Taiwan legalizes same-sex marriage in historic first for Asia
Lawmakers in Taiwan have approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, making it the first place in Asia to pass gay marriage legislation.
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.
Glasgow commits to be U.K.’s first net-zero city
Susan Aitken, Glasgow City Council leader, said: “We need to be a Net Zero city. And we need to be the U.K.’s first Net Zero city.”
Global investment in coal tumbles by 75% in three years
Estimates suggest 2018 was the first time there has been a reduction in coal-fired power capacity across the world since the industrial revolution.
187 nations signed a UN plastics waste protocol
The protocol requires countries that want to ship their waste products to other nations to first obtain the permission of the receiving nations.
Tanzania bans the use of plastic bags
In a historic conservation move the government of the United Republic of Tanzania has announced the ban on plastic bag use beginning June 1, 2019.
Germany tests its first ‘electric highway’ for trucks
Germany is testing a eHighway system with a hybrid truck receiving power from cables to keep it from using its combustion engine.
World Data Lab projects Kenya to eradicate extreme poverty by 2032
A global data enterprise suggested in a post published last week by a US think tank that the share of abjectly poor Kenyans will drop from nearly 21 percent to 4.3 percent in 2030.
Residential solar booming in Australia: Q1 installations up 46% from 2018
A record amount of new solar capacity has been fitted to Australia’s households and businesses in the first three months of this year, an increase of 46% on the same period last year.
Scientists claim to have created an environmentally friendly alternative to Styrofoam
Scientists at Washington State University say they have developed an experimental foam made primarily from nanocrystals of cellulose – the most abundant plant material on earth.
Bosch pledges to be carbon neutral by 2020
In over 400 locations worldwide, the company will no longer leave a carbon footprint, making Bosch the first major industrial enterprise to achieve this ambitious goal in a little over a year.