North & Central America | Peter Schulte

Person happily holding a trans pride flag

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

By Peter Schulte / January 11, 2024 / Good news links

A new law in Maryland requires Medicaid to cover “medically necessary” gender-affirming care for residents — including care well beyond hormones or surgery. The law went into effect on January 1. It requires coverage for “gender-affirming treatment in a nondiscriminatory manner.” Gender-affirming care is considered safe and essential to the well-being of trans people by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and other major U.S. and world health organizations.

Consumption poverty in the U.S. has fallen 27% since 1980

By Peter Schulte / January 10, 2024 / Good News For Humankind

Between 1980 and 2022, consumption poverty fell from 33.8% to 6.0% even though the official poverty rate indicated a drop by only 1.5 percentage points over that same period. According to researchers from the University of Notre Dame, consumption, which measures what families are able to purchase in terms of food, housing, transportation, and other goods and services, offers a better indicator of economic well-being than income, which can fluctuate for reasons unrelated to well-being.

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

By Peter Schulte / January 10, 2024 / Good news links

Building on a previously announced 2.5GW module supply agreement signed in January 2023, Qcells will supply Microsoft with 12GW of solar modules over an 8-year period. Equivalent to powering more than 1.8 million homes annually, the solar modules will be produced in the United States at a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia.

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

By Peter Schulte / January 9, 2024 / Good news links

The team from U.S. biotech firm Novelna wrote: “At stage I (the earliest cancer stage) and at the specificity of 99%, our panels were able to identify 93% of cancers among males and 84% of cancers among females.” It believes its cheaper, less invasive multi-cancer screening test could be a ‘gamechanger.’

Leading heat pump manufacturers develop next-generation prototypes to withstand subfreezing weather

By Peter Schulte / January 8, 2024 / Good news links

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced that four additional heat pump manufacturers successfully produced heat pump prototypes as part of the Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) Technology Challenge. Launched in 2021, this initiative brings together public and private sector stakeholders to address technical challenges and market barriers to adopting next-generation cold-climate heat pumps—a key clean energy technology that can potentially save households $500 a year or more on their utility bills while also slashing harmful carbon emissions.

Suicide-prevention net beneath Golden Gate Bridge completed

By Peter Schulte / January 3, 2024 / Good news links

A long-awaited suicide prevention barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge has been completed, marking the culmination of a tireless campaign by families who lost loved ones at the famous structure. Crews had been working to finish installing stainless steel nets on both sides of the bridge before a promised 2024 deadline.

Offshore wind sites are delivering power to the grid for the first time in U.S. history

By Peter Schulte / January 3, 2024 / Good news links

In December 2023, Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource announced that their first turbine was sending electricity from what will be a 12-turbine wind farm, South Fork Wind, 35 miles east of Montauk Point, New York. Now, the joint owners of the Vineyard Wind project have announced the first electricity from one turbine at what will be a 62-turbine wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.

Doctor dermatologist examines skin of patient

mRNA skin cancer therapy halves risk of death in clinical trial

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

Following promising results from this recent trail, the combination of Moderna’s new mRNA-4157 and KEYTRUDA has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA in the U.S., and accepted into the Priority Medicines scheme by the European Medicines Agency, for the treatment of high-risk melanoma.

Denver meets goal of housing 1000 unhoused people before 2024

By Peter Schulte / January 2, 2024 / Good news links

With the opening of a new micro-community in northeast Denver, Mayor Mike Johnston estimated over 1,100 hundred people will have been housed before the end of 2023. “As of yesterday, this city succeeded, in under six months, in moving more than 1,000 people off of the streets and into housing,” he said.

Homicides in the U.S. see historic decline in 2023

By Peter Schulte / December 29, 2023 / Good news links

Murders are down 12.8% over last year across more than 175 cities, according to criminal justice data analyzed by firm AH Datalytics. The findings come as a recent Gallup poll shows that more than 77% of Americans believe that there is more crime than there was a year ago.