Ethiopia will plant 5 billion trees this year to tackle climate change
Ethiopia is working on planting five billion trees this year, part of an ambitious plan to plant 20 billion seedlings by 2024 to help build a green climate resistant economy.
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
This archive spans the years 2017 through 2025, a period marked by rapid advances in clean energy, medicine, technology, and social equity. It collects documented breakthroughs, policy wins, and scientific achievements from the present era. If you want evidence that progress is real and ongoing, this is where to look.
No-knock warrants banned in Louisville in law named for Breonna Taylor
The Louisville Metro Council has voted unanimously to ban no-knock warrants. The legislation was titled Breonna’s Law, in honor of Breonna Taylor whose death became one of the rallying points in protests against police violence.
U.S. Supreme Court rules employers cannot discriminate against LGBTQ+ workers
The Supreme Court has ruled that a landmark 1964 civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers from discrimination in a historic victory for the LGBTQ+ community. The six-to-three verdict for the first time extends federal workplace protections to LGBTQ+ workers nationwide.
Band-Aid will now make bandages for darker skin tones
Band-Aid’s traditional soft-pink bandages have long been a point of contention among people of color who have questioned why white skin is the default shade for a range of flesh-toned products, including nude bras and other garments.
Intuit hits 100% renewable electricity goal 10 years early
The 419 MW Mesquite Star wind farm was just completed in Fisher County, Texas, and is now providing electricity for Ecolab, Lowe’s, Intuit, and Brown University. In the case of Intuit, the company has now reached its 100% renewable electricity goal.
IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft stop selling facial recognition software to police
Advocacy groups like the ACLU have long raised significant privacy concerns regarding facial recognition. Researchers like Joy Buolamwini, Timnit Gebru, and Deborah Raji have demonstrated that these technologies can come with built-in racial and gender biases.
NASCAR bans Confederate flag at all events and properties
“The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry,” NASCAR said.
Scientists around the world will go on one-day strike to protest institutional racism
Thousands of researchers and STEM professionals, including two prominent scientific journals, have vowed to not partake in business as usual on Wednesday as an act of solidarity with ongoing protests against racial injustice.
Scientists find a switch to flip and turn off breast cancer growth and metastasis
Researchers at Tulane University School of Medicine have also discovered a way to inhibit an aggressive form of breast cancer from occurring. The animal study results have been so compelling that the team is now working on FDA approval to begin clinical trials.
Germany forces all petrol stations to provide electric car charging
Germany said it will oblige all petrol stations to offer electric car charging as part of a sweeping 130 billion euro ($146.26 billion) economic recovery plan, boosting electric vehicle demand which has been hampered by consumer concerns over refuelling.