Post-modernity spans 1945 to 2016 C.E., an era defined by rapid technological acceleration, decolonization, the rise of the internet, and expanding civil rights. This archive collects milestones in science, medicine, governance, and culture from those seven decades of sweeping human progress.
Initiative 1639 passed in Washington state on November 6, 2018, with nearly 60 percent of voters saying yes across seven of ten congressional districts. The measure raised the minimum age for semiautomatic rifle purchases to 21, added a waiting period, and required safe home storage. A reminder that ballot initiatives can move quickly on contested ground.
Solar power in the United States crossed a threshold in 2016, when the country added roughly 14.6 gigawatts of new capacity — nearly tripling the year before and outpacing every other energy source, including natural gas. Behind the numbers stood more than 260,000 solar workers, quietly proving that a cleaner grid was arriving faster than forecasters had dared to predict.
Europe’s top court struck a blow against U.K. mass surveillance in 2016, ruling that blanket retention of citizens’ web history, location, and app data couldn’t be justified in a democracy. The case, brought by two MPs from opposing parties, challenged laws letting 48 public bodies access a year of everyone’s data. It drew a clear line: targeted surveillance, yes — indiscriminate collection, no.
Paid parental leave came to Washington D.C. in December 2016, when the city council voted 9-4 to guarantee eight weeks off for nearly every worker, including part-timers and the self-employed. Lower earners receive up to 90% of their wages, funded by a small payroll tax. It remains one of the most inclusive leave laws any American city has passed.
Bail reform gained real ground in 2016, when New Mexico voters approved a constitutional amendment with 87 percent support, barring judges from jailing low-risk defendants simply because they couldn’t afford to pay. The shift, echoed in cities and states nationwide, began reframing a basic question: should pretrial freedom depend on your bank account?
Fracking contamination got an honest reckoning in December 2016, when EPA scientists released the largest study of its kind and removed an earlier line claiming no systemic threat to drinking water. They found risks at every stage, from sourcing to wastewater storage. A quiet act of scientific self-correction, published as political winds blew the other way.
Fossil fuel divestment crossed a remarkable threshold in late 2016, when committed funds reached $5.2 trillion — double the total from just 14 months earlier. What began with student activists pressing universities had pulled in pension managers, insurance giants, and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. It was the moment climate pressure started speaking fluently in the language of balance sheets.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures launched in December 2016, when Bill Gates and nearly two dozen investors — including Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma, and Vinod Khosla — committed up to $1 billion to clean energy startups. Its unusual 20-year horizon signaled patience for technologies that don’t fit standard venture timelines, a quiet bet on the slow work of energy transformation.
Universal basic income got its first serious American test run in December 2016, when the Economic Security Project pledged $10 million over two years to fund U.S. pilots and research. More than 100 signatories joined in, from Sam Altman to Robert Reich. It marked the moment a long-running thought experiment finally met real money.
Portland’s CEO pay surtax, passed by the City Council in December 2016, became the first U.S. tax tied directly to corporate pay ratios. Companies paying chief executives more than 100 times their median worker owed a 10 percent surcharge on their business license tax, with steeper rates above 250:1. A small city turning federal disclosure data into local consequence.
