Author name: Peter Schulte

I’m the founder & Executive Director of 501c3 nonprofit Spark of Genius. In this role, I edit the weekly Good News For Humankind newsletter, write about personal transformation and social change, and serve as a purpose coach supporting anyone looking to make their contribution to the greater good.

Children giving peace sign

The proportion of children worldwide living in extreme poverty drops below 1%

In the mid-2040s, the global proportion of children in extreme poverty drops below 1%, down from 333 million in 2022. This success stems from adopting universal social benefits and crucial cash transfers to families around the world. This victory, reinforced by massive investment in health and education, sets a new irreversible standard for human well-being.

Large solar farm in the desert

Humanity achieves 100% renewable energy

In a stunning transformation, the global community completes the transition to 100% renewable energy, a monumental feat accomplished in just a matter of decades. By powering our lives and economies with clean sources like solar and wind, we not only save billions of human and non-human lives but also secure a livable, sustainable planet for generations to come. This incredible journey demonstrates that global cooperation and bold innovation can overcome our greatest challenges.

Yellow and red/pink coral

After decades of collapse, the world’s coral reefs begin a new era of net positive growth

After concerted efforts to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and restore collapsed reefs, the world’s corals begin adding more volume than they lose every year for the first time in decades. This monumental victory is a direct result of collective human action and advanced scientific stewardship. By combining global net-zero commitments with large-scale restoration techniques like coral gardening, the international community reversed environmental catastrophe. The recovery, which protects coastal infrastructure and stabilizes food sources for a billion people, proves that ambitious climate goals are achievable when nations prioritize shared responsibility and technological innovation.

Two smiling men in wedding suits

All of the world’s countries formally legalize same-sex marriage

The world’s last countries have affirmed the right of all adults to love who they love and marry the partner of their choice, completing a global legal transition in 2065. This monumental achievement not only grants justice and liberty for hundreds of millions of people but also profoundly reduces the stigma against LGBTQ+ citizens around the world. By guaranteeing equality, this universal legal standard fosters significantly improved mental health outcomes, while actively reducing bullying and violence across all societies.

Man holding on to prison bars

The global prison population drops below 1 million

As of 2024, over 11 million people globally lived in prisons, often in miserable conditions, frequently exposed to violence and sexual abuse, and without meaningful attempts to rehabilitate and reintegrate them into society. However, after decades of concerted effort to address the circumstances that push people into crime and to radically transform the prison toward a truly rehabilitative model, the global prison population begins dropping precipitously, finally reaching the milestone of less than one million prisoners globally for the first time in centuries.

Elephant

Human-caused extinction rate drops below 0.001%

Through aggressive conservation and sustainable development efforts, humanity succeeds in significantly slowing biodiversity loss and perhaps even ending Earth’s “sixth mass extinction” event. Combined with extensive climate mitigation and adaptation, these conservation efforts help restore the world’s ecosystems to their former vibrancy and health, supporting both the innate value of natural life and the human economies that rely on that life.