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.)
- Agriculture (10000 - 3000 B.C.E.)
- Prehistory (250000 - 10000 B.C.E.)
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2020 C.E. August 5
Use of plastic bags in England drops by 95% since 2015
Use of plastic carrier bags in England has continued to fall – by 59% in the last year alone – since the introduction of the 5p charge. Sales of single-use plastic bags have dropped by 95% in England’s supermarkets since the charge was introduced in October 2015.
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2020 C.E. August 4
New blood test can detect prostate cancer with unprecedented precision
A new blood test for prostate cancer is producing a 99% accuracy rating—precision that has never before been achieved for a blood test of this particular kind of cancer. The test can also determine the exact stage and progression of the cancer, reducing the need for invasive biopsies and scans.
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2020 C.E. August 4
Largest floating solar park in Europe connected to grid in The Netherlands
More than 18 hectares in size, the solar power plant, Zonnepark Bomhofsplas, has 72,000 solar panels and is expected to provide energy for 7,200 homes. It was built in just 7 weeks.
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2020 C.E. August 4
New Google badge will make it easier to find Black-owned businesses
Google is launching a new tool that allows businesses to identify themselves as Black-owned through the company’s Maps and Search listings. When searching for a business through Google.com or Google Maps, users will now be able to see a new badge to represent Black-owned businesses.
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2020 C.E. August 3
41 states in the U.S. have reduced their carbon emissions while growing their economies
From 2005 to 2018, the country’s overall GDP increased by 25%, while energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell 12%, because of the shift from coal to gas power, the rapid deployment of renewable energy technology, and the progress made in vehicle emission standards.
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2020 C.E. August 3
Deutsche Bank to stop funding Arctic drilling after pressure from activists
The bank, a multinational investment company headquartered in Germany, announced Monday that it will no longer offer financial services to new projects that involve drilling for oil or gas in the Arctic.
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2020 C.E. August 3
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signs sweeping police reform bill
The law institutes a new statewide watchdog for police misconduct, bans "chokeholds" in most instances and puts limits on the ability of police departments to withhold officers' disciplinary records. It also allows individual officers to be held financially liable in civil suits over their actions.
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2020 C.E. July 31
Costa Rica is the first tropical country to have stopped and reverse deforestation
In the 1940s, 75% of Costa Rica was cloaked in lush rainforests. It is thought that between up to a half of that forest cover in Costa Rica had been destroyed by loggers by 1987. Today almost 60% of the land is once again forest.
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2020 C.E. July 31
After 250 years, Big Sur land returned to Esselen tribe
As part of a $4.5 million land deal, 1,200 acres of undeveloped private property near Big Sur are being transferred to the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving tribal heritage.
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2020 C.E. July 31
New Zealand passes historic bill to ensure pay equity between men and women
New Zealand’s parliament has unanimously passed the Equal Pay Amendment Bill that ensures that women in historically underpaid female-dominated industries receive the same remuneration as men in different but equal-value work.
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2020 C.E. September 10
Doris Burke will become first woman to call NBA Finals
Burke has called NBA games for ESPN since Disney first broadcasted Association contests in 2003. Per the AP, Burke became the first woman to become a full-time network NBA game analyst in 2017.
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2020 C.E. September 9
Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion and state
“For Sudan to become a democratic country where the rights of all citizens are enshrined, the constitution should be based on the principle of ‘separation of religion and state,’ in the absence of which the right to self-determination must be respected,” the document states.
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2020 C.E. September 9
Uber to go 50% electric in 7 European capitals by 2025
The world’s largest mobility platform pledged to clean up its act in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Madrid and Paris in response to the #TrueCostOfUber campaign, which urged it to ditch dirty vehicles and replace them with electric cars.
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2020 C.E. September 9
New AI algorithm predicts pregnancy complications
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have developed an algorithm capable of spotting signs of decidual vasculopathy in placenta tissue. The algorithm has correctly identified damaged vessels 94% of the time and healthy vessels 96% of the time.
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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 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
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
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
Kansas commission adds LGBT nondiscrimination protections
The commission that enforces Kansas’ nondiscrimination laws will begin hearing claims from people who allege they are being mistreated because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
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2020 C.E. September 8
BYD delivers first electric bus fleet to the Carribean
BYD (Build Your Dreams) delivered the first electric bus fleet for public transport in the Caribbean. The Barbados Transport Board recently received 33 BYD battery-electric buses and two more of the 30-foot buses will be delivered by December.