Colorado passes bill offering 10 hours per week of free universal preschool
By the fall of 2023, all 4-year-old children in Colorado will be able to attend preschool at no cost to their families.
States & provinces
This archive collects stories where U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and subnational governments around the world are the driving force behind meaningful change. Across 467 articles, you’ll find accounts of state and provincial lawmakers, agencies, and coalitions enacting policies, launching programs, and achieving results that improve people’s lives. From environmental protections to public health wins, these are the places where regional leadership makes a difference.
New York enacts first-in-nation plan to electrify all state school buses
The historic legislation aims for all new school bus purchases to be zero emission by 2027, while requiring that all buses in operation are electric by 2035.
Ecuador’s Pastaza province and Indigenous groups collaborate on $52 million sustainable development plan
The plan relies on curtailing dependence on oil and mining projects for economic development and implementing ancestral agroforestry systems and conservation projects.
Washington State launches first-in-the-nation missing Indigenous people alert system
The law attempts to address a crisis of missing Indigenous people — particularly women — through a system similar to Amber Alerts.
Washington State creates first-of-its-kind sea grass and kelp sanctuary to protect marine life
2,300 acres of tidelands in Everett are now off-limits to development for the next 50 years with more likely to come soon.
New Jersey’s last two coal plants to close in 2022
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) approved a petition filed by Atlantic City Electric Co. (ACE) to cease coal-fired generation at the two plants sometime around June 2022.
British Columbia ties highest in Canada minimum wage increases to inflation
British Columbia’s minimum wage is the highest among the provinces in Canada, and it is about to go even higher.
World’s largest green H2 hub, Hydrogen City, to open in Texas in 2026
The project planned by Green Hydrogen International will be built in phases. The first phase will come online in 2026, bringing in 2 GW of green energy production and two storage caverns.
California lifts renewable energy target to 73% by 2032
The California Public Utilities Commission raised renewable energy procurement targets, plans for a more aggressive decarbonization plan, and includes increased reliability provisions.
Western monarch butterflies make a spectacular comeback in California
The population of monarch butterflies overwintering in California has increased a hundredfold, according to an annual count: more than 247,000 butterflies were counted in 2021, up from 2,000 butterflies in 2020.