Notices by Ada Palmer (adapalmer@wandering.shop)

Deep-sea mining halted as global moratorium gains support. International negotiations have again resulted in a no to deep-sea mining, with no code adopted and no projects authorised. A growing coalition of 40 countries now backs a moratorium, while regulators have launched a probe into a key contractor. It appears humanity is coalescing around the conclusion that this is a bad idea. Oceanographic https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/no-code-no-permits-isa-deep-sea-mining-talks-end-in-stalemate/
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Chile blocks $2.5 billion mine to protect Humboldt penguin habitat. Chile’s courts have permanently rejected a massive iron and copper mining project near the Humboldt Penguin National Reserve, safeguarding one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the Pacific. Chile hosts around 80% of the world’s Humboldt penguins; the ruling protects breeding islands and waters home to more than 560 marine species. Noticias Ambientales https://noticiasambientales.com/animals/chile-confirms-rejection-of-dominga-mining-project-environmental-victory-in-defense-of-the-humboldt-penguin/
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Costa Rica has completely reversed its rampant deforestation from the 20th century, lifting natural forest cover from under 25% by 1985 to well over half the country today. A national payments for ecosystem services scheme helped, along with a 1996 ban on converting natural forest, a beef-price slump that reduced pasture profits, and booming ecotourism that created more incentives to keep forests standing than to cut them down. Vox https://archive.ph/t3gr2 #ShareGoodNewsToo

Balcony solar is taking US state legislatures by storm. In more than half of states, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation that would boost adoption of small plug-in solar panels that sit on apartment balconies and plug directly into household outlets. The simple technology is already in use in millions of households in Germany. Canary Media https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/balcony-solar-taking-state-legislatures-by-storm #ShareGoodNewsToo

Food poverty in the Philippines dropped from 49% to 30% in Q4 2025, the steepest quarterly fall on record. The shift reflects expanded subsidised rice sales and infrastructure spending, with about five million families no longer identifying as food-poor. Overall self-rated poverty also fell 17 percentage points, signalling rapid easing of household pressure as food prices stabilised. Department of Agriculture https://www.da.gov.ph/food-poverty-drops-in-q4-as-da-expands-rice-program-other-interventions/
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Forests in the United States are storing more carbon than at any point in decades. New analysis finds gains are being driven by forest ageing, favourable climate trends and regrowth, outweighing losses from deforestation. From 2005 to 2022, forest age structure alone added about 89 million tonnes of carbon annually, highlighting the climate value of letting forests mature. PNAS https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2513588123
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Two decades after a small Duke breast cancer vaccine trial, every participant is still alive — a rare outcome for metastatic disease. When researchers looked closer, they found the women’s immune systems still carried “memory” cells that recognised the cancer. Science Daily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260128075345.htm
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Indigenous fire stewardship brings rare Ontario prairie back. After nearly disappearing, the Black Oak Savanna at Alderville First Nation is thriving again thanks to 25 years of Indigenous-led restoration. Controlled burns, seed collection and invasive species removal have rebuilt one of Canada’s rarest ecosystems, where fewer than 1% of tallgrass prairies remain globally. https://thenarwhal.ca/alderville-black-oak-savanna-conservation/
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On the border with Peru and Brazil, Bolivia recently added two new protected areas to stitch the western Amazon together. Created by municipal governments, the 7,300 km² of intact forest, rivers and floodplains will give jaguars, tapirs, river dolphins, giant otters and spider monkeys corridors to move around vast territories. Andes Amazon Fund https://www.andesamazonfund.org/news-blog/newly-created-los-palmares-de-villa-nueva-and-guardian-amazonico-pacahuara-protected-areas-enhance-connectivity-of-amazonian-forests-in-pando-bolivia/
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After nearly 20 years using Lenovo laptops, they have reversed the positions of the Ctrl and Function keys on the left of the keyboard, and I have rarely felt so betrayed.

