💡 Warp News #327
☀️ Solar overtakes coal in US. week 🌳 Mangrove forests have grown substantially. 🧫 First human treated with method designed to make aged cells behave young again
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Until 2010, the world’s mangrove forests were shrinking. This was mainly due to deforestation and conversion to aquaculture, such as shrimp farms, but also other agriculture, as well as buildings and infrastructure.
But in 2010, that changed. Since then, mangrove forests have grown and are now almost back to where they were in the mid-1980s.
A group of researchers reached this conclusion after studying satellite images from the mid-1980s to the early 2020s.
What is the recipe for success?
The researchers do not go into detail, but they mention restoration, protection, and conservation.
I have written news for Warp News for over six years. Quite a large number of those stories have been about how we have managed to reverse a negative trend for animals or nature.
One of my first news stories was about how the blue whale had made a comeback.
Other animal species that have recovered include bison, North American predators, turtles, beavers, and tigers.
Reduced deforestation is another recurring theme, seen in Europe, Sweden, and the Amazon.
These are just a few examples. Scroll through our categories nature, environment, deforestation, and animal species, and you will see.
A recurring theme in these stories is that conservation efforts have helped. When people actively work to stop decline, protect species, and make recovery easier.
These efforts work! They make a difference!
Of course, many problems remain when it comes to animals and nature, and not all curves are pointing in the right direction. But we know from lots of successful examples that it is possible to turn them around.
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Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist
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💡 Fact-based optimistic news of the week
🌳 Mangrove forests declined until 2010, but have grown substantially since
The regrowth in recent years has almost entirely offset the earlier losses. The total area is now only 0.5 percent smaller than in the 1980s. After decades of decline, the area of mangrove forests shifted from net loss to net gain around 2010.
🛫 More and more Africans are traveling within Africa - the fastest tourism growth in the world
Economic growth and rising prosperity in Africa are enabling more and more Africans to travel within their own continent. The number of tourists visiting African countries grew by almost 8 percent last year, the fastest growth in the world.
📉 Australia's power prices fall after record battery rollout
Batteries' share of the electricity grid on Australia's east coast rose from around 3 percent to nearly 10% in one year. From July 2026, power prices will fall, and households could save up to 10%.
🌏 Globally a record number of people are satisfied with the freedom to shape their lives
82% of adults across 138 countries are satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, up from 71% two decades ago. The largest gains are in the Balkans, the Caucasus, and Eastern and Central Europe, where the share of satisfied adults has risen from 49% in 2009 to 82% in 2025.
☀️ Solar overtakes coal in US electricity production for the first time
Solar power supplied 12.8 percent of US electricity in May 2026, while coal fell to 12.2 percent. Solar produced 45.5 TWh during the month, 17 percent more than in May 2025. Over five years, solar's share has more than doubled.
🧫 First human treated with method designed to make aged cells behave young again
A treatment that switches on three genes is designed to make old cells behave like young ones. The aim is to regenerate damaged nerve cells in the optic nerve and treat a form of glaucoma. In animal studies, the method has restored vision in mice, with no serious side effects.
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