but first...

• Dancing with the Stars is back, and we’re not picking favorites... but it does mean Team USA women’s rugby player (... and Olympic bronze medalist... and women’s sports advocate) Ilona Maher is serving up all the content.​
• On that note, a Paralympic and Olympic gold medal husband-and-wife duo are lending their platform to that voter registration campaign we told you about earlier this week.

Today’s Top Good News Story

For the first time in decades, data shows a sharp decline in the number of drug overdose deaths across the U.S.

Preliminary data collected is showing an unprecedented decline in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. — by roughly 10.6%. It’s a sharp turn from recent years when fatal overdoses had been increasing by double-digit percentages.

In some states, early data is showing declines by as much as 30%. Experts estimate this national decline could mean as many as 20,000 fewer fatalities per year.

While there is still a heartbreakingly high number of deaths annually, experts believe the devastating increases in overdose deaths that the U.S. saw beginning in 2019 are over, at least for now.

What’s the nuance? While the data isn’t clear what exactly has caused the drop, experts point to the availability and affordability of fentanyl addiction treatment, as well as of naloxone to quickly reverse overdoses. And more resources are needed in Black and Native American communities where overdose deaths are still disproportionately high.

→ Read more​

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More Good News

​Scientists are saving endangered sea snails by setting them up on “speed dates.” High sea temperatures have kept endangered queen conch sea snails from (literally) coming out of their shells to find mates, so scientists stepped in to help.

​To protest their “worst in Europe” parental leave, UK dads tied baby slings to iconic male statues across London. Activists from the Dad Shift tied model babies to statues in an attempt to focus attention on the importance of father-baby bonding.

​Patagonia’s nonprofit arm just gave $1 million to help revolutionize California’s farms. The funding will help farmers in Ventura County transition away from conventional agriculture toward regenerative, organic practices.

Good Read of the Week

“What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Future”

by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

Too often, the climate crisis is depicted in worst-case scenarios of everything humanity and the Earth might lose if we don’t take swift action. In her newly released book, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson invites us to imagine it differently because, after all, our climate future isn’t yet written. What if, instead, we act as if we love the future?

Why we’re reading: We can’t take tangible action to create a better future if we can’t even imagine that future, and this joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures — exciting, beautiful futures that we could realistically live in… if we get it right. It’s an inspiring reminder of the beautiful world we live in now, and what we’re fighting for in the future.

→ Get the book
​→ ​​Get the audiobook​

More Good bits

🏀 The WNBA’s newest franchise is coming (back) to Portland, Oregon!​

🌿 Should nature be protected because it makes us happy? For it’s economic value? For simply being? The answer is yes.​

🧠 This is your brain on pregnancy.​

✏️ People who make merch: take notes. (And buy something if you can!)

✅ Fact check: The “migrant crime wave” is a myth.​

*Some of these recommendations may include affiliate links, which means if you buy anything from this email, we may get something in return at no extra cost to you. (Thanks for your support!)

What’s good?

It's so encouraging to me that drug overdoses are rapidly declining — and experts predict that trend will continue.

What was your favorite story to read today?

Reply to this email and let me know!

— Megan