🚰 Energy consumption for desalinating water has decreased by 85 percent
Energy consumption for desalination has decreased from 20 kWh per cubic meter in the 1970s to 2.5-3.5 kWh today. Producing enough drinking water for one person - about 3 liters per day - through desalination would cost only $2.30 for an entire year.
🚗 Waymo self-driving vehicles are significantly safer than human drivers
Waymo's self-driving cars have been involved in fewer than one accident with injuries per million miles driven. They estimate that their vehicles have 70 percent fewer accidents with injuries than human drivers.
🐦 Endangered grasshopper sparrow on the road to recovery
The number of grasshopper sparrows in Florida has increased from 80 to 200 individuals in five years. The 1000th captive-bred sparrow was recently released into the wild. Over 15 percent of the released birds survive and reproduce successfully.
📉 Large decrease in domestic violence
The number of domestic violence cases in the US has decreased by 67 percent between 1993 and 2022. Rapes and sexual assaults decreased by 56 percent during the same period.
🌳 Chainsaw amnesty protects rainforest in Borneo by exchanging chainsaws for healthcare
279 loggers have turned in their chainsaws since 2017. The program has reduced deforestation by 70 percent over 10 years. The initiative combines environmental protection with improved access to healthcare for local communities.
🚢 Plastic in the Pacific Ocean can be cleaned up in ten years, according to Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup foundation has shown that all plastic in the Pacific Ocean can be removed within 10 years for $7.5 billion. The organization has already removed over 450 metric tons of trash from the central parts of the Pacific Ocean over the past three years.
👩🚀 New record: 19 people orbited Earth simultaneously
Three people were launched towards the International Space Station on September 11. This raised the number of people in Earth's orbit to a record-high 19. The previous record was 17 people, set last year.
🐢 Sea turtles in Brazil become healthier as water quality improves
Sea turtles in Guanabara Bay show better health after cleaning efforts. A tumor disease in turtles has decreased since 2023. Investments of over 300 million dollars have been made to clean the water in the area.
👩🚀 First private spacewalk conducted by SpaceX
SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission performed the first ever commercial spacewalk. The crew reached an altitude of nearly 1400 km, higher than any other manned spaceflight since the Apollo program. The mission tested new SpaceX equipment and conducted 36 scientific experiments.