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.

Back of a school bus, for article on electric school buses

Miami commits to putting 100 electric school buses on the road

By / / Good News For Humankind

Electric school buses are about to transform the daily commute for Miami-Dade students, with the district rolling out 100 of them thanks to a $19.1 million EPA grant, a Volkswagen award, and the school system’s own early investment. That makes it one of the largest electric school bus fleets in the country. The shift means cleaner air for kids waiting at the curb and quieter rides for the drivers behind the wheel, with no tailpipe emissions along the route. Miami-Dade’s blended funding approach — district dollars, federal support, and a corporate settlement — offers a model other communities can follow as the movement to electrify America’s roughly 480,000 school buses gathers speed.

Landfill. A lot of plastic garbage. Environmental problems., for article on plastic waste ban, for article on plastic bag bans

Plastic bag bans in the U.S. have already prevented billions of bags from being used

By / / Good News For Humankind

Plastic bag bans are quietly working — researchers estimate they eliminate nearly 300 single-use bags per person each year in places that adopt them. A new report from three nonprofits looked at policies in New Jersey, Vermont, Philadelphia, Portland, and Santa Barbara, and found New Jersey’s statewide ban alone keeps more than 5.5 billion bags out of circulation every year. More than 500 U.S. cities and 12 states have now passed similar restrictions, with Georgia and Massachusetts possibly next. People adjust faster than skeptics expect, bringing their own bags or simply going without. It’s a small daily habit shift that, multiplied across millions of shoppers, shows how thoughtful policy can ripple outward into cleaner waterways and healthier communities.

Manhattan skyline, for article on medical debt relief

New York City plans to wipe out $2 billion in medical debt for 500,000 residents

By / / Good News For Humankind

Medical debt relief is coming to New York City in a big way: a new program will wipe out more than $2 billion in unpaid medical bills for as many as 500,000 residents, no application required. The city is spending $18 million over three years and partnering with the nonprofit RIP Medical Debt, which buys debt portfolios for pennies on the dollar and simply cancels them. Eligible families will just receive a letter letting them know their balance is gone. With roughly 100 million Americans carrying some form of health care debt, this kind of municipal action offers a hopeful template — one that treats medical debt not as private misfortune, but as something cities can actually help fix.

Person receiving shot in the arm, for article on melanoma cancer vaccine

Cancer vaccine with minimal side effects nearing Phase 3 clinical trials

By / / Good News For Humankind

A personalized cancer vaccine is heading into Phase 3 trials after a remarkable Phase 2 result: nearly 95% of advanced melanoma patients who received only the vaccine were still alive three years later. What makes Dr. Thomas Wagner’s TLPO vaccine so striking isn’t just the survival numbers — it’s the gentleness. Patients report little more than a sore arm and mild fatigue, a world away from the dread of chemotherapy. The vaccine is made from each patient’s own tumor cells, teaching their immune system to recognize cancer as the threat it is. If the larger trial holds up, it could reshape how we think about treating cancer everywhere — not as something to endure, but something to outsmart.

The White House

Biden administration to forgive $4.9 billion in student debt for 73,600 borrowers

By / / Good news links

The Biden administration has now canceled more than $136 billion in student debt for over 3.7 million Americans, according to the White House. Around $1.7 billion of this new aid will go to 29,700 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. In addition, 43,900 borrowers who have worked in public service for a decade or more will receive $3.2 billion in loan cancellation.

Artist's concept of a solar power satellite in place, for article on space solar power

First ever space-to-Earth solar power mission succeeds

By / / Good News For Humankind

Space-based solar power just cleared a milestone scientists have been chasing since the 1970s: a Caltech satellite spent a year in orbit, collected sunlight, and beamed it wirelessly back to a ground receiver on Earth. The SSPD-1 mission completed all three of its planned experiments, including testing an origami-inspired panel that unfolds without hinges and a purpose-built microwave transmitter. The appeal is simple — above the atmosphere, the Sun never sets, no clouds get in the way, and power could flow around the clock. Caltech’s team is honest that commercial-scale space solar is still years off, with cost and radiation durability to solve. But moving this idea from whiteboard to working demonstration brings humanity a real step closer to truly continuous clean energy.

Person happily holding a trans pride flag, for article on gender-affirming care

Maryland to cover unprecedented number of gender-affirming procedures in “groundbreaking” win

By / / Good News For Humankind

Maryland’s Medicaid program now covers gender-affirming care that reaches far beyond hormones and surgery, including voice therapy, fertility preservation, hair and scar removal, and a wide range of procedures. Under a law that took effect January 1, 2024, patients can only be denied a covered service if a clinician finds it would harm their individual health — never on the basis of identity. The bill grew directly out of conversations at Pride festivals and support groups across the state, shaped by trans Marylanders describing the barriers they faced. For residents like Renee Lau, who had been saving toward surgeries she couldn’t afford, the relief is immediate. As other states move to restrict trans healthcare, Maryland offers a hopeful template for how Medicaid can meet people where they are.

A family grocery shopping together for an article about consumption poverty in the U.S.

U.S. consumption poverty has fallen 27 percentage points since 1980

By / / Good News For Humankind

Consumption poverty in the United States has fallen dramatically since 1980, according to a major new study from the University of Notre Dame. Researchers found the poverty rate dropped 27 percentage points when measured by what families actually spend rather than what they report earning. The official income-based measure, by contrast, showed only a 1.5 percentage point decline over the same period. The findings suggest decades of policy investment in Social Security, tax credits, and safety net programs have produced far greater results than conventional statistics indicate.

Solar farm, for article on U.S. solar supply chain

Microsoft places massive 12GW solar module order, bolstering U.S. solar supply chain

By / / Good News For Humankind

Microsoft just inked a deal for 12 gigawatts of American-made solar panels — enough to power more than 1.8 million homes a year. The eight-year agreement with manufacturer Qcells will be supplied by a Georgia factory that handles everything from raw silicon to finished module under one roof, a rarity in an industry where most panels travel across oceans before reaching a project site. By committing to such a long runway, Microsoft gives manufacturers the confidence to build out capacity that might otherwise sit on the drawing board for years. It’s a glimpse of what the clean energy transition looks like when corporate demand, smart industrial policy, and domestic factories actually pull in the same direction.

Cancer cells, for article on multi-cancer blood test

New protein test can detect 18 early stage cancers, scientists say

By / / Good News For Humankind

A new blood test can screen for 18 different cancers at once — covering every major organ in the body — using a single ordinary blood draw. Researchers at U.S. biotech firm Novelna found the test caught 93% of earliest-stage cancers in male samples and 84% in female samples, while also pinpointing which organ the cancer came from in more than 80% of cases. Instead of hunting for tumor DNA, the team analyzed proteins in blood plasma, picking up faint signals before a tumor does visible damage. Larger studies are still needed before it reaches clinics, but a cheap, accurate, broad screening tool would be a quiet revolution for global health — especially in places where late diagnosis is still the norm.