Everything Isn’t Total Shit: A Few Good Things Happened Recently
A reminder that there are good things happening!
A Canadian town has officially recognized trees as living beings with their own rights.
On June 9, the town of Terrasse-Vaudreuil, a municipality just 40 miles west of Montreal, adopted a resolution declaring that trees have “the right to life, to natural growth, to integrity and regeneration”.
Under the new resolution, the town will review its existing rules and bylaws to ensure that trees are protected or replaced if they are cut down.
Mayor Michel Bourdeau noted that trees are “our biggest ally” in fighting climate change.
The UK government drafted a bill to ban so-called “conversion therapy.”
The UK government announced on Thursday that it published a draft bill to ban so-called “conversion therapy” practices.
If the new legislation passes, it will be illegal to try to change someone’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity through conversion practices.
175 railway stations across India will now provide free menstrual products.
Indian Railways has launched a free menstrual product initiative, with 500 sanitary napkin vending machines being installed at 175 major railway stations across Delhi, Firozpur, Ambala, Moradabad and Lucknow.
The machines dispense sanitary napkins free of cost and are designed to provide round-the-clock access to riders.
Portland city council voted to ban the sale of force-fed foie gras in the city.
Force-fed foie gras - the enlarged liver of a duck or goose that has been force-fed - will soon be banned in Portland, Oregon after city council voted 7-5 to pass an ordinance banning the dish.
The ordinance prohibits restaurants, retailers and food services in the city from selling or otherwise providing force-fed foie gras or dishes that use it as an ingredient. Anyone selling the dish will have to provide documentary evidence that it has not been force-fed. The ban will take effect in December.
One of the few Black-owned banks in the U.S. introduced a debit card aimed at helping single mothers who live in government-subsidized housing escape poverty.
Redemption Bank, which was co-founded by Bernice King – the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, introduced the Bank King Card – a debit card of which a portion of the profits will be given to organizations providing guaranteed income to mothers in government housing.
“People are using our product because they feel aligned with our values. And we’re dedicating those profits to something that we feel our customers are aligned with and that’s ending poverty, and especially the belief that the most impactful way to do that is to invest in mothers who have children,” Bell, the bank’s executive chairperson, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani launched a $15 million plan to protect and expand access to gender-affirming care.
On Friday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced three new initiatives to safeguard and expand access to gender-affirming care for youth and adults across the city:
Establish a direct care access fund for providers of youth gender-affirming care to help ensure that New Yorkers can continue to access medically necessary care.
Launch a call and text line connecting New Yorkers with care, services, information, resources and support related to gender-affirming care.
Fund research to identify gaps in health care access and outcomes for transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced the launch of a new office aimed at reducing the use of animal testing.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the launch of a new office aimed at reducing the use of animal-based research testing and instead increasing the use of methods that “better reflect human biology.”
NIH’s new office will be named the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA). NIH listed alternatives like 3D human tissue models and computational tools among the alternatives that ORIVA will be supporting.
Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill protecting medical records for abortion patients in Illinois.
On Wednesday, Governor JB Pritzker signed a bill into law that will protect abortion-seekers in Illinois from potential retaliation by shielding their digital medical records from out-of-state entities.
The Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act, which takes effect July 1, 2027, requires the separation of information about abortion services from a patient’s digital medical records.
Three Florida counties placed moratoriums on AI data centers all on the same day this week.
Clay County in Northeast Florida, Hernando County in the Tampa Bay area, and Lake County in Central Florida all advanced 12-month moratoriums on AI data centers on Tuesday this week.
Residents in all 3 counties had expressed their concerns about high water and energy usage, noise pollution, and environmental damage.
“What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something.” – Howard Zinn