The good news from this year

It’s been a hard year for many people. Things seem more chaotic than they’ve been in a long time: political polarization and governmental disorder in America, global warming and environmental destruction, terrorism and violence around the world. In times like these, we need to learn to respond to these stories not by avoiding the awful developments in the world, but by organizing to create real change. And part of that is acknowledging the successes that we do have. So here are some important pieces of good news from this year.

1. More Americans Than Ever Are Concerned About Global Warming

Polling data from this year seems to suggest that many members of the American public, particularly youth, are increasingly accepting of and worried about anthropogenic climate change. This may come as a result of the worldwide climate strikes that started this September.

2. The Earth Is Getting Greener

While the destruction of the environment is in many ways moving faster than ever before, one study offers a small glimmer of hope. The earth, according to NASA research, has gotten five percent greener since the 1990s, equivalent to an area the size of the Amazon Rainforest.

3. Terrorism Rates Have Fallen

In 2018 and 2019, the worldwide incidence of terrorism has decreased. This decrease was particularly stark in the Middle East, where the regional power of ISIS has been weakening since 2016. ISIS attacks are down seventy one percent from their peak.

4. A Cure For HIV?

The second HIV patient in history has been found to be in sustained remission. While this is by no means anywhere close to a cure, it may represent a first step towards a solution to this horrible disease.

5. Worldwide Protests

Hong Kong, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Chile, Ecuador, and so many others. Dozens of countries are being racked by protests at this very moment. Even if the protests don’t amount to anything in terms of reform, they can be taken as a sign that, just maybe, the world is beginning to face the challenges of the 21st century.