With celebrity death and elections taking the media by the nose, it’s easy to forget that this year saw a great many positives. Let’s look.
1. The Colombian government and FARC rebels committed to a lasting peace, ending a war that killed or displaced over 7 million people.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38153932
2. Sri Lanka spent five years working to exile the world’s deadliest disease from their borders. As of 2016, they are malaria free.
http://www.searo.who.int/mediacentre/re ... 6/1631/en/
3. The Giant Panda, arguably the world’s second cutest panda, has officially been removed from the endangered species list.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/giant ... ed-n643336
4. Tim Peake became the first ESA astronaut from the UK, symbolizing a renewed British commitment to space exploration.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... s-in-space
5. Tiger numbers around the world are on the rise for the first time in 100 years, with plans to double by 2022.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016 ... opulation/
6. Juno, a piece of future history, successfully flew over 800 million miles and is now sending back unprecedented data from Jupiter.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016 ... lly-enter/
7. The number of veterans in the US who are homeless has halved in the past half-decade, with a nearly 20% drop in 2016.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/veteran- ... ince-2010/
8. Malawi lowered its HIV rate by 67%, and in the past decade has seen a shift in public health that has saved over 250,000 lives.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/featur ... 13107.html
9. Air travel continues to get safer, and 2016 saw the second fewest per capita deaths in aviation of any year on record.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/2016-one ... n-history/
10. India’s dogged commitment to reforestation saw a single day event planting more than 50 million trees, a world record.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/ ... fd2864292e
11. Measles has been eradicated from the Americas. A 22 year vaccination campaign has led to the elimination of the horrific virus.
http://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive ... as/501887/
12. After a century, Einstein’s theory of gravitational waves has been proven correct, in a ‘moon shot’ scientific achievement.
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/20 ... nal-waves/
13. China has announced a firm date for the end of the ivory trade, as public opinion is becoming more staunchly environmentalist.
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/china-an ... -end-2017/
14. A solar powered airplane flew across the Pacific Ocean for the first time, highlighting a new era of energy possibilities.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/24/travel/so ... alifornia/
15. Costa Rica’s entire electrical grid ran on renewable energy for over half the year, and their capacity continues to grow.
http://thecostaricanews.com/costa-rica- ... -299-days/
16. Israeli and US researchers believe they are on the brink of being able to cure radiation sickness, after successful tests this year.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-israe ... SKCN0WB1ZJ
17. The ozone layer has shown that through tackling a problem head on, the world can stem environmental disasters, together.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/01/health/an ... r-healing/
18. A new treatment for melanoma has seen a potential 40% survival rate, taking a huge step forward towards long-term cancer survivability.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36304018
19. An Ebola vaccine was developed by Canadian researchers with 100% efficacy. Humans eradicated horror, together.
http://www.newsweek.com/ebola-vaccine-s ... als-537336
20. British Columbia protected 85% of the world’s largest temperate rainforest, in a landmark environmental agreement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-canad ... SKCN0VA2NC
21. 2016 saw the designation of more than 40 new marine sanctuaries in 20 countries, covering an area larger than the United States.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-envir ... SKCN11M24T
22. These marine reserves include Malaysia’s 13 year struggle to complete a million hectare park, completed this year.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/ ... arine-park
23. This also includes the largest marine reserve in history, created in Antarctica via an unprecedented agreement by 24 nations.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016 ... ntarctica/
24. Atmospheric acid pollution, once a gloomy reality, has been tackled to the point of being almost back to pre-industrial levels.
http://sciencebulletin.org/archives/5347.html
25. Major diseases are in decline. The US saw a 50% mortality drop in colon cancer; lower heart disease, osteoporosis and dementia.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/upsho ... cline.html
26. Uruguay successfully fought tobacco companies to create a precedent for small countries looking to introduce health-focused legislation.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-N ... bacco-laws
27. World hunger has reached its lowest point in 25 years, and with poverty levels dropping worldwide, seems likely to continue.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/09/opini ... -over.html
28. The AU made strides to become more unified, launching an all-Africa passport meant to allow for visa-free travel for all citizens.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/mon ... -passport/
29. Fossil fuel emissions flatlined in 2016, with the Paris agreement becoming the fastest UN treaty to become international law.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/arti ... ons-slows/
30. China announced a ban on new coal mines, with renewed targets to increase electrical capacity through renewables by 2020.
http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/04/chinas- ... ble-energy
31. One third of Dutch prison cells are empty as the crime rate shrank by more than 25% in the last eight years, continuing to drop.
http://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2016/1 ... ce-system/
32. In August went to the high Arctic with some incredible artists. They helped open my eyes to the promise of the next generation.
http://www.generatorevent.com/arctic/
33. Science, economics, and environmentalists saw a reversal in the overfishing trends of the United States this year.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/20 ... -reprieve/
34. Boyan Slat successfully tested his Ocean Cleanup prototype, and aims to clean up to 40% of ocean-borne plastics starting this year.
https://www.theoceancleanup.com/
35. Israel now produces 55% of its freshwater, turning what is one of the driest countries on earth into an agricultural heartland.
https://ensia.com/features/water-desali ... ddle-east/
36. The Italian government made it harder to waste food, creating laws that provided impetus to collect, share and donate excess meals.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 71251.html
37. People pouring ice on their head provided the ALS foundation with enough funding to isolate a genetic cause of the disease.
http://www.alsa.org/news/media/press-re ... hings-2016
38. Manatees, arguably the most enjoyable animal to meet while swimming, are no longer endangered.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/ext ... hreatened/
39. Grizzlies, arguably the least enjoyable animal to meet while swimming, no longer require federal protection in national parks.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016 ... -species0/
40. Global aid increased 7%, with money being spent to help the world’s 65 million displaced people and refugees doubling.
http://www.oecd.org/development/develop ... oubles.htm
41. 2016 was the most charitable year in American history. China’s donations have increased more than ten times since a decade ago.
https://givingusa.org/giving-usa-2016/
42. The Gates Foundation announced another 5 billion dollars towards eradicating poverty and disease in Africa.
http://www.africanews.com/2016/07/18/bi ... in-africa/
43. Individual Canadians were so welcoming that the country set a world standard for how to privately sponsor and resettle refugees.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/world ... ugees.html
44. Teenage birth rates in the United States have never been lower, while at the same time graduation rates have never been higher.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/teen-bir ... port-says/
45. SpaceX made history by landing a rocket upright after returning from space, potentially opening a new era of space exploration.
https://www.wired.com/2015/12/spacex-ju ... irst-time/
46. Finally - The Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years, giving hope to Maple Leafs fans everywhere.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/chic ... rs-n677091
There are countless more examples, big and small. If you refocus on the things that are working, your year will be better than the last.
Happy New Year, everyone.
