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.

Aerial view of dense tropical rainforest canopy for an article about the Maya Biosphere Reserve oil field closure

Guatemala permanently closes major oil field inside protected rainforest

By / / Good News For Humankind

Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve has taken a landmark step forward as the government permanently closed the Xan oil field rather than renew its operating concession. The facility once produced nearly 90% of Guatemala’s oil while operating inside a protected national park, a arrangement conservationists long considered incompatible with the reserve’s ecological importance. The former infrastructure is now being converted into a joint military and police security hub to combat illegal ranching, logging, and drug trafficking. A dedicated .5 million conservation fund will support local communities, restoration projects, and long-term monitoring across one of the most biodiverse tropical forest corridors in the Americas.

Kayakers paddling the calm urban waters of the Chicago River for an article about the Chicago River open-water swim

Chicago River will host its first open-water swim in nearly a century

By / / Good News For Humankind

For the first time in nearly 100 years, swimmers are set to enter the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, marking a milestone in one of America’s most remarkable urban environmental recoveries. A Long Swim is organizing the historic event as both a celebration of decades of cleanup efforts and a fundraiser for youth swim education in underrepresented communities. Sustained investment in policy, infrastructure, and civic organizing has transformed a once-toxic waterway into a recovering ecosystem now home to fish, turtles, beavers, and the famous snapping turtle Chonkosaurus. Chicago’s turnaround is being watched as a model for degraded urban rivers worldwide.

Tall older-growth trees in a dense Pacific Northwest forest for an article about Washington legacy forests protection

Washington state permanently protects 77,000 acres of legacy forests

By / / Good News For Humankind

Legacy forests in Washington State gained permanent protection on August 26, 2025, when Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove signed an order shielding 77,000 acres of ecologically rich older forest from logging. Officials at the Department of Natural Resources called it the most significant forest conservation decision in a generation. The protected stands store exceptional amounts of carbon, support wildlife corridors, and could develop old-growth characteristics within decades if left undisturbed. Sustained public activism, including tree-sit protests, helped drive the decision, demonstrating how civic pressure can produce concrete policy change on a measurable timeline.

Aerial view of dense tropical rainforest canopy for an article about Mayan forest protection

Three nations sign agreement to protect 14 million acres of Mayan forest

By / / Good News For Humankind

Mayan forest protection took a historic step forward on August 15, 2025, when the leaders of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize signed an agreement to safeguard more than 14 million acres of tropical forest as the Great Mayan Jungle Biocultural Corridor. The deal covers the Selva Maya, the largest continuous tropical forest in the Americas north of the Amazon, anchored in part by Belize’s biodiverse Bladen Nature Reserve. What sets this agreement apart is its formal integration of Indigenous Maya governance into conservation oversight, recognizing that cultural stewardship and ecological protection are inseparable. Significant challenges remain, but the commitment represents one of the most ambitious multilateral conservation efforts in the Western Hemisphere.

The Massachusetts State House dome in Boston for an article about Massachusetts shield law protections

Massachusetts Senate passes Shield Act 2.0 to protect abortion and gender-affirming care

By / / Good News For Humankind

Massachusetts Shield Act 2.0 passed the state Senate 37-3 on June 26, 2025, strengthening protections for patients and providers seeking abortion care and gender-affirming care within the state. The updated law bars state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state or federal investigations targeting legally protected healthcare, restricts sharing of patient data, and mandates emergency care at acute-care hospitals. Critically, it extends new protections to clinicians themselves, allowing prescriptions under practice names and removing certain medications from drug monitoring programs to reduce provider exposure. The bill now moves to the Massachusetts House, representing the state’s third expansion of these protections in three years.

Aerial view of a vegetated wildlife overpass spanning a busy highway for an article about Greenland wildlife overpass

Colorado’s Greenland wildlife overpass is now the largest in the world

By / / Good News For Humankind

Colorado’s Greenland Wildlife Overpass, completed in December 2025, is now the largest wildlife crossing on Earth — nearly an acre wide and built to reconnect elk, pronghorn, and mule deer across one of the state’s busiest highways. The structure links 39,000 acres of conserved Douglas County land with over one million acres of Pike National Forest, restoring a migration corridor fragmented by Interstate 25. As part of an 18-mile system of crossings and fencing, it is projected to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions by up to 90 percent. At 5 million, the investment is modest compared to the cumulative cost of doing nothing.

A new residential building under construction in New York for an article about New York gas ban

New York becomes the first U.S. state to ban gas in new buildings

By / / Good News For Humankind

New York’s statewide gas ban in new construction became law on July 25, 2025, making New York the first U.S. state to require all-electric systems in new buildings. The State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council approved rules mandating heat pumps and induction stoves in new construction under seven stories starting December 31, 2025. A federal court upheld the policy just days earlier, signaling that states have legal authority to pursue building decarbonization despite industry challenges. With buildings responsible for nearly a third of New York’s emissions, the move addresses both climate goals and public health, particularly in communities disproportionately harmed by fossil fuel pollution.

A medical professional preparing an injectable syringe for an article about lenacapavir HIV prevention, for article on annual HIV injection

FDA approves twice-yearly lenacapavir HIV prevention shot with 99.9% effectiveness

By / / Good News For Humankind

Lenacapavir HIV prevention has reached a landmark moment: the FDA has approved the twice-yearly injectable drug — brand name Yeztugo — as the first long-acting PrEP option in history. Clinical trials showed it stopped transmission in more than 99.9% of participants, outperforming daily oral PrEP across tens of thousands of people. The breakthrough matters because adherence to daily medication has always been the weak point in HIV prevention, particularly in high-burden communities facing stigma and limited clinic access. Gilead has also signed royalty-free licensing agreements to supply affordable versions to 120 countries, prioritizing sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.

Aerial view of boreal forest and lakes in Canada for an article about Canada land conservation

Canada commits .3 billion to protect nearly 30% of its land and water

By / / Good News For Humankind

Canada land conservation is receiving a historic .3 billion federal investment over five years, targeting protection of at least 17% of the country’s land and freshwater with a longer-term goal of 30% by 2030. The funding is already expanding national and provincial parks across the country, including Indigenous co-managed wilderness areas in Alberta. This matters because Canada holds 20% of Earth’s wild forests and nearly a third of its land-stored carbon, making its conservation choices globally significant. With over half of monitored Canadian species in decline since 1970, scientists say bold, sustained action is urgently needed.

A woman reading a letter at a kitchen table for an article about Arizona medical debt relief

Arizona erases 29 million in medical debt for 352,000 residents

By / / Good News For Humankind

Arizona medical debt relief made headlines as Governor Katie Hobbs canceled 29 million in unpaid medical bills for more than 352,000 residents, requiring nothing from recipients except opening a letter. The state partnered with nonprofit Undue Medical Debt, turning a 0 million investment into roughly 43 dollars of relief for every dollar spent. Medical debt disproportionately burdens lower-income households and people of color, triggering credit damage, housing instability, and delayed care. This cancellation represents one of the largest state-led debt relief efforts in U.S. history and signals a replicable model for states seeking meaningful financial relief within existing constraints.