Today’s Solutions: April 19, 2024

Policy Making

Strong public policy leads to more cohesive, resilient, and sustainable societies. In this section, find out about the latest legislations from around the world aimed at making our world a better place.

Close up manatee portrait underwater

US Fish & Wildlife Service approves unprecedented move to save manatees

In Florida, near Cape Canaveral, wildlife conservationists are getting desperate to save the wild manatee population, which has been dying at alarming rates. More than 1,000 manatees have perished in 2021. The primary cause of death is pollution, which has brought the seagrasses in the Indian River Read More...

Chile Congress building

Chile legalizes same-sex marriage

After a decade-long legal battle, Chile’s Congress has officially passed a law to legalize same-sex marriage. Passed on Tuesday, the bill is expected to be signed into law soon by President Sebastian Pinera. The road to marriage equality has been long and arduous in the conservative South Read More...

Four young people sit next to the Seine

Paris has an Olympic-sized plan to clean up the Seine

If you stroll through Paris on a warm summer day, you’ll likely see groups of sunbathers and picnickers lounging near the Seine, but you probably won’t see anyone swimming. Waste management and pollution issues have made the river too dirty to swim in, but that may change thanks to a new city Read More...

Young LGBTQ woman walks through crowd

Canada fast-tracks bill to ban conversion therapy

A bill that would ban the practice of conversion therapy in Canada has been unanimously adopted by the House of Commons, fast tracking it for approval by the Senate. Bill C-4 bans the practice of conversion therapy, which is a harmful attempt to change an individual’s sexual or gender Read More...

LGBTQ flag painted next to Botswana flag

Botswana decriminalizes homosexuality

Back in 2019, campaigners in Botswana fought to remove jail sentences for those caught in same-sex relationships, arguing that the punishment (which, since 1965, is up to seven years in prison) is unconstitutional. The country’s High Court ruled in favor of the campaigners much to their Read More...

Hand holds up magnifying glass to an assortment of colored pills

New Zealand is first nation to protect drug checking services by law

In a world-first, last week New Zealand’s government approved legislation made to protect drug checking, a service that saves lives by chemically testing illicit drugs to scan them for dangerous contaminants. The legislation is expected to pass into law as soon as next week. “We’re the Read More...

At-home covid test

US makes at-home Covid-19 tests free to all Americans

With the rise of a potentially-concerning new Covid-19 variant, omicron, and colder months ahead, the US is ramping up health measures to prevent another surge in cases this winter. The White House has recently announced that it will make all at-home rapid tests free. Under the new rules, Read More...

Electric Volkswagen charging at a public charging spot in Germany

Germany plans to put 15 million electric vehicles on its roads by 2030

Making electric cars the dominant vehicles on the road is key to curbing planet-warming emissions and protecting the climate. In a bid to reach that goal, an increasing number of countries and cities across the world have pledged to ban the sale of gas-powered cars by the end of the decade. Now, Read More...

Two people walking their dog in the streets of Rome

WHO proposes global treaty to better address future pandemics

Unfortunately, as the climate crisis progresses and humans continue to infringe on wild animal habitats, the risk of another global pandemic is growing. To address this, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has agreed to form an intergovernmental negotiating body to create a legally-binding Read More...

Right whale jumps out of the water

US establishes protected zone for endangered North Atlantic right whales

The North Atlantic right whale is a species of whale that is currently considered critically endangered. Despite having been included in the Endangered Species Act since 1973, experts estimate that the North Atlantic right whale population has dwindled to fewer than 350. To help protect these Read More...