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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Era
- Tomorrow (2025 C.E. - ???)
- Today (2017 C.E. - 2024 C.E.)
- Post-modernity (1945 - 2016 C.E.)
- Modernity (1500 - 1945 C.E.)
- Post-classical (500 - 1500 C.E.)
- Civilization (3000 B.C.E. - 500 C.E.)
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2020 C.E. September 8
Portuguese youth activists sue 33 countries over climate crisis
Young activists from Portugal have filed the first climate change case at the European court of human rights in Strasbourg, demanding 33 countries make more ambitious emissions cuts to safeguard their future physical and mental well-being.
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2020 C.E. September 8
Hormel Foods to provide free college education to children of all its 16,000 employees
Called “Inspired Pathways,” the program will begin in the fall of 2021. A spokesperson for Hormel Foods told GNN the company has 16,000 domestic employees and the program is open to any dependent child of those workers.
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2020 C.E. September 8
Unilever to invest €1bn in making its cleaning products fossil fuel-free
A couple of months ago, Unilever announced a bold commitment to invest €1 billion over the next decade in projects that will help achieve net-zero emissions by 2039. The consumer goods giant is now planning to invest another €1 billion in eliminating fossil fuels from its cleaning products by 2030.
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2020 C.E. September 8
New Jersey enacts new law to help undocumented immigrants find jobs
New Jersey has become the second state to lift restrictions that bar undocumented individuals from obtaining occupational and professional licenses, which are necessary to enter a large number of career fields.
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2020 C.E. September 4
British postal service Royal Mail launches online safe space for domestic abuse survivors
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, domestic violence has got worse. Now, Royal Mail has launched an online portal that helps survivors access support and advice free of charge, which has a quick exit tool and doesn't show up in internet search history.
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2020 C.E. September 4
The world’s first happiness museum opens in Copenhagen
The 2,585 square-foot museum invites visitors to explore happiness from a global perspective that includes historical insights on how the concept of happiness has evolved over the ages, and the ways in which varying regional cultures define the term.
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2020 C.E. September 4
Honeybee venom found to be “extremely potent” against breast cancer
The team from Australia’s Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research found that a certain concentration of honeybee venom could be used to induce death in 100 percent of the cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells largely unharmed
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2020 C.E. September 3
Venture capital firms collaborate to offer African startups a pandemic lifeline
Ventures Platform, an Abuja, Nigeria-based early-stage fund, is creating a relief program to provide emergency grants to keep innovation alive amongst African startups. The equity-free grants can be up to $20,000 and will be available to early, high-growth stage startups in need of cash lifelines.
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2020 C.E. September 3
Timberland pledges to achieve full circularity of its products by 2030
The company aims to have a net positive impact on nature by 2030. To achieve this ambitious goal, it plans to design all of its products for circularity – meaning that materials for one product are reused in a closed-loop to make other products.
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2020 C.E. September 3
Anchorage Assembly passes ban on conversion therapy
The Assembly ultimately passed the ban 9 to 2. The ordinance prevents licensed professionals such as therapists or school counselors from engaging in efforts to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity
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2020 C.E. October 8
Ambitious reforestation project will plant 3 million trees in Uganda
The project is the fruit of a strategic partnership between the Jane Goodall Institute and reforestation non-profit One Tree Planted and will focus on restoring habitat for endangered chimpanzees by adding 3 million trees to the Albertine Rift Forests.
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2020 C.E. October 8
JPMorgan Chase, world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels, commits to “Paris-aligned” financing
JPMorgan Chase has reportedly committed to push its clients to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement and work towards global net-zero emissions by 2050.
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2020 C.E. October 8
Cancer breath test detects 80% of cases in early trial
The team from Australia's Flinders University has developed a breath test that can detect exhaled breath profiles associated with head and neck cancers, with the tool demonstrating a high degree of accuracy in early trials.
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2020 C.E. October 7
Consumer Reports confirms electric car owners spend half as much on maintenance
Chris Harto, CR’s senior transportation policy analyst, says: “Electric vehicle owners don’t need a coupon to get half-off typical maintenance and repair costs from their dealer, it comes standard! These savings are going a long way to offset the upfront costs for consumers.”
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2020 C.E. October 7
Seattle protects Uber and Lyft drivers with new gig economy wages
The city of Seattle has passed a new wage scale for Uber and Lyft drivers, including a $16.39 minimum wage, to ensure their wages match those of other minimum wage workers in the city.
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2020 C.E. October 7
Louisville, Kentucky mayor signs ban on harmful gay ‘conversion therapy’
The Louisville Metro Council passed the ordinance in mid-September. The ordinance passed committee unanimously the week prior and passed Metro Council 24 to 1. The lone “no” vote was Councilman Stuart Benson, who said he didn’t think the matter was in the council’s lane.
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2020 C.E. October 6
University of Cambridge drops its $4.5 billion endowments from fossil fuels
The university will divest from conventional energy by the end of the year, build “significant investments” in renewable energy by 2025, divest from remaining fossil fuels by 2035, and become net-zero across its portfolio by 2038.
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2020 C.E. October 5
Mayors from 12 major cities commit to divesting from fossil fuels
The declaration was initially signed by the mayors of Berlin, Bristol, Cape Town, Durban, London, Los Angeles, Milan, New Orleans, New York City, Oslo, Pittsburgh, and Vancouver. Together the cities represent more than 36 million residents.
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2020 C.E. October 5
Number of young black authors doubles to nearly 20% in U.K.
A new study out of University College London found that only 7.1 percent of YA authors in the UK were people of color in 2017. That figure jumped to 13.25 percent in 2018 and has risen even further to a more promising 19.6 percent as of 2019.
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2020 C.E. October 5
Coal dropped from 27% of U.S. electricity to 18% in two years
Electricity from coal power plants has declined from 26.9% of US electricity generation in the first 7 months of 2018 to 17.7% in the first 7 months of 2020. That’s down from 33% in 2015, 39% in 2014, 45% in 2010, and 50% in 2005.