Archive of Human Genius

The world’s largest database of good news and social change milestones from throughout human history

We are building the world’s largest database of social change milestones, from the first fire to today’s good news. Change is not only possible, it has happened consistently throughout human history. Filter by era, country, topic, actor, source, and more.

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  • Squirrel monkey
    2024 C.E. February 1

    New fund supports Indigenous-led land management in biodiverse area of Bolivia

    The Wildlife Conservation Society launched the new funding mechanism, in collaboration with Bolivia’s Foundation for the Development of the National System of Protected Areas. The new mechanism will channel conservation funds to Indigenous organizations in the Madidi Landscape, one of the most biodiverse terrestrial protected areas in the world. The new fund has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund.


  • Meskel Square traffic in Addis Ababa
    2024 C.E. February 1

    Ethiopia to ban non-electric car imports

    The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics recently announced that motor vehicles will soon be banned from importation in favor of electric vehicles. This measure is part of the Green development master plan 2021-2030 approved by the Ethiopian parliament, which aims to import at least 152,800 electric vehicles over 10 years.


  • Depiction of nerve cells
    2024 C.E. February 1

    Researchers discover an effective non-opioid treatment for nerve pain

    Many available pain medications aren’t effective in reducing this often-debilitating type of chronic pain. However, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), in collaboration with UT Dallas and the University of Miami, may have advanced the treatment of neuropathic pain by discovering a molecule that reduces mechanical hypersensitivity in mice.


  • Woman putting organic waste in the compost bin
    2024 C.E. February 1

    France implements compulsory composting

    As of January 2024, municipalities in France must now provide residents with ways to sort bio-waste, which includes food scraps, vegetable peels, expired food and garden waste. Households and businesses are required to dispose of organic matter either in a dedicated small bin for home collection or at a municipal collection point. The waste will then be turned into biogas or compost to replace chemical fertilizers.


  • Traffic in a Chinese city
    2024 C.E. January 31

    25% of new car sales in China were fully electric in 2023 for the first time ever

    Electric vehicles sales in China, the world's largest automotive market, are surging. All plugin models accounted for 37% of the market in 2023, up from just 6% at the end of 2021. Full electrics (BEVs) alone accounted for 25%. Plugins are expected to cross the 50% mark for plugins and electric by 2026, with BEVs likely to account for over a third of sales, if current trends persist.


  • Empty office desk and chairs
    2024 C.E. January 31

    Germany launches large four-day workweek trial

    In February, 45 companies and organizations in Europe's largest economy will introduce a 4-day workweek for half a year. Employees will continue to receive their full salary. Advocates argue that a 4-day workweek would increase worker productivity and, by consequence, help alleviate the country's skilled labor shortage.


  • Chromosomes
    2024 C.E. January 31

    Gene therapy hailed as ‘medical magic wand’ for hereditary swelling disorder

    Hereditary angioedema, or HAE, is a rare disease that affects about one in 50,000 people. It is caused by a genetic mutation that leaves patients with leaky blood vessels, causing erratic bouts of swelling. Dr. Hilary Longhurst, the principal investigator at New Zealand's Te Toka Tumai, Auckland City hospital, said the new single-dose therapy appeared to provide a permanent cure for her patients’ “very disabling symptoms”.


  • Streets of Palau Koror and coves of coral reefs
    2024 C.E. January 29

    Palau is the first nation to ratify treaty to protect high seas

    Palau has become the first nation to ratify the high seas treaty, a legally binding international agreement that seeks to protect and manage ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. Other countries, including Chile and the Maldives, are engaged in their ratification processes, pushing the treaty closer to becoming international law. The establishment of the high seas treaty has been under debate for nearly two decades, but U.N. member states finally reached a consensus to approve the treaty in March 2023.


  • California coast
    2024 C.E. January 29

    First ever U.S. Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area declared in California

    The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Resighini Rancheria, and Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community designated the first ever Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area (IMSA) in the U.S. along the northern California coast. The tribes plan to steward nearly 700 square miles of their ancestral ocean and coastal territories from the California-Oregon border to Little River near the town of Trinidad, California using traditional ecological knowledge and management practices.


  • Cosmetics
    2024 C.E. January 29

    E.U. will force cosmetic companies to pay to reduce micropollutants

    Under draft rules that follow the “polluter pays principle”, companies that sell medicines and cosmetics will have to cover at least 80% of the extra costs needed to get rid of tiny pollutants that are dirtying urban wastewater. Governments will pay the rest, members of the bloc said, in an effort to prevent vital products from becoming too expensive or scarce.


