Global Summary – Good News -2021

I’m glad to say that the collection of good news I’ve gathered here isn’t even a tenth of all the good that has happened around the world this year. I have collected the most interesting and joyful pieces of news, especially those that herald a better future and those that make you wonder if perhaps the better future is already here.

So without further introduction, let’s see what has happened around the world this year.

January

– Tribe in Panama wins landmark case that grant them stewardship of 400,000 acres of pristine ancestral forests.
– Plastic straws and single-use bags vanish from China.
– Fifty countries join new coalition to protect 30% of our planet’s land and oceans by decade’s end.
– Four major Asian nations cancel 80% of planned coal power projects after fossil fuel market crashes in 2020.
– Peru protects Machu Picchu by planting one million trees to guard against mudslides and fires.

February

– Spanish city makes green electricity from leftover oranges.
– New startup cleans up laundry detergent with soap that uses bio ingredients.
– The Empire State building is 100% powered by wind, along with 13 other related buildings.
 – Thanks to U.S. protection and preservation, the coral reef sanctuary triples in size.
– Scientists find a way to turn face masks into roads.

March

– 12 countries build roads out of plastic that can perform better than asphalt.
– Coldplay band sponsors a cleaning company that plucks plastic out of rivers before it flows to the ocean.
– After 170 years disappearance from Asia, the black-browed babbler is found in Indonesia.
– Federal judge blocks further oil and gas extraction from Ohio’s only national forest.
– Droneseed replants forests 6x faster by using special drones.

Read more: How planting a tree can help us stop global warming.

April

– Indian fishermen collect the plastic they catch from the ocean to be used to rebuild roads.
– Biodegradable food wrap is created from algae and cinnamon compound.
– Amazon, Unilever, and Nestlé join the UK, US and Norway in $1Billion initiative to preserve tropical rainforests.
-Scientists create a new and advanced way to capture and remove microplastics.
– 230,000 acres of tropical rainforest is protected as a biodiversity hotspot for jaguars in Belize.

May

– New Australian Marine Parks will protect an area twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef.
– Scientists partially restore vision in blind man using emerging technique and genes from light-sensitive algae.
– 60+ major companies sign a deal to dramatically reduce plastic waste in 4 years.
– World’s largest wind turbine manufacturer says all its blades will soon be fully recycled.
-Leonardo DiCaprio announces a $43 million pledge to save the Galápagos Islands.

June

– Police capture elusive tiger poacher after 20 years of pursuit.
– New initiative will plant 18 million trees around Glasgow in ‘Urban Forests’.
– U.S. suspends oil and gas leases in one of the nation’s largest wilderness areas.
– 150 brands unite to clean up our paper supply – saving global forests and improving recycling.
– A young Indian man makes toys, mosquito repellent, keychains and organic compost from cigarette butts.
– Norway closes down its last arctic coal mine and transforms land into Giant National Park.

July

– Korea uses artificial intelligence to prevent suicide attempts on bridges.
– LEGO unveils first brick prototype made from recycled plastic.
– Realtor transforms abandoned properties into tiny home villages that give permanent housing to the homeless.
– Spain starts planting a huge forest ring around the city to lower heat levels and cut co2 emissions.
– Maine becomes first US State to make corporations pay for recycling if they don’t use sustainable packaging.

August

– German company constructs roads to recharge electric vehicles with 95% efficiency and low cost.
– Locals dig a well and accidentally discover a $140 million star sapphire weighing half a ton.
– New solar-powered beach robot filters even tiny plastic and 30x faster than humans.
– India bans long list of single-use plastics starting next July.
– Steelworkers union helps turn massive abandoned steel mill into producer of wind turbines.

September

– Couple gives $100 million to conservation of 57,000 square miles of African protected areas.
-Bezos Earth Fund pledges $1B to conserve land and sea in critical areas.
– Dining cabins made from plastic bottles withstood the NYC hurricane and may be future of disaster relief.
– Leaded gasoline is finally eliminated worldwide.
– Bank that lost 66 workers on 9/11 has paid for all their kids to go to college.

October

– New sustainable makeup line produces cosmetics from plants instead of fossil fuels.
– 750,000-panel solar farm is constructed to power Colorado steel mill.
– Man gives free food to anyone in Bali who brings plastic and he recycles 500 tons in first year.
– California vineyards that once used only toxic chemicals to protect vines now use nesting owls.
– Ralph Lauren gives competitors new way to dye cotton, uses 90% less chemicals, 40% less energy and half the water.

November

– Jaguars in Mexico grow in number, a promising sign that conservation strategies are working.
– Fashion designer makes shoes that grow into apple trees at the end of their use.
– Thousands of bees make it out alive after being buried by volcanic ash for 50 days.
– A 13-year-old boy is granted a “Make-A-Wish” and uses it to feed the homeless every month for a Year.
-A 15 million-acre protected superhighway near Galapagos is created to preserve marine life.

Read more: Will we starve to death without bees?

December

– China pledges to plant forests of trees equal to the size of Belgium for each year of the next 5 years straight.
– New solution to ridding oceans of microplastics uses acoustic waves.
–  93-year-old in Quebec donates his island to the Nature