North & Central America

This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central America. Readers will find reporting on health, environment, community resilience, and policy advances across the region.

Mendocino coast, for article on Indigenous land return

California returns 136 acres of coastline to Indigenous tribes in a state first

By / / Good News For Humankind

Indigenous land return in California just reached a milestone that could open doors for tribes across the state. Three Pomo nations will now steward Blues Beach and its surrounding bluffs in Mendocino County — a stretch of coastline their ancestors lived on, gathered from, and held as sacred. A new state law made this possible, creating the legal pathway for Caltrans to transfer land to tribal governments for the first time. The tribes plan cultural camps, ecological surveys, and careful stewardship on their own terms. This is what land justice can look like when policy catches up with principle.

Wind turbines, for article on SunZia wind project

Largest-ever U.S. renewable energy project comes online, supplying power to 1 million homes

By / / Good News For Humankind

SunZia is now the largest wind energy project in U.S. history, and its scale changes what Americans can imagine building. Its 916 turbines generate more power than the Hoover Dam, delivered through one of the first major long-distance HVDC transmission lines completed in the country in decades. Over 30 years, the project will send $1.3 billion directly to local governments, schools, and landowners in New Mexico and Arizona — communities that have long watched energy wealth flow elsewhere. It’s proof that transformational clean energy infrastructure can actually get built, and a model other regions will be watching closely.

Abstract visual, for article on LSD-based drug

Single dose of LSD-based drug shows significant depression relief in key Phase 3 trial

By / / Good News For Humankind

A single-dose LSD-based drug has just cleared one of medicine’s highest evidentiary bars — offering meaningful, durable relief from major depressive disorder in a rigorous Phase 3 trial. DT120 ODT, a pharmaceutically refined lysergide compound, produced an 8.1-point improvement on the standard depression scale compared to placebo, with nearly all side effects mild and resolving the same day. For the millions who cycle through daily antidepressants without real relief, a single-dose model represents a genuinely different kind of hope — and a signal that psychedelic-assisted medicine is maturing into a serious contender in mainstream psychiatric care.

EV charging stations at night, for article on public EV charging ports

U.S. now has 250,000 public EV charging ports, more than doubling since 2021

By / / Good News For Humankind

Public EV charging in America has doubled since 2021, and the milestone reveals just how fast the country’s clean transportation backbone is growing. The U.S. now has over 250,000 public charging ports — and thousands more are already in the pipeline. Fast chargers are spreading along major travel corridors, while libraries, restaurants, and retailers are quietly adding chargers that work while you live your life. Every country watching this buildout sees proof that large-scale EV infrastructure is achievable — and that momentum, once established, is hard to stop.

Person giving blood, for article on blood donation ban

Canada removes ban on blood donations from gay men

By / / Good News For Humankind

Canada’s shift to behaviour-based blood donation screening closes a 30-year chapter in which gay and bisexual men were turned away not because of anything they did, but because of who they are. Starting September 30, 2022, donors will be assessed on individual risk behaviours — the same standard applied to everyone else. More than eight countries, including the U.K., France, and Brazil, have already made similar moves, signalling a global reckoning with policies that lagged far behind the science. This is what it looks like when health systems finally catch up to both the evidence and human dignity.

School bus on the road, for article on electric school bus mandate

New York enacts first-in-nation plan to electrify all state school buses

By / / Good News For Humankind

New York’s commitment to electrifying all 50,000 of its school buses sets a new standard for what statewide climate and children’s health policy can look like together. More than two million students — disproportionately from low-income communities — currently ride to school in diesel buses linked to asthma, reduced lung development, and cognitive harm. At least $500 million in state funding, paired with federal support, gives districts a real financial path forward. For advocates working to make clean air a guarantee rather than a privilege, this is a proof of concept other states can follow.

Stethoscope on top of a stock of hundred dollar bills, for article on medical debt cancellation, for article on medical debt cancellation, for article on medical debt cancellation

Connecticut has erased $513 million in medical debt for 250,000 residents since 2024

By / / Good News For Humankind

Medical debt relief is reaching Connecticut residents automatically — no application, no paperwork, just a letter confirming the debt is gone. The state partnered with a nonprofit that purchases debt portfolios at steep discounts, meaning every $6.5 million in public funding has erased roughly $100 in debt for every dollar spent. Relief flows automatically to residents earning under 400% of the federal poverty level, or whose medical debt exceeds 5% of their annual income. Because medical debt falls hardest on people already facing barriers to care, this model — now spreading across multiple states — points toward something genuinely replicable.

Busy Chicago street, for article on U.S. homicide rate

U.S. homicides dropped 21% in 2025, to likely the lowest rate in 125 years

By / / Good News For Humankind

Homicides in the U.S. fell faster in 2025 than any single year on record, and researchers say the rate may now be the lowest since 1900 — a remarkable marker in a decades-long arc toward safer cities. The drop touched nearly every major crime category and 27 of 35 cities studied, from Richmond to Los Angeles. Experts point to community intervention programs, stronger social fabric rebuilt after pandemic disruption, and courts finally functioning again. It’s a reminder that safety improves when people, institutions, and neighborhoods work together — and that sustained, human-centered investment can move the needle in lasting ways.

plastic pellets, aka nurdles, on a beach, for article on plastic pellet pollution law

Illinois becomes first Great Lakes state to pass plastic pellet pollution law

By / / Good News For Humankind

In a watershed moment for tackling industrial pollution at its source, Illinois has become the first Great Lakes state to hold plastic pellet makers legally accountable for spills. These lentil-sized beads, called nurdles, escape during production and shipping, poison waterways, and get mistaken for food by fish and birds; an estimated 22 million pounds of plastic waste enters the Great Lakes yearly. The new law classifies nurdles as pollutants, requires spill-prevention plans from producers, and directs the state to develop stormwater controls — shifting cleanup costs off communities and onto industry across one of the world’s most critical freshwater systems.

New York City park, for article on urban forest plan

New York City’s first urban forest plan targets its hottest, least-shaded blocks

By / / Good News For Humankind

New York City’s first Urban Forest Plan aims to grow tree canopy from 23.4% to 30% of the city’s surface by 2040, with a focus on neighborhoods that have been left in the sun for too long. Right now, environmental justice communities sit under about 19% canopy cover, while wealthier areas enjoy 26% — a gap you can feel on a hot summer afternoon. The plan protects existing trees, expands planting on streets and private land, and trains residents, including NYCHA tenants, to care for the urban forest. It’s a hopeful reminder that shade, cooler air, and cleaner streets are infrastructure every neighborhood deserves.