More than one third of sharks and rays are under threat of extinction, their numbers decimated by overfishing. The world’s top wildlife trade organisation has now extended greater protection to more than 70 species, restricting trade to only what is sustainable.
Latin America’s monetary poverty rate fell to a historic low of 25.5% in 2024 – around 160 million people – according to new data from the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2.2-point drop from 2023 was driven largely by gains in Mexico and, to a lesser extent, Brazil.
Emissions and GDP growth are moving to be less linked, says the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a UK nonprofit that analysed data from 2015 to 2023. 46% of global GDP is in countries where growth is decoupled from emissions completely, and in 92% of countries decoupling is either partial or total.
The French capital’s first urban cable car was inaugurated Saturday and will connect suburbs to the Paris Metro along an 18-minute route that has been taking residents 40 minutes to drive. 105 ten-seat gondolas can transport 11,000 people a day along a 4.5-kilometre route, the longest in Europe.
More than 100,000 vehicles stream along Interstate 25 each day, but the six-lane corridor also slices through wildlife habitat used by elk, pronghorn, mule deer, mountain lions, and black bears. A newly completed wildlife overpass is reconnecting 39,000 acres of open landscape and allowing animals to cross without conflict.
Spain’s socialist-led government is to launch a national public transport pass that will allow people to travel anywhere in the country by bus or train for a flat monthly fee of €60 (£52.70). The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez said the initiative would come into effect in the second half of January.
The scheme, known officially as Erasmus+, will be reopened to those involved in education, training, culture and sport from 2027. The UK government said up to 100,000 people of all ages could benefit in the first year.
After piloting its Guaranteed Payment for Attendance scheme in Cuba, the New Mexico Public Education Department is expanding it to 330 students across 12 school districts and one charter school. To qualify, students must hold a 92% attendance rate, complete assignments, attend tutoring, and meet with a counselor.
The new law includes guaranteed hours, prohibits firing and rehiring practices, eliminates legal loopholes that have led to exploitation of workers, and provides for sick pay and parental leave. Advocates say women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and young workers will especially benefit.
The recently announced changes include greater protections for native forests, stricter rules for land clearing and a limit on fast-tracking of coal and gas projects. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed that the laws were a win for nature and business, and their implementation would also speed up major projects linked to housing, renewable energy and critical minerals.
To keep cultural diversity, Santa Fe is taking steps to make housing more affordable, the most unique being the new way to set minimum wage. It will now be tied both to consumer prices and average rent. The city is also issuing more building permits, because the housing shortage drives rents higher, and has a mansion tax to fund affordable housing.
The German patient has remained HIV-free for six years following a stem cell transplant originally performed to treat an aggressive form of leukemia. Unlike previous cases, where patients received donor cells carrying two copies of a gene mutation that confers strong HIV resistance, B2’s donor cells carried only a single copy.
Even a few grains of fentanyl can halt breathing, and its infamous lack of taste, smell, and visibility means many users never know they’ve taken it. ARMR Sciences has developed a fentanyl vaccine and is now launching its first human trial, hoping to change the existing reactionary approach to overdoses.
The community maternal care model used by Central Hillsborough Healthy Start is straightforward and one that could be replicable elsewhere. With premature births on the rise in the US at a staggering cost to parents and society, a model like the Florida programme’s could be invaluable.
A new GEO-7 report concludes that major economic reforms and a fast transition to clean energy could generate trillions in global value while substantially reducing deaths worldwide.
From Beijing to Nairobi to São Paulo, the shift toward renewable energy is gaining speed. China, Kenya, and Brazil are rapidly expanding their clean energy production, even as progress in Europe and the United States shows signs of slowing down.
Four million native oysters are set to be reintroduced to the seabed off Norfolk in eastern England. By the end of 2026, 40,000 specially designed clay “mother reefs” will be each seeded with hundreds of juvenile oysters that will mature and form an interconnected reef system along the North Sea coast.
The Taronga Conservation Society, with 16 endangered animal recovery programmes across Australia, has obtained a large swath of farmland in New South Wales. They will rewild it to be an ultimately self-maintaining habitat for threatened native species like Koalas, platypuses, and spotted quolls.
Marine biologist Diego Cardeñosa turned away from traditional fieldwork in favour of lab-based DNA research, believing it could have a bigger impact on shark conservation. The result is a portable, rapid DNA test that lets inspectors identify shark species from fins in real time, closing a loophole that has long allowed illegal shipments to evade detection.
The energy wave technology that can measure down to the Earth’s crust, is being applied by a scientific team to analyse and map the world’s soil health in a method much less destructive and more accurate than the current way of digging holes. A nonprofit is developing a free app using it that could be life-changing for farmers.
Styrofoam, a commonly used plastic for insulation and packaging, may soon have a sustainable rival. Scientists in Alaska are developing a locally sourced, eco-friendly alternative made from mushrooms.
Originating from a study on dementia and diabetes, California nonprofit The Good Life encourages healing through healthy cooking, especially in marginalised communities. They offer free online cooking classes for older cooks at home and free food pickup for ingredients and intergenerational contact.
Staffed by about 15 volunteer grandmas, the Grandma Stand rotates through parks and street corners across New York, offering free conversation and life advice. The pop-up uses handwritten prompts, ranging from personal loss to relationships, to invite strangers to pause and talk.
133,000 hectares of the Cochamó Valley in Chilean Patagonia will be protected from logging, damming, and development, thanks to local fundraising. The area includes 11% of the world’s remaining alerce forests, ancient water-resistant trees that were logged for use as ship’s masts and telephone poles.
