Good News for Humankind 🌏
The world's latest milestones for climate, justice, freedom, peace, health, and more
21 April 2025 C.E.
After years of negotiations, the international community has reached a landmark deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping, setting mandatory fuel standards and introducing a carbon pricing mechanism. The framework – agreed during a meeting of the U.N. International Maritime Organization – aims for net-zero emissions from the sector by 2050 and will come into force in 2027. It will apply to large ocean-going vessels over 5,000 gross tonnage, which account for 85% of carbon emissions from the marine shipping fleet.
The announcement came as members of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group met at NATO's headquarters in Brussels to pledge air defences, missiles, and other gear as Europe sought to fill the gap left by the changed priorities of the U.S. under Donald Trump. More than half of the aid – €11 billion over four years – is coming from Germany. Support also includes a $590m package from the U.K. and Norway to fund radar systems, anti-tank mines, vehicle repairs, and hundreds of thousands of drones as the nation faces a brutal, unlawful invasion from Russia.
Thailand has become the world's 68th country to ban corporal punishment of minors. With this step, the Southeast Asian country is aligning with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, in force since 1990. According to the latest survey by the National Statistical Office, published in 2022, 54% of Thais under the age of 14 have received some form of physical or psychological punishment at home, down from 75% in 2005. UNICEF is promoting the total ban of the practice worldwide.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed SB 219 into law, effectively legalizing psilocybin-assisted therapy for qualifying patients across the state. The new law establishes a tightly regulated framework allowing for the medical use of psilocybin in treating conditions like treatment-resistant depression, PTSD, substance use disorders, and end-of-life anxiety. Under the program, therapy will consist of preparation, guided psilocybin therapy, and follow-up integration sessions. However, for everyone outside the program, possession and use of mushrooms is still a crime.
Habitat loss and the illegal pet trade drove the red-tailed amazon, endemic to the southeastern Brazilian coast, to fewer than 5,000 individuals by the end of the 20th Century. Thanks to a project to install artificial nests on an island on the Paraná coast, the number of parrots has almost doubled in the last 20 years, taking the bird from “endangered” to “near threatened” status, the only case of its kind in Brazil. Although trafficking has decreased, it remains an active threat to the species’ survival.
The trade route involved the seaborne movement of obsidian by an unknown Neolithic Europe seafaring people. The obsidian was mined from the volcanic island of Milos and then transported to various parts of the Balkans, Anatolia, and Cyprus, where they were refined into obsidian blades. However, the nature of the seafaring technologies involved has not been preserved.
Long considered one of the most difficult global industries to decarbonize, the global shipping industry transitions fully to carbon-free fuel sources in a historic win for climate action. As of 2024, the global shipping industry contributed 3% of all global emissions, more than the entire aviation industry.
These milestones have been added to the Archive of Human Genius - our database of social change milestones – past, present & future.
From Washington Community Action Network: Apple Health Expansion has already provided coverage to nearly 12,000 people across our state. But over 16,000 more are still on the waitlist—and now lawmakers are considering cutting the program entirely. We can't let that happen. Use this form to send a message to your legislators and demand full funding for Apple Health Expansion in the final budget. Sign the petition.
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Weekly reflection
Hi beautiful people,
Hope you had a wonderful Earth Day!
Since I turned 40, I've been trying to adopt better habits for regulating myself and coping with the difficulties of life, career, parenting, political chaos, etc. As part of that, I've committed to taking a walk in nature (almost) every day, rain or shine. As much as possible, I just let myself be – with myself, with nature, to use that time as a kind of walking meditation.
It has been almost shockingly helpful and effective.
I've heard some say that we never really "self-regulate." We always soothe and regulate ourselves in relationship to something outside of us. For some, that might be God. For others, it might be a friend, partner, or pet. For others, just their breath.
My walks give me a chance to use nature and the Earth as my regulation partner. Every day, it is there, offering everything that makes my life possible and fulfilling. I know I can rely on it. And it is stunningly, impossibly, beautiful and inspiring. That time in nature makes navigating today's world so much more manageable and more full of gratitude and wonder.
Thank you, Earth. Happy Earth Day, everyone.
Love,
Peter
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Peter Schulte
Leadership Coach
Bellingham WA, USA / Lummi & Nooksack lands
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