Saudi Arabia abolishes “Ta’zir flogging” as punishment
The Saudi Human Rights Commission welcomed the decision, and said: “This decision ensures that those who were once sentenced with floggings, will now receive fines or prison sentences instead.”
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.
Critically endangered Hainan gibbons return from brink of extinction
“Even though the numbers are still small, you can see a future for this animal,” said senior conservation officer Philip Lo Yik-fui of Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Conservation China, which was driving efforts to protect the gibbons and expand their habitat.
University of California becomes U.S.’s largest university to divest fully from fossil fuels
The UC milestone capped a five-year effort to move the public research university system’s $126-billion portfolio into more environmentally sustainable investments. UC officials say their strategy is grounded in concerns about the planet’s future and in what makes financial sense.
21 African countries are joining together to build a 4,750-mile wall of trees
The initiative, known as the Great Green Wall, aims to reclaim 247 million acres of land by the year 2030 and create hundreds of thousands of jobs, while warding off the spread of the Sahara and combating the climate crisis.
23,000 adults and counting volunteer to contract COVID-19 in order to accelerate research
The “1 Day Sooner” campaign is rallying for healthy, low-risk adults to participate in a “human challenge trial” for developing a coronavirus vaccine. Now, almost 24,000 adults and counting across 102 countries have expressed interested.
New plant-based bottles can degrade in one year
The plans, devised by renewable chemicals company Avantium, have already won the support of beer-maker Carlsberg, which hopes to sell its pilsner in a cardboard bottle lined with an inner layer of plant plastic.
World’s largest wealth fund drops $3.3 billion in fossil fuel investments
The world’s biggest wealth fund was built on Norway’s oil and gas production revenue. Now, the fund is taking a stand against global warming by excluding some of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies from its portfolio.
Princeton names its first black valedictorian in the university’s history
“It feels empowering. Being Princeton’s first Black Valedictorian holds special significance to me particularly given Princeton’s historical ties to the institution of slavery,” said Nicholas Johnson, valedictorian of Princeton’s Class of 2020.
Universal basic income seems to improve employment and well-being in Finland
The world’s most robust study of universal basic income has concluded that it boosts recipients’ mental and financial well-being, as well as modestly improving employment.
Britain to invest £2 billion in cycling and walking in response to COVID-19
The government will bring forward a “national cycling plan” to try and double cycling (and increase walking) by 2025. It will trial the use of e-scooters and publish statutory advice for councils to accommodate cyclists and walkers.