Indigenous Shuar community in Ecuador wins decades-long battle to protect land
Ecuador’s National System of Protected Areas now includes the 13,583-acre ancestral Tiwi Nunka Forest in the country’s south.
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
Adopt-a-Forest climate project in Kenya pays locals to keep trees alive until they mature
The program was started to address the lack of after-care, a major flaw in many forest-planting projects in Kenya and beyond.
U.N. General Assembly declares access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right
The resolution, based on a similar text adopted last year by the Human Rights Council, calls upon States, international organizations, and business enterprises to scale up efforts to ensure a healthy environment for all.
New sensor detects Alzheimer’s up to 17 years in advance
The Bochum researchers hope that an early diagnosis based on the amyloid-beta misfolding could help to apply Alzheimer’s drugs at such an early stage that they have a significantly better effect.
The Ocean Cleanup removes first 100,000kg of plastic from Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Since deployment in August 2021, System 002 (or “Jenny”) has now collected 101,353 kg of plastic over 45 extractions, sweeping an area of over 3000km2 – comparable to the size of Rhode Island.
U.S. to plant 1 billion trees as climate change kills forests
The Forest Service plans over the next couple years to scale up work from about 60,000 acres replanted last year to about 400,000 acres annually.
Swiss scientists invent system that produces jet fuel from carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight
The amount of CO2 emitted during kerosene combustion in a jet engine equals that consumed during its production in the solar plant.
Andorra becomes the 33rd country with marriage equality
The tiny nation’s new law also creates a system for transgender people to update the name and gender marker on legal documents without providing proof of medical care.
Greece bans genital surgery on non-consenting intersex babies
The surgeries are often unnecessary for the health of the child and are performed so that adults feel better about how the child’s genitalia look, even though the child often cannot consent to the procedures.
Nuclear fusion recieves $2.8 billion in investments over last year, more than entire past decade
The solution produces clean energy by fusing together atomic nuclei. Unlike nuclear fission, there is also no risk of radioactive waste and reactor materials can be recycled within 100 to 300 years.