Doomslayer: Progress Roundup

Mar 01, 2026

Economics & Development

A newly released working paper finds that fewer Americans are taking night shifts. The authors used two different methods to calculate the change between two different periods (see the charts below), with each showing a clear decline in the share of US employees working at night. They argue this shift is due to workers demanding higher wage premiums for night work rather than changes in the relative size of different industries, noting that “the trend exists in all major industries except retail.”

The wood stork is no longer considered endangered in the United States following a sustained recovery from around 5,000 nesting pairs to over 10,000.
The government of Kazakhstan is replenishing its portion of the Aral Sea, which was the world’s fourth-largest lake before it was largely emptied by Soviet irrigation projects. According to a recent statement from the Kazakh president, over the past 20 years, the water volume in the North Aral Sea has nearly doubled.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US is producing record quantities of crude, even as oil prices drop. Thanks to technical improvements like remote monitoring and more efficient wells, as well as industry consolidation, drillers are pumping more oil out of the ground with fewer rigs and crews, reinforcing the industry against low prices and global competition.
Also in the Permian, a nuclear startup is working with a major oilfield water handler to clean up drilling wastewater. The startup, Natura Resources, is developing small nuclear reactors that, under the agreement, will power water treatment and desalination systems, potentially making the vast volumes of contaminated water produced by oil wells safe for agriculture and other industrial uses.
The data scientist Hannah Ritchie has created an online tool showing the relative energy consumption of various technologies. One general lesson is that the energy demands of devices that deal with bits are trifling compared to those that deal with atoms.

Sugar prices are at their lowest level since 2020, and financial analysts credit falling demand driven by GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
The UK has welcomed its first baby born via a transplanted womb.
Surgeons in California have treated six children with spina bifida by applying stem cells to their spinal cords while they were still in the womb. The babies were born without major complications, and all showed reversal of a brain abnormality tied to the condition. The experimental therapy is meant to improve on standard fetal surgery for spina bifida, after which about 60 percent of children are still unable to walk independently.

While chattel slavery has been formally abolished worldwide, other forms of forced labor persist. Thankfully, though, they appear to be diminishing. Using data from the Varieties of Democracy Project, researchers at Our World in Data judged that just 9 countries still practiced large-scale forced labor in 2024, the lowest number in history.