Good News for Humankind

The world’s latest milestones for climate, justice, peace, health, and more

August 26 – September 1 2024 C.E.

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Hi beautiful people,

Bellingham Men’s Circle, which I co-founded last year, convened our first-ever grief and gratitude retreat this past weekend. It was an opportunity for men to come together, build community, express whatever’s been locked away with them, support one another, and be witnessed. It was really powerful for me.

I’m not even going to attempt to try to describe it here. But maybe it’s enough to say that it was yet another moment that reminded me of how beautiful humans really are. It gave me such a sense of possibility for the world we could create together.

If you haven’t had enough moments like that lately, I promise you they are out there somewhere waiting for you.

Love, Peter

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​Wind and solar energy production in U.S. surpasses coal for the first time in history​

From January through July of this year, wind and solar in the U.S. generated more net electricity than power from coal, according to recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Further, wind energy generation alone beat coal energy generation in two consecutive months: March and April. As CleanTechnica reported, wind energy installations produced 45.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in March and a record high 47.7 GWh in April, compared to the 38.4 GWh in March and 37.2 GWh in April generated by coal-fired power plants.

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​Australian employees now have the right to ignore work emails and calls after hours​

The new rule means employees, in most cases, cannot be punished for refusing to read or respond to contacts from their employers outside work hours. Australians worked on average 281 hours of unpaid overtime in 2023, according to a survey last year by the Australia Institute, which estimated the monetary value of the labor at $88 billion USD. The changes add Australia to a group of roughly two dozen countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America, which have similar laws.

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​Bangladeshi women embrace mangrove restoration as an alternative livelihood​

The vast Sundarbans mangrove forests along the southern coast of Bangladesh act as a shield and protect the coastal people and their livelihoods from tropical cyclones and tidal surges. In the last couple of years, the number of mangroves in the zone has increased as the government and some NGOs have introduced programs to plant mangrove trees on the coastal embankments as protection measures. Women from coastal villages, who know the ecosystem well, have been at the forefront of these reforestation projects and have also become entrepreneurial with mangrove forest resources.

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​World’s biggest battery storage project gets underway in Chile​

Financial close has been reached for the first two phases of the world’s largest battery storage project, the Oasis de Atacama in Chile, with 1.24GWh now financed and an eventual 4.1GWh once all five phases are completed. Grenergy expects the completed project will generate electricity equivalent for the needs of 145,000 homes and reduce CO2 emissions by over 146,000 tons.

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​Salmon will soon swim freely in the Klamath River for first time in a century once dams are removed​

The largest dam removal project in U.S. history is nearing completion. Crews will use excavators this week to breach rock dams that have been diverting water upstream of two dams that were already almost completely removed, Iron Gate and Copco No. 1. The work will allow the river to flow freely in its historic channel, giving salmon a passageway to key swaths of habitat just in time for the fall Chinook, or king salmon, spawning season.

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​Egypt recovers 3 ancient artifacts found in the Netherlands​

The items retrieved include a mummified head from the Hellenistic period, a ceramic funerary figurine dating to Egypt’s New Kingdom era (664-332 B.C.), and part of a wooden tomb bearing an inscription of the goddess Isis from 663-504 B.C., the Egyptian embassy in The Hague said in a statement. The head was found in good condition, showing remnants of teeth and hair. Dutch police and the cultural heritage inspection unit retrieved the figurines and parts of the tomb after determining that they were smuggled out of Egypt.

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​World’s first green ammonia plant is now open for business in Denmark​

The new plant – located in Ramme, Denmark – is said to be capable of producing 5,000 tons of green ammonia per year, entirely from solar and wind energy. Topsoe reports that this effort will prevent 8,200 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Gray ammonia production – which uses fossil fuels – is currently the norm around the globe, and accounts for about 1.2% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

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​Taiwan bans performances by captive wild animals​

Live performances by wild animals held in captivity, including performances by dolphins, tigers, and other non-domesticated mammals, will no longer be permitted in Taiwan under new Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) regulations. The new measures will make Taiwan one of 13 nations outlawing captive animal performances. Companies that hold animals captive for commercial purposes must submit detailed documentation outlining how animals will be housed and displayed.

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​New Zealand’s biggest solar farm secures finance to go ahead at Christchurch Airport​

Leading global renewable energy developer Lightsource BP has secured $NZ267 million in financing for its 168MW Kōwhai Park solar project planned to be built at the Christchurch Airport, which will be – for a time – the largest in the country. The solar farm is expected to begin construction later this year and begin operations some time in 2026. Once operational, the Kōwhai Park solar farm will generate over 275GWh per year, equivalent to the annual demand of approximately 36,000 homes.

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​China’s new coal projects plummet by 80% in 2024​

From January through June, Chinese officials permitted 10.3 gigawatts of new coal capacity, far less than the 50.4 gigawatts approved in the first half of last year, according to an analysis from Greenpeace and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. While China is bullish on renewables — it is currently building twice as much wind and solar as the rest of the world combined — officials have been looking to coal to meet demand when solar and wind are in short supply.

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These milestones have been added to the ​Archive of Human Genius​ – our database of social change milestones – past, present & future.