Doomslayer: Progress Roundup

Aug 02, 2026

Economics & Development

An analysis by The Economist finds that, for the first time in its 25-year dataset, over half of global billionaire wealth is now held by self-made billionaires who made their fortunes through “competitive activities,” meaning by providing goods and services in competitive markets, as opposed to inheriting their wealth or accumulating it in politically connected industries.

October 26, 2024

The economic historian Daniel Waldenström discussed the rising share of self-made billionaires on our podcast back in 2024.

For the first time, China generated less than half of its electricity from coal during the first six months of 2026. Coal, while often crucial during the early stages of economic development, is among the most polluting sources of energy.

Observations from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service show that, despite large wildfires in Europe and North America, global carbon emissions from biomass burning fell to a record low in the first six months of this year. That is largely thanks to reduced burning in Asia and Africa, where more permanent forms of agriculture are supplanting traditional seasonal burning and expanding farms and settlements are limiting the spread of wildfires.

A recently published study using aerial lidar and satellite imagery found that prescribed burns saved thousands of giant sequoias during California’s Castle and KNP Complex wildfires in 2020 and 2021. After analyzing images of around 26,400 trees, the researchers found that sequoias treated with prescribed burns during the preceding decade were nearly four times as likely to survive the wildfires. They estimate that the burns saved around 1,900 giant sequoias and that treating the area around each tree beforehand could have saved another 3,900.
Across Africa’s Sahel region, groundwater reserves are recovering after decades of drought. Aquifer reserves across Niger have risen by an estimated 15 percent, while Lake Chad reached more than 9,000 square miles in 2024, around 10 times its size in the mid-1980s. One major reason is that rising temperatures in the North Atlantic have pulled the West African monsoon farther north, bringing more rainfall to the Sahel.

Avocado breeders currently have to wait five to ten years for a young tree to flower before they can determine its flowering pattern, an important trait for designing orchards with efficient pollination. Scientists have now identified the gene that controls the pattern, allowing breeders to classify avocado seedlings using their DNA and avoid wasting time, money, and orchard space.
The New York Times recently profiled Driscoll’s, the international berry giant that helped turn berries into year-round global staples. Thanks in large part to Driscoll’s breeding and distribution systems, global berry production has tripled since 2000.

AIDS-related deaths and HIV infections fell to their lowest levels in more than 30 years in 2025, according to a recent report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. The report also notes that the number of new HIV infections among children fell 69 percent between 2010 and 2025, from 300,000 to 93,000.

According to Uganda’s Health Ministry, the country has contained an Ebola outbreak imported from Congo after all identified contacts completed quarantine without further transmission.
A breast cancer patient in California recently received a robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy, one of the first such procedures performed in the United States outside of a clinical trial.

Waste Management, North America’s largest recycling firm, reports that its new, more automated facilities have a 30 percent lower labor cost per ton of material processed than its older plants.
SpaceX’s Starship completed a largely successful test flight last week. The spacecraft deployed satellites for the first time, reignited an engine in space, survived atmospheric reentry, and completed its first intact ocean splashdown.
Nine schools in Florida, Georgia, and Colorado are installing attack drones designed to confront active shooters. Teachers can summon the drones—which are remotely piloted from a central command center—with an app or panic button. According to their manufacturer, Mithril Defense, the drones can reach a suspect within 15 seconds and attack or disorient them using pepper gel, strobe lights, sirens, or simply by ramming them at up to 60 miles per hour.
The National Highway Traffic Safety ‌Administration has approved a Robotaxi design without human controls such as a steering wheel or pedals. The newly approved vehicle, developed by Zoox, Amazon’s robotaxi subsidiary, uses the space normally occupied by a driver to create a roomy carriage-like cabin for passengers.