Los Angeles County mandates compostable and recyclable dining ware
This new ordinance will also ban the sale of expanded polystyrene foam, more commonly known as Styrofoam, in items like coolers, dining ware, and pool toys.
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Denmark announces aggressive carbon tax
Companies that do not pay for their pollution in the EU quota system now must pay DKK 750 per ton of CO2 they emit.
Taiwan’s ‘biggest offshore wind farm’ generates its first power
According to Orsted, the facility will eventually generate enough power to meet the needs of 1 million households in Taiwan.
Formerly warring factions in Burundi have now planted over 150 million trees together since 2018
In 2018, Burundi launched a vast national reforestation program to boost the country’s dwindling forest cover, which will run until 2025.
First COVID-19 breath test authorized for use in U.S.
The device takes three minutes to return results and has been found to be over 90 percent accurate in detecting positive COVID-19 cases.
Spain bans harassment of women entering abortion clinics
The legal changes mean that anyone harassing a woman going into an abortion clinic will be committing a crime that can be punished with up to one year in prison.
U.S. forgives 40,000 student loans, provides aid to 3.6 million more
The government said it was addressing “historical failures” to communicate to borrowers all the benefits they were eligible for in federal student loan programs.
India’s extreme poverty down by 12% in last decade, according to World Bank
The global bank’s policy research team said the poverty headcount in the country has dropped from 22.5% in 2011 to 10.2% in 2019 with rural areas showing better results.
Indian companies invest big in renewable energy projects in economically-struggling Sri Lanka
As one example, Adani Group recently agreed to develop 500 megawatts of renewable energy projects in Mannar and Pooneryn provinces.
Quebec became the first jurisdiction in the world to explicitly ban oil and gas development in its territory
For two decades, citizens have mobilized against different oil and gas projects in Quebec, including shale gas in the St. Lawrence Valley and oil projects in Gaspésie.