Ireland has dismantled its first commercial wind farm to make way for a step-change in scale. At Bellacorick Wind Farm, 21 early-generation turbines have been removed so Oweninny Wind Farm can expand. Each new turbine now generates more power than the entire 1992 Bellacorick site, illustrating how three decades of innovation have radically compressed land use while multiplying output. RTE https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2026/0116/1553440-mayo-wind-farm/
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Taranaki Maunga on New Zealand’s North Island was granted legal personhood in January after a unanimous parliamentary vote, following years of advocacy by Māori iwi who regard the volcano as an ancestor. By treating the mountain as a living legal entity, it now holds rights to protection, preservation, and even the ability to initiate legal action, with guardianship shared equally between New Zealand’s government and the Māori. https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/travel/mount-taranaki-personhood-new-zealand-intl-hnk?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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The Santa Cruz River, once bone-dry, now flows again through Tucson after treated wastewater was redirected into its channel, reviving wetlands and native life. We can thank reconciliation ecology for this - the practice of environmental restoration in human-dominated landscapes. Endangered Gila topminnow are breeding, cottonwoods have returned, and 40 native species have reappeared.
https://www.hcn.org/issues/57-10/inventing-habitats/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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In September, The Lancet released a report with one of the most extraordinary statistics I’ve ever seen: since 2010, humanity’s total burden of illness and early death has dropped by 12.6 percent, driven by declining deaths from the world's deadliest infectious diseases: tuberculosis, lower respiratory infections, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS, all down by between 25 and 49 percent. https://fixthenews.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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US coal generation has collapsed from about 50% of electricity in 2005 to just 14% today. It’s one of the fastest energy transitions in modern history. Nearly 400 plants have retired or been scheduled for closure, and operating a coal plant now costs more than building new wind and solar in every state. https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/can-the-war-on-coal-be-won?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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In Europe, rewilding is reversing the fortunes of ‘Empty Spain.’ In the sparsely populated Serranía Celtibérica, a decade of rewilding efforts has revived ecosystems, wildlife and rural livelihoods. Semi-wild herbivores and predators are returning to abandoned farmland, local timber and resin businesses are gaining sustainable footing, and young volunteers are helping build a rewilding movement rooted in community and ecological renewal. Rewilding Europe https://rewildingeurope.com/news/rewilding-is-revitalising-lives-and-landscapes-in-the-iberian-highlands/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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3,150-year-old papyrus reveals the world’s earliest recorded labour strike. New analysis of the Turin Strike Papyrus—a detailed account from 1157 BCE—shows how artisans building the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina staged a coordinated walkout after going 18 days without grain rations. The document reads like an ancient industrial dispute: workers blocking gates, sending written demands to officials, and ultimately winning emergency payments. https://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/Cat_1880
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Puffins have returned to Northern Ireland’s Isle of Muck (seriously, that’s its name) for the first time in at least 25 years. Tales of puffins on the island “felt more like folklore,” said nature reserves manager Andy Crory, but now they’re coming back. A programme of rat eradication began in 2017 and winter grazing has been implemented to keep vegetation low, so predator cover is reduced. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgjded7v0neo?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Countries strengthen the systems that keep the water flowing. The World Bank reports a quiet but significant global shift: countries are rebuilding their water systems to reach more people and to survive changes in climate. Across its active portfolio, 75.5 million additional people have benefited from safer water, sanitation or hygiene services in the last year, with climate resilience now embedded in nearly all new projects.https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water/publication/the-global-water-security-and-sanitation-partnership-gwsp-2025-annual-report?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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US scientists have created the first comprehensive atlas of brain development, charting how stem cells turn into neurons and other brain cells during early life. Using hundreds of thousands of human and mice cells, researchers mapped the precise genetic switches that guide each stage of cortical growth. The project, part of the U.S. BRAIN Initiative, gives neuroscientists an unprecedented reference for studying autism, schizophrenia and brain repair. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03641-0?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email #ShareGoodNewsToo