Equatorial Guinea abolishes death penalty
Capital punishment was “totally abolished” in the oil-rich central African country after the president signed a new penal code.
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
This archive spans one of the most eventful periods in recent history, from 2017 through 2025. Browse more than 4,100 articles documenting scientific breakthroughs, policy wins, social progress, and human ingenuity from the present era. Each story highlights what people and communities around the world are building, solving, and achieving right now.
California launches largest free school lunch program in U.S.
When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free, regardless of their family’s income.
Fish return off coast of Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul after state’s trawling ban
Trawl nets literally sweep the ocean floor, turning a complex ecosystem into a desert.
World’s biggest carbon capture plant set for Wyoming
Project Bison is slated to swing into action next year and, all going to plan, will scale up its operations by the end of the decade to suck up five million tons of CO2 each year, and safely lock it away underground.
Scientists hail autoimmune disease therapy breakthrough
Lupus remission in all five patients — that’s the striking result from a small German trial using CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment originally developed for blood cancers. Doctors collected each patient’s own T-cells, reprogrammed them to clear out the malfunctioning B cells driving the disease, and reinfused them. Months later, the patients’ immune systems had essentially rebooted: new B cells grew back, but they no longer attacked the body. None have needed lupus medication since. The lead researcher believes the same approach could help people with rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and other autoimmune conditions — opening a hopeful new chapter for millions worldwide who have long managed their illness without ever truly being free of it.
Patagonia founder gives away entire company to fight climate change
98% of the company’s total shares are now owned by a new organization a 501(c)(4) that Patagonia says will use every dollar not reinvested into the company to “fight the environmental crisis.”
Africa’s first green hydrogen plant to be complete in Namibia by 2024
French power producer HDF Energy is constructing a 3.1 billion Namibian dollar (USD $181.25 million) hydrogen plant powered by solar panels.
Australia sets new climate target in landmark bill
Australia’s parliament has passed legislation enshrining a pledge to slash carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 and to net zero by 2050.
Scientists achieve the impossible, safely destroy toxic ‘forever chemicals’
Even low-level exposure to these chemicals over a sustained amount of time can lead to serious health effects, including thyroid disease, reduced immune response, and several cancers.
Tokyo to require that new homes have solar panels from 2025
The move will make Tokyo the first prefecture in Japan to require that solar panels be installed on all new houses.