HUMANS + NATURE + PROGRESS — Page 2

NATURE

Bleached corals came back to full health in seven weeks.

A brief tissue bridge moved helpful algae within three days—and recovery continued after the corals were separated.

SOURCEStanford Doerr School of Sustainability / Science Advances

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PROGRESS

Nearly 12,000 Californians used a new EV rebate in ten weeks.

The instant discount is reaching first-time electric-car buyers at the dealership.

SOURCECalifornia Energy Commission

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NATURE

Nine funders just put more than $500 million behind species recovery.

A new alliance is coordinating five years of targeted recovery funding.

SOURCERe:wild

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NATURE

The world's rarest ape has grown to 44.

Forty-four, from the brink.

SOURCEHainan International Media Center

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PROGRESS

California will offer electrification cash instead of some gas-line replacements.

A pipe budget can become a heat pump.

SOURCECalifornia Legislature / AB 2313

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PROGRESS

Hungary is reusing fish-farm water on drought-hit land.

Post-harvest pond water is getting a second job on farms and wetlands.

SOURCEReuters

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PROGRESS

Teenagers are unplastifying 400+ schools.

A school challenge has engaged 3,500+ young people in 23 countries to redesign everyday plastic use.

SOURCEUnplastify / Reasons to Be Cheerful

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PROGRESS

Old buildings made room for 21,934 homes.

Nine hundred thirty-nine completed rehabilitations turned underused historic buildings back into homes, businesses, workplaces and community spaces while supporting an estimated 163,000 jobs.

SOURCENational Park Service

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NATURE

Togo’s cotton yields rose from 570 kg to over a tonne per hectare.

The national average rose above one tonne per hectare in 2025–26; some farmer-field-school groups reached 1.4 to 2 tonnes while cutting pest treatments.

SOURCEBird Story Agency via AllAfrica

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PROGRESS

Australian homes installed 276,011 batteries in six months.

Battery installations jumped 52% from the previous half-year while households added a record 1,894 MW of rooftop solar.

SOURCERenewEconomy / Clean Energy Council

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PROGRESS

Texas’ grid had a boring summer.

Demand broke records. The emergency alerts did not arrive. Since 2023, Texas added 19.5 GW of solar and 16 GW of battery storage.

SOURCEU.S. Energy Information Administration / ERCOT

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PROGRESS

Hot rock is now feeding a commercial power grid.

The first 33-megawatt block is earning revenue under a power-purchase agreement. Two more blocks are due to complete the 100-megawatt first phase.

SOURCEFervo Energy

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HUMANS

Rwanda cut maternal mortality 27%.

Five years, a 27% decline, and a health system still pushing: Rwanda is pairing community care with faster records and referrals.

SOURCENational Institute of Statistics of Rwanda

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HUMANS

The UK made a free emergency plan for every neighborhood.

Eight practical modules help communities turn names, skills and local knowledge into a plan before the next disruption arrives.

SOURCEReady Together

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PROGRESS

10 NYC food carts just went quiet.

A six-month pilot will replace gasoline generators with batteries, cutting fumes and noise while gathering real-world data for thousands of street vendors.

SOURCENYC Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice

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NATURE

$18 million will help ranchers keep great plains grassland intact.

The fund starts with $9 million from Walmart Foundation and $9 million in aligned investment from McDonald’s USA and suppliers.

SOURCENational Fish and Wildlife Foundation

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PROGRESS

California legalized plug-in balcony solar.

SB 868 treats certified portable solar more like a household appliance: utilities may require a simple online registration, but not prior approval.

SOURCECalifornia Legislative Information — SB 868

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NATURE

Of 285 large UK rewilding projects, one was hit by fire this year.

The advocacy-group analysis also found burned areas from 2016–2026 were concentrated in acid grassland, heather, bog and other simplified landscapes rather than restored habitat.

SOURCERewilding Britain

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PROGRESS

Australia’s high court made coal planners account for overseas emissions.

The 3–2 ruling invalidated an expansion approval after the planning commission focused on only 2% of projected emissions and did not consider conditions for the other 98%.

SOURCEHigh Court of Australia

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HUMANS

Students redirected 30,000 pounds of medical supplies before they were thrown away.

Project MedBridge moved about 50 pallets of unopened N95 respirators and therapy packs into a distribution network serving underresourced health facilities.

SOURCEProject MedBridge / Reasons to Be Cheerful

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