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.

A musician playing traditional Irish fiddle outdoors, for an article about basic income for artists in Ireland

Ireland’s basic income for artists pilot is set to become permanent

By / / Good News For Humankind

Basic income for artists proved its worth in Ireland’s three-year pilot, with evaluation data showing increased creative output, improved mental health, and more ambitious work across all disciplines. Roughly 2,000 artists received approximately €325 per week through a lottery system, freeing them from precarious side work and enabling projects that market pressures would otherwise have made impossible. The Irish government has now named permanent implementation a formal policy goal, potentially making Ireland a global model for treating cultural labor as a public good. Challenges around access equity and legal permanence remain, but the evidence is clear: economic stability helps artists create more and better work.

A rainbow flag displayed near a city street for an article about same-sex census recognition in South Korea

South Korea’s national census counts same-sex couples as spouses for the first time

By / / Good News For Humankind

South Korea same-sex census recognition marks a historic first as the country’s 2025 Population and Housing Census now allows same-sex couples to register as spouses or cohabiting partners in national statistics. For years, the system returned an error when same-sex couples attempted to identify their relationships accurately, rendering LGBT families effectively invisible to the government. The update creates an empirical foundation for future policy discussions on healthcare, housing, and legal protections. While South Korea still does not legally recognize same-sex marriage, being counted in official data is a meaningful step toward inclusion that advocates and researchers can build on.

Smoke stacks at a retired coal power plant for an article about coal-free New England

New England becomes coal-free as its last power plant closes permanently

By / / Good News For Humankind

Coal-free New England marks a milestone in U.S. energy history with the permanent closure of Merrimack Station in Bow, New Hampshire. The 480-megawatt plant, the region’s last coal-fired facility, ended commercial operations on September 12th following a settlement between owner Granite Shore Power and environmental groups. The shutdown makes New England the largest coal-free electricity market in the United States, nearly 18 months ahead of its original 2028 retirement date. The closure reflects decades of sustained advocacy, shifting economics, and expanding renewable capacity across the six-state grid.

A humpback whale breaching off the Australian coast for an article about humpback whale recovery

Eastern Australian humpback whales now exceed pre-whaling population numbers

By / / Good News For Humankind

Humpback whale recovery in eastern Australia has reached a milestone once considered impossible, with the population surpassing 50,000 individuals in 2024 — exceeding pre-whaling numbers for the first time. Just sixty years ago, industrial hunting had reduced this group to roughly 150 survivors. The turnaround followed a 1963 International Whaling Commission ban and decades of careful monitoring, including a citizen science effort tracking over 15,000 individually identified whales. Beyond the conservation achievement, the return of large whale populations actively restores ocean health through nutrient cycling that supports marine food webs and carbon absorption.

A fast-flowing river in West Africa at sunset, for an article about river blindness elimination in Niger — 13 words ✓

Niger becomes first African country free of river blindness

By / / Good News For Humankind

River blindness elimination in Africa has reached a landmark moment: Niger is the first country on the continent declared free of onchocerciasis, following formal World Health Organization verification that transmission of the parasite has been fully interrupted. The achievement closes a cycle of infection that once forced entire communities to abandon fertile river valley land rather than risk permanent blindness. Built on more than 50 years of mass ivermectin distribution, community health networks, and sustained political commitment, Niger’s success proves that elimination targets for neglected tropical diseases are genuinely achievable. The verified milestone also reopens productive agricultural land and signals a realistic path forward for neighboring countries still working toward the same goal.

A person holding an insulin pen for an article about California low-cost insulin program

California launches its own low-cost insulin program at 1 per pen

By / / Good News For Humankind

California’s low-cost insulin program marks a historic first in American healthcare. Starting January 1, 2026, California will sell state-branded insulin pens for just 1 each through its CalRx program, undercutting pharmaceutical prices that can run four to seven times higher. The state partnered with nonprofit manufacturer Civica Rx to produce the biosimilar medication, bypassing the market forces that have made insulin unaffordable for millions. With over 38 million Americans living with diabetes, this publicly backed manufacturing model could offer a replicable blueprint for addressing runaway prescription drug costs nationwide.

A volunteer distributes food to unhoused people outdoors for an article about California homeless aid law

California becomes first state to protect homeless aid workers from fines and arrest

By / / Good News For Humankind

California’s new homeless aid law, Senate Bill 634, makes the state the first in the nation to explicitly protect people who provide food, water, and essential supplies to unhoused residents from fines, citations, and arrests. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation after years of cities using zoning rules and permit requirements to penalize volunteers, faith groups, and mutual aid networks simply for showing up to help. The law closes a legal gap that allowed local governments to criminalize charitable acts while leaving the informal safety net vulnerable. Advocates call it a civil rights milestone that protects both the right to give help and the right to receive it.

A green sea turtle swimming above a seagrass meadow for an article about green sea turtle recovery

Green sea turtles are no longer endangered, IUCN confirms

By / / Good News For Humankind

Green sea turtle recovery marks a major conservation milestone, as the IUCN removed the species from its endangered list for the first time in decades. The 2025 reassessment found nesting populations have grown significantly since the 1970s, driven by legal protections, beach patrols, marine protected areas, and preservation of the seagrass meadows turtles depend on. The recovery spans dozens of countries and combines satellite science, Indigenous ecological knowledge, and community stewardship. Threats including bycatch and climate change remain, but this achievement offers a documented model for what sustained, cooperative conservation effort can accomplish.

A calm freshwater lake at golden hour for an article about Lake Muskegon Great Lakes cleanup

Lake Muskegon is removed from federal pollution list after 40 years of Great Lakes cleanup

By / / Good News For Humankind

Lake Muskegon in Michigan has been officially removed from the U.S. EPA’s Areas of Concern list, making it one of the few Great Lakes sites to fully achieve this designation in four decades. State and federal officials confirmed the lake resolved all nine of its identified environmental impairments, from toxic sediment to unsafe fishing conditions. An 4 million federal investment through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative drove large-scale dredging and habitat restoration. Native fish populations are returning, and residents can now safely fish and swim. With 25 sites still remaining, Muskegon proves sustained commitment can reverse serious ecological damage.

Solar panels installed on rooftops in an African village for an article about Africa solar imports, for article on gigawatt-scale solar farm

Africa solar imports surge 60% in a year, pointing to a continent-wide energy leapfrog

By / / Good News For Humankind

Solar panel imports across Africa surged 60% in the year to June 2025, reaching a record 15,032 MW in the most geographically widespread clean energy expansion the continent has ever seen. Unlike previous spikes driven by a single country’s crisis, this wave spread across 20 nations setting new import records, including dramatic rises in Algeria, Zambia, Nigeria, and countries where reliable electricity has never existed. For nearly 600 million Africans without power access, decentralized solar offers a faster, cheaper path than waiting for centralized grids to arrive. The surge suggests energy leapfrogging is happening in practice, not just theory.