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.
4572
change milestones archived
Filters
Search
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.)
Years
Topic
Country
Actor
Filters
Search
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.)
Year
Topics
Region
Countries
State/Province
Institution
Sources
-
2020 C.E. January 20
China becomes world’s largest nation to plan phase out of single-use plastics
In 2019, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) stated that by the end of 2020 single-use plastic bags would be banned in all of China’s major cities. By the end of 2022, the plastic bag ban was to be extended to all cities and towns. As the world's most populous nation and second-largest economy, this became the most significant plastic bag ban in history.
-
2020 C.E. January 20
Local group stops proposed subdivision on environmentally sensitive lands in Ontario
According to Mr. Gibbons, the LPAT decision legally obliges the Town of Georgina to amend its MLE zoning bylaw to prevent development on 92 per cent of the MLE lands that are to be designated an “Environmental Protection Area.”
-
2020 C.E. January 17
Amsterdam to buy out young people’s debt to offer ‘new start’
The debt-transfer project will start in February. Each person on the scheme will be given a coach with whom they will prepare a “guidance plan”.
-
2020 C.E. January 17
Microsoft pledges to be carbon negative by 2030
By 2030, Microsoft will be carbon negative. By 2050, they will remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975.
-
2020 C.E. January 16
Florida moves to purchase land to protect Everglades from oil drilling
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday announced that the state plans to buy a 20,000-acre section of the Everglades to prevent oil drilling in the area, according to the Miami Herald.
-
2020 C.E. January 16
HIV infections among gay and bi men fall by 71% in U.K. since 2012
The number of people diagnosed with HIV in the U.K. has dropped substantially since 2012. The drop has been attributed to a rise in the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep).
-
2020 C.E. January 15
Mexico releases Latin America’s first “feminist foreign policy”
The policy aims “to reduce and eliminate structural differences, gender gaps and inequalities, in order to build a more just and prosperous society.”
-
2020 C.E. January 15
Electric vehicles reach 25% market share in Iceland
Iceland now follows only Norway worldwide in the proportion of vehicles on the road that are fully electric.
-
2020 C.E. January 14
JetBlue will be carbon neutral on all domestic flights by July 2020
The company said that it will offset up to 17 billion pounds of carbon by investing in projects focused on initiatives like forest conservation and renewable power.
-
2020 C.E. January 14
Half of U.K. universities have committed to divest from fossil fuel
Seventy-eight of the U.K.’s 154 public universities have joined the divestment campaign, either divesting or pledging to divest hundreds of millions from the fossil fuel industry.
-
2020 C.E. March 10
UBS ends financing for all new offshore oil projects in Arctic
In addition to this announcement, the investment bank has achieved its sustainable investment goal three years early, increasing its core sustainable investments by more than 56% to USD $488 billion.
-
2020 C.E. March 10
Emissions from global power sector dropped by record-breaking 2% in 2019
The historic decline in CO2 emissions was largely caused by Europe and the US shifting away from coal, resulting in a global 3% decline in coal-fired power generation - the largest drop in 30 years.
-
2020 C.E. March 9
Virginia legislature passes sweeping carbon reduction plan
The Washington Post reports that the Clean Economy Act will create many new employment opportunities in wind and solar industries as the state’s utility companies are now mandated to use only carbon-free electricity by 2050.
-
2020 C.E. March 9
Blue whales seen in Antarctica for the first time since 1980s
Since the international moratorium on whaling in 1982, decades of protection have allowed the critically endangered blue whale to bounce back considerably after losing 97% of the species.
-
2020 C.E. March 6
Nova Scotia will officially be home to North America’s first whale sanctuary
Nova Scotia will be the official home base to the first whale sanctuary in North America, with whales expected in the water just off the coast of Port Hilford before the end of 2021.
-
2020 C.E. March 6
Taco Bell launches new 50 item “Veggie Mode” menu
The menu will be available at all Taco Bell locations on March 12, and their kiosks will allow customers to select “Veggie Mode” to see a vegetarian-only menu.
-
2020 C.E. March 5
Florida approves largest community solar program in the United States
The Florida Public Service Commission unanimously approved the SolarTogether program, which will ensure the development of 1,490 MW of solar over the next two years making it the largest community solar program in the US.
-
2020 C.E. March 5
Reddit now lets you report users who might be at risk of self harm
The company teamed up with Crisis Text Line to offer support to users who might be suicidal or hurt themselves in some way.
-
2020 C.E. March 4
Virginia becomes first Southern state to ban conversion therapy for minors
On Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill that made Virginia the 20th state to ban the practice for minors.
-
2020 C.E. March 4
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will no longer fund Arctic drilling
JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will no longer fund oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The announcements come on the heels of similar commitments made by Goldman Sachs and BlackRock.