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.
Previous legislation in Alabama was discriminatory towards LGBTQ individuals and required that curriculums emphasize “that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public.”
In the US, coal power plants experienced the country’s lowest annual coal consumption since 1965, and the fossil fuel is expected to reach levels last seen in the 19th century in coming years, reports Bloomberg.
The Biden administration has reversed a Trump-era policy that allowed healthcare providers to discriminate against LGBTQ people if they claimed a religious exemption.
Running on 2-nanometer chips, cell phone batteries are expected to last four times longer, laptops could get significantly faster, and the carbon footprint of data centers could be slashed thanks to higher energy efficiency.
The IEA’s “renewable energy market update” forecasts nearly 40% higher growth in 2021 than it expected a year ago, putting wind and solar on track to match global gas capacity by 2022.
Such federal charges are rare, notes npr.org, because it is difficult to meet the high legal bar they require.
Vermont is the 14th state to ban the gay and trans “panic defense” that allowed defendants to justify murder by saying they were surprised to find out someone is an LGBTQ person.
The US buries an estimated 5.3 million gallons of embalming fluid each year, which is toxic to the natural environment. Although cremation removes this factor, each cremation emits about as much as a 500-mile car drive.
Home cannabis cultivators can grow up to six plants per person, or 12 plants per household. Police will no longer be able to use the scent of cannabis as grounds for arrest.
All three defendants have also been charged in a separate state proceeding with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
