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.

Dam, for article on Klamath River dam removal

Work begins along California-Oregon border on largest dam removal project in U.S. history

By / / Good News For Humankind

Klamath River restoration is now the largest dam removal effort in U.S. history, reopening more than 400 miles of river to salmon once the last three dams come down. But the real story is what comes next: members of the Karuk, Yurok, and other tribal nations spent five years hand-gathering seeds from nearly 100 native plant species, and roughly 17 billion of those seeds will be sown along the freed riverbanks over the coming decade. Tribal ecological knowledge is shaping every phase, woven together with western science. For Indigenous communities worldwide fighting to restore ancestral waters, the Klamath offers a powerful template — proof that rivers, and the cultures rooted in them, can be brought back to life.

Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti, for article on Lisa Franchetti naval operations

Admiral Lisa Franchetti to become the first female top officer in the U.S. Navy

By / / Good News For Humankind

Admiral Lisa Franchetti’s nomination as the U.S. Navy’s top officer would make her the first woman ever to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the body’s history. A 38-year veteran who commissioned in 1985, she’s already only the second woman to reach four-star admiral in the Navy’s nearly 250 years. Her path includes commanding two carrier strike groups and leading U.S. Naval Forces Korea — the kind of operational résumé that speaks for itself. Her nomination came alongside several other historic firsts at the Pentagon, signaling a real generational shift in who gets to lead. It’s a reminder that the long, patient work of opening doors at the very top of powerful institutions does, eventually, move forward.