percent in 2024.
🔋 The U.S. has installed batteries equivalent to 20 nuclear power plants in four years
The US has installed batteries with a capacity of over 20 gigawatts to the power grid, of which 5 gigawatts were added during the first seven months of this year. The batteries have already proven effective in preventing power outages in states like California during intense heat waves.
⚡ New drilling technology from the oil industry provides fossil-free electricity around the clock
The cost of drilling geothermal wells has decreased by 80%. Cold water is pumped down four kilometers into the ground through a hockey stick-shaped borehole and heated to steam by the heat down there. The steam returns through a parallel borehole and drives turbines that produce electricity.
🐝 The number of bee colonies in the world is increasing significantly
Globally, the number of bee colonies has increased by 47 percent since 1990, from 69.2 million to 101.6 million colonies in 2021. There was initially a decrease during the 90s, but in the 2000s it has turned upward
⚕️ Egypt has eradicated malaria
The World Health Organization, WHO, has certified Egypt as malaria-free after nearly a hundred years of work against the disease. The disease has been present in the country for over 4000 years. Egypt is one of 44 countries that WHO has certified as malaria-free.
🌞 Australia leads the world in rooftop solar energy
Australia has installed rooftop solar panels on a scale that surpasses all expectations. More than a third of all households in the country now generate their own electricity from the sun. Home-based solar energy accounts for 11.6 percent of electricity production in Australia's main power grid.
🏆 Competition to accelerate quantum computers' societal benefits
XPRIZE has launched a global competition worth $5 million to develop practical quantum algorithms. The competition aims to accelerate the development of quantum computer applications that can solve important societal problems.
🌡️ Heat pumps reduce energy use by 40 percent, according to a new study
A new study shows that heat pumps significantly reduce household energy consumption. Household carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 36 percent. Time-of-use electricity tariffs caused households to more than double their electricity consumption during off-peak hours and halve it during peak hours.
🌳 100 million trees to be planted in Africa to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
The company Aspiration has committed to planting 100 million trees in East Africa by 2025. Reforestation increases nature's ability to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. Over 9.5 million trees have already been planted and 8,500 farmers are participating in an agroforestry program.
😮 Researchers impressed by ChatGPT's latest model
OpenAI's new model, o1, performs better than previous models on advanced scientific and mathematical tasks. o1 performed a calculation on black holes in about an hour, which previously took the researcher several months. It solved 83% of the tasks on a qualifying test for the Mathematics Olympiad.
💰 Young AI companies generate revenue faster than previous tech companies
AI startups reach million-dollar revenues in just eleven months. This can be compared to 15 months for the previous generation of SaaS companies. Top AI companies reach $30 million in annual revenue five times faster than previous software companies.
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🦾 Free AI for all Swedes, proposes the AI Commission
The AI Commission proposes an AI for all reform. Where every Swede gets free access to AI. I have been a member of the AI Commission. Here's my view on the proposals and what I succeeded and failed at.
🌏 The best things happening for humanity right now
It is easy to think of bad things happening right now, but what are the best ones? The list can be made very long, but here are my favorites.
🗨️ No more syntax error
Machines will use our language to talk to each other.
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