New Jersey

New Jersey spans dense urban corridors, farmland, and 130 miles of Atlantic coastline — making it one of the most ecologically and socially complex states in the U.S. This archive collects progress stories from across the Garden State, covering environmental protection, public health, community investment, and civic innovation.

A student placing a smartphone in a storage pouch for an article about the student phone ban in New Jersey schools

New Jersey bans student phones all day in a landmark school law

By / / Good News For Humankind

New Jersey student smartphone ban affects nearly 1.4 million public school students under a sweeping new law requiring all K–12 schools to adopt phone-free policies before the 2025 school year begins. Students must store devices in pouches, lockers, or designated areas throughout the entire school day, with exceptions preserved for medical needs and individualized education programs. The legislation joins a growing national and international movement linking constant phone access to declining attention, anxiety, and depression among adolescents. Research consistently shows that phone-free school environments improve academic performance, with the greatest gains among lower-income students.

A forensic evidence collection kit on a medical table for an article about rape kit testing mandates — 14 words.

New Jersey requires testing of every rape kit under new survivor justice law

By / / Good News For Humankind

Rape kit testing is now mandatory in New Jersey under a new law requiring all sexual assault forensic evidence kits to be submitted to a lab within 45 days and tested within six months. The legislation directly targets a decades-long backlog that left thousands of survivors waiting years for answers while dangerous offenders went unidentified. Survivors also gain the right to track the status of their own evidence. New Jersey joins more than 40 states that have passed similar accountability laws, part of a national movement that has shown testing backlogs leads to identifying serial offenders and preventing future crimes.

A heat pump unit on a home exterior, representing U.S. heat pump sales growth supported by the Kigali Amendment

Nine U.S. states, including California and New York, sign heat pump agreement to clean up air pollution

By / / Good news links

Nine U.S. states have inked an agreement to promote climate-friendly heat pump sales. The memorandum of understanding sets a 2030 target for heat pumps to make up 65% of residential heating, cooling, and water heating equipment sales. By 2040, the goal is for heat pumps to account for 90% of the HVAC and water heating market. The states on board with the agreement include: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

Landfill. A lot of plastic garbage. Environmental problems., for article on plastic waste ban, for article on plastic bag bans

Plastic bag bans in the U.S. have already prevented billions of bags from being used

By / / Good News For Humankind

Plastic bag bans are quietly working — researchers estimate they eliminate nearly 300 single-use bags per person each year in places that adopt them. A new report from three nonprofits looked at policies in New Jersey, Vermont, Philadelphia, Portland, and Santa Barbara, and found New Jersey’s statewide ban alone keeps more than 5.5 billion bags out of circulation every year. More than 500 U.S. cities and 12 states have now passed similar restrictions, with Georgia and Massachusetts possibly next. People adjust faster than skeptics expect, bringing their own bags or simply going without. It’s a small daily habit shift that, multiplied across millions of shoppers, shows how thoughtful policy can ripple outward into cleaner waterways and healthier communities.

Car engine

New Jersey to ban sales of gas-powered cars by 2035

By / / Good news links

Under the state Department of Environmental Protection’s “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule, manufacturers must ensure that 43% of new light-duty vehicles they make in 2027 are electric, with the percentage rising annually to 100% by 2035. Most consumer cars and pickup trucks are considered light-duty.