Oakland in California decriminalizes magic mushrooms and peyote
The city council’s vote directed law enforcement to cease investigating and prosecuting individuals for using or possessing drugs sourced from plants, cacti, and mushrooms.
California
California lawmakers approve bill to give workers full pay for family leave
The legislation would give workers in the state 100% of their wages when on family leave.
Scientists invent 100% recyclable plastic
Scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have created a recyclable plastic that can be disassembled into its constituent parts and reassembled without loss of performance or quality.
Los Angeles launches its own Green New Deal to go carbon-neutral by 2050
The plan requires all new city-owned buildings and major renovations to be all-electric, effective immediately. The plan also hopes to phase out styrofoam and to plant 90,000 trees by 2021, and to end plastic straws and single-use containers by 2028.
Inexpensive ‘first-of-its-kind’ device can generate electricity from snowfall
UCLA researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind device that can generate electricity from falling snow. The inexpensive device scientists is small, thin, and flexible like a sheet of plastic.
California reaches its 33% renewable energy target two years before deadline
The state’s next renewable milestone is at 44% by 2024, a 33% growth in just over five full years.
Researchers use healthy stem cells for future Type 1 diabetes cure for the first time
For the first time ever, researchers have successfully transformed human stem cells into mature insulin-producing cells, a major breakthrough in the effort to develop a cure for type 1 (T1) diabetes.
The U.S. Postal Service begins piloting its first ever all-electric vans
The first vehicle in the 1-year pilot is already running parcels around in Fresno, California, with 3 of the remaining vehicles planned for deployment in Fresno and the 3 remaining vehicles being deployed in Stockton later this year.
USC researchers find new culprit and potential treatment target for Alzheimer’s
Brain changes associated with leaky capillaries suggest new, potential drug targets as well as a way to diagnose the disease sooner.
All new public buses in California have to be electric by 2029
By the year 2029, all new mass transit buses in the whole state will have to be fully electric, according to a new rule adopted unanimously by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).