GM commits to ending sales of gas-powered cars by 2035
GM’s CEO Mary Barra specifically announced that the company aims to be carbon neutral by 2040.
United States
This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from the United States — covering policy wins, community-led efforts, scientific advances, and social progress happening across the country. Each entry highlights what’s working and why it matters.
Illinois becomes first U.S. state to end cash bail system
In a huge win for racial justice, the state of Illinois is on the verge of becoming the first state to end wealth-based pre-trial detention.
Washington is the first U.S. state to hold a climate assembly
Eighty members of the public have been selected through a lottery to join the country’s first climate assembly in Washington. The assembly is constituted to deliberate on environmental issues.
President Biden overturns the ban on transgender military personnel
“President Biden believes that gender identity should not be a bar to military service, and that America’s strength is found in its diversity,” the White House said in an emailed statement.
U.S. FDA approves first-ever long-acting HIV medication
The monthly injection treatment replaces the need for some to take daily pills. The company says the price of the injections is comparable to the cost of the pill versions.
Joe Biden halts Keystone XL pipeline construction
The 1,700-mile pipeline was planned to carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Joe Biden signs sweeping executive order fighting anti-LGBTQ discrimination
Biden’s order tells the heads of all executive agencies to ensure that they are interpreting bans on sex discrimination in U.S. federal law to also “prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.”
Joe Biden moves to re-enter the U.S. into the Paris Agreement
Hours after being sworn in as the president of the United States, Joe Biden signed an executive order that will move the country to rejoin the Paris climate agreement — a strident reversal of America’s environmental policy over the past four years.
Amazon launches $2 billion fund to make 20,000 affordable homes for working families
The Housing Equity Fund will invest more than $2 billion to preserve and create over 20,000 affordable housing units in Washington State’s Puget Sound; Arlington, Virginia; and Nashville, Tennessee.
Colorado approves $110 million transportation electrification plan
Xcel Energy will deploy 20,000 EV charging stations across Colorado, under a $110 million plan formally approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.