Good News for Humankind 🌏

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

January 13 2025 C.E.

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REMINDER​
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#1

​Thailand bans imports of plastic waste to curb toxic pollution​

A law banning imports of plastic waste has come into force in Thailand, after years of campaigning by activists. Thailand is one of several south-east Asian countries that has historically been paid to receive plastic waste from developed nations. Thai customs officials said more than 1.1 million tons of plastic scraps were imported between 2018 and 2021. Imports of plastic were often mismanaged, with many factories burning the waste rather than recycling it, leading to damage to human health and the environment.

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#2

​Biden permanently bans offshore drilling in 625 million acres of ocean​

President Biden has announced an executive action that will permanently ban future offshore oil and gas development in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in a way that could be especially difficult for the incoming Trump administration to undo. The ban will prevent oil companies from leasing waters for new drilling along the entire East Coast; the eastern Gulf of Mexico; the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California; and portions of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea.

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#3

​Indonesia launches free meals program to feed millions of children and pregnant women​

The Free Nutritious Meal program delivers on a campaign promise by President Prabowo Subianto, who was elected last year to lead the nation of more than 282 million people and Southeast Asia's largest economy. It aims to fight the stunting of growth that afflicts 21.5% of Indonesian children younger than 5 and help raise income for the nation's farmers. The government’s target is to reach an initial 19.5 million schoolchildren and pregnant women in 2025 with a budget of $4.3 billion USD, and more than 80 million people at a cost of $28 billion USD by 2029.

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#4

​Asiatic wild asses return to Saudi Arabia after 100 years​

It’s been a century since an onager or Asiatic wild ass was last seen in Saudi Arabia. But in April this year, seven onagers were relocated from neighboring Jordan into one of Saudi Arabia’s nature reserves. One of the onagers has even birthed a female foal since then. Saudi Arabia was historically home to the Syrian wild ass, an onager subspecies that was hunted into extinction in the 1920s. But with the Syrian onager gone forever, its closest living relative, the Persian onager from Jordan was deemed the best alternative sub-species with which to re-populate the Middle East.

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#5

​The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalizes rule banning inclusion of medical debt on credit reports​

Americans' unpaid medical bills will no longer appear on credit reports, where they can block people from mortgages, car loans, or small business loans, according to a final rule announced by the Biden administration. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule will remove $49 billion in medical debt from the credit reports of more than 15 million Americans, which means lenders will no longer be able to take that into consideration when deciding to issue a loan. The change is estimated to raise the credit scores by an average of 20 points.

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Remember

​China institutes unprecedented ban on the import of plastic waste (2018 C.E.)​

China’s “National Sword” policy banned the import of most plastics and other materials headed for that nation’s recycling processors, which had handled nearly half of the world’s recyclable waste. The move was an effort to halt a deluge of soiled and contaminated materials that was overwhelming Chinese processing facilities and causing environmental havoc. Within one year, China’s plastics imports plummeted by 99%, leading to a major global shift in where and how materials are being processed and incentivizing less wasteful behavior around the world.

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Imagine

​All countries worldwide institute and enforce sweeping plastic bag bans​

With the last remaining countries deciding that plastic bags are not in their or the world's interest, the production and sale of the polluting technology is all but eliminated worldwide. The bans prove a resounding success in reducing pollutants in soils and waterways, protecting marine life, reducing carbon emissions in the air, and ultimately making the world a more livable and beautiful place.

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

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Take Action

​Tell President Biden to officially shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline​

From 350.org: With Donald Trump set to return to the White House in January, we need to act NOW to shut down DAPL and prevent him from exacting further destruction on our planet. We might not get another chance to do so over these next four years. President Biden has the chance to shut down the DAPL before Trump takes office in January. Join us and demand President Biden protect our planet and immediately shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline before Trump takes office. Sign.

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This week's calendar

• ​GET S*** DONE Work Group every weekday at 10:30am-12pm PT (online)
• ​Bellingham Men's Circle on Monday, January 20 from 6-8pm PT (in-person)

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Weekly reflection

Hi beautiful people,

For many of us in the United States and beyond, 2025 feels like a dark, uncertain time where many of us, our loved ones, and our planet are in danger. In times like these, it can be easy to fall into pits of despair and cynicism. And yet, the need for action is perhaps greater than ever. Taking action can help protect those we love and build the future we want and need. But it can also be an important balm for our own sanity and sense of integrity.

With that in mind, moving forward, I'll be adding an opportunity to take action in this newsletter every week (like the one you see a few paragraphs above this note). This might be a petition you can sign, an event you can attend, an organization you can support, or a product or service that might help you live and consume in a way more aligned with your values and the needs of the world. Sometimes they might feel small or insufficient to truly meet the moment. But perhaps if enough of us take small actions like this, it will amount to something meaningful for someone.

If you feel inspired in this same way, let me know if you know of such opportunities to take action. I would so appreciate your support in curating these actions for my readers. You can always get in touch simply by replying to this email.

Sending love to any of you affected by the devastating fires in L.A. this week. ❤️

Love,
Peter

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