  • Squirrel monkey
    2024 C.E. February 1

    New fund supports Indigenous-led land management in biodiverse area of Bolivia

    The Wildlife Conservation Society launched the new funding mechanism, in collaboration with Bolivia’s Foundation for the Development of the National System of Protected Areas. The new mechanism will channel conservation funds to Indigenous organizations in the Madidi Landscape, one of the most biodiverse terrestrial protected areas in the world. The new fund has so far attracted $650,000 in initial support from the Bezos Earth Fund.


  • Meskel Square traffic in Addis Ababa
    2024 C.E. February 1

    Ethiopia to ban non-electric car imports

    The Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and Logistics recently announced that motor vehicles will soon be banned from importation in favor of electric vehicles. This measure is part of the Green development master plan 2021-2030 approved by the Ethiopian parliament, which aims to import at least 152,800 electric vehicles over 10 years.


  • Depiction of nerve cells
    2024 C.E. February 1

    Researchers discover an effective non-opioid treatment for nerve pain

    Many available pain medications aren’t effective in reducing this often-debilitating type of chronic pain. However, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), in collaboration with UT Dallas and the University of Miami, may have advanced the treatment of neuropathic pain by discovering a molecule that reduces mechanical hypersensitivity in mice.


  • Woman putting organic waste in the compost bin
    2024 C.E. February 1

    France implements compulsory composting

    As of January 2024, municipalities in France must now provide residents with ways to sort bio-waste, which includes food scraps, vegetable peels, expired food and garden waste. Households and businesses are required to dispose of organic matter either in a dedicated small bin for home collection or at a municipal collection point. The waste will then be turned into biogas or compost to replace chemical fertilizers.


  • Traffic in a Chinese city
    2024 C.E. January 31

    25% of new car sales in China were fully electric in 2023 for the first time ever

    Electric vehicles sales in China, the world's largest automotive market, are surging. All plugin models accounted for 37% of the market in 2023, up from just 6% at the end of 2021. Full electrics (BEVs) alone accounted for 25%. Plugins are expected to cross the 50% mark for plugins and electric by 2026, with BEVs likely to account for over a third of sales, if current trends persist.


  • Empty office desk and chairs
    2024 C.E. January 31

    Germany launches large four-day workweek trial

    In February, 45 companies and organizations in Europe's largest economy will introduce a 4-day workweek for half a year. Employees will continue to receive their full salary. Advocates argue that a 4-day workweek would increase worker productivity and, by consequence, help alleviate the country's skilled labor shortage.


  • Chromosomes
    2024 C.E. January 31

    Gene therapy hailed as ‘medical magic wand’ for hereditary swelling disorder

    Hereditary angioedema, or HAE, is a rare disease that affects about one in 50,000 people. It is caused by a genetic mutation that leaves patients with leaky blood vessels, causing erratic bouts of swelling. Dr. Hilary Longhurst, the principal investigator at New Zealand's Te Toka Tumai, Auckland City hospital, said the new single-dose therapy appeared to provide a permanent cure for her patients’ “very disabling symptoms”.


  • Streets of Palau Koror and coves of coral reefs
    2024 C.E. January 29

    Palau is the first nation to ratify treaty to protect high seas

    Palau has become the first nation to ratify the high seas treaty, a legally binding international agreement that seeks to protect and manage ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. Other countries, including Chile and the Maldives, are engaged in their ratification processes, pushing the treaty closer to becoming international law. The establishment of the high seas treaty has been under debate for nearly two decades, but U.N. member states finally reached a consensus to approve the treaty in March 2023.


  • California coast
    2024 C.E. January 29

    First ever U.S. Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area declared in California

    The Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation, Resighini Rancheria, and Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community designated the first ever Indigenous Marine Stewardship Area (IMSA) in the U.S. along the northern California coast. The tribes plan to steward nearly 700 square miles of their ancestral ocean and coastal territories from the California-Oregon border to Little River near the town of Trinidad, California using traditional ecological knowledge and management practices.


  • Cosmetics
    2024 C.E. January 29

    E.U. will force cosmetic companies to pay to reduce micropollutants

    Under draft rules that follow the “polluter pays principle”, companies that sell medicines and cosmetics will have to cover at least 80% of the extra costs needed to get rid of tiny pollutants that are dirtying urban wastewater. Governments will pay the rest, members of the bloc said, in an effort to prevent vital products from becoming too expensive or scarce.



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