Five U.S. states are repaving roads with unrecyclable plastic waste
Pilot programs are ongoing in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, California, and Hawai’i are already seeing promising results.
California
California is home to some of the nation’s most ambitious climate, housing, and social policy experiments. This archive tracks the progress stories and milestones emerging from the state — from clean energy breakthroughs to community health wins.
American fusion scientists claim net energy gain, in potentially huge renewables breakthrough
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory claim to have generated more energy out of a fusion reaction that they put in — a first in the field and a huge victory for clean energy.
U.S. regulators approve world’s largest-ever dam demolition and river restoration project in California
Removing four dams on California’s Klamath River will reopen more than 300 miles of salmon habitat, making it the largest river restoration project ever attempted. Federal regulators approved the $500 million plan unanimously, capping decades of advocacy led by the Yurok, Karuk, and Hoopa Valley tribes, whose cultures and food systems have been bound to these fish since long before the first dam went up. “The Klamath salmon are coming home,” Yurok Chairman Joseph James said after the vote. As drought reshapes the American West, letting a major river run free again offers a powerful template for healing watersheds, honoring Indigenous leadership, and rethinking what aging infrastructure owes the living world.
California becomes first U.S. state to ban plastic produce bags
Governor Newsom signed a new bill into law that will ban single-use plastic produce bags starting in 2025. The law requires that all such bags be replaced by recycled paper bags or compostable ones.
California legalizes composting human bodies
California has just become the fifth state in the US to legalize the composting of human bodies, a planet-friendly alternative to the toxic process of cremation.
World-first stem cell therapy trial treats spina bifida before birth
The treatment from UC Davis Health involves administering a stem cell patch to the fetus’ spine while still developing in the womb, and early results are promising one year on.
California launches largest free school lunch program in U.S.
When classrooms in California reopen for the fall term, all 6.2 million public school students will have the option to eat school meals for free, regardless of their family’s income.
Patagonia founder gives away entire company to fight climate change
98% of the company’s total shares are now owned by a new organization a 501(c)(4) that Patagonia says will use every dollar not reinvested into the company to “fight the environmental crisis.”
California passes law requiring companies to post salary ranges on job listings
The law will also require California-based companies with more than 100 employees to show their median gender and racial pay gaps — a first for a U.S. state.
San Francisco decriminalizes psychedelics
City lawmakers have unanimously approved a measure calling for the decriminalization of psychedelics like psilocybin and ayahuasca.