Panama bans single-use plastic bags
Panama’s plastic bag ban has gone into effect. Panama became the first Central American country to ban single-use plastic bags in 2018.
2019 C.E.
Millions march worldwide in youth-led climate strike
An estimated four million protesters in over 150 countries marched in the youth led global climate strike.
Thousands of scientists from 40 nations vow to join global climate strike
More than 2,000 scientists from more than 40 countries wrote in an open letter that “solid, incontrovertible evidence” supports climate campaigners’ grave concerns.
Early child mortality has dropped in 96 of the world’s 97 low-to-middle-income countries from 2000 to 2017
From 2000 to 2017,96 low-to-middle-income countries that account for the vast majority of deaths of young children lowered their child mortality, according to a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation report.
Over 6,000 websites and companies are striking to support the Global Climate Strike on September 20th
The strike, which begins three days before the U.N. Climate Summit, hopes to put pressure on politicians and policy makers to combat climate change.
Indonesia raises minimum age for brides to end child marriage
Indonesia’s parliament has revised the country’s marriage law to lift the minimum age at which women can marry by three years to 19, a move welcomed by campaigners as a step toward curbing child marriage.
Merriam-Webster officially recognizes ‘they’ as a nonbinary pronoun
Merriam-Webster has formally acknowledged the use of “they” as a nonbinary, gender neutral pronoun, adding that definition to its dictionary.
Environmental pollution in China is now declining
For decades pollution in China has paralleled economic growth. But this connection has weakened in recent years, according to a new international research study.
The Indian state of Chhattisgarhwill not build any new coal power plants
The falling costs of solar power means that Chhattisgarh is likely to rely on using solar to fill up any excess demand.
2019 ozone hole could be smallest in three decades
The EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) says it’s currently well under half the area usually seen in mid-September.