Maine becomes the first state to ban Styrofoam
The law, which will go into effect January 1, 2021, prohibits restaurants, caterers, coffee shops and grocery stores from using the to-go foam containers because they cannot be recycled in Maine.
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.
America’s renewable energy set to surpass coal for the first month ever in April 2019
This turning point is decades in the making — not a policy target, but an economic reality arriving ahead of schedule. Wind and solar costs have dropped so sharply that 74% of the U.S. coal fleet could now be replaced by renewables while still saving customers money. April’s seasonal conditions give renewables a boost they don’t always enjoy, and annual parity remains years away. But the direction is no longer in doubt — and as utilities retire coal plants early, this milestone signals to energy markets worldwide that the crossover isn’t hypothetical anymore.
Pharmaceutical executives in the United States charged for role in opioid epidemic for the first time ever
Federal prosecutors filed criminal charges relating to opioid distribution against one of the US’ 10 largest pharmaceutical distributors and two of its executives, both of whom could be sentenced to life in prison.
Puerto Rico to shut down all coal-burning power plants by 2020
Coal-burning power plants will get the axe in 2020, and all other coal-burning in Puerto Rico will be eliminated by 2028.
Verizon commits to going carbon neutral by 2035
One of the world’s largest telecommunications company, Verizon that it is commitment to go carbon neutral by 2035 through a range of tools including reducing emissions directly and procuring renewable energy for its operations.
Chicago becomes the largest US city to commit to 100% clean energy
Chicago has passed legislation committing to running the city on 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2040.
Johnny Cash and Daisy Bates to replace Confederate and Jim Crow era statues on Capitol Hill
The likenesses of music legend Johnny Cash and civil rights icon Daisy Lee Gatson Bates will appear in the hallways of the U.S. Capitol in marble form, replacing two Confederate figures from the Civil War.
New research suggests MDMA lets PTSD victims form new bonds and memories to overcome trauma
Research from Johns Hopkins University finds that MDMA seems to re-open a window of opportunity for social bonding and rewiring trauma-related faulty connections in the brain.
Inexpensive ‘first-of-its-kind’ device can generate electricity from snowfall
UCLA researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind device that can generate electricity from falling snow. The inexpensive device scientists is small, thin, and flexible like a sheet of plastic.
Morehouse College, the nation’s only black all-male college, will begin admitting transgender students in 2020
“In a rapidly changing world that includes a better understanding of gender identity, we’re proud to expand our admissions policy to consider trans men who want to be part of an institution that has produced some of the greatest leaders in social justice, politics, business, and the arts for more than 150 years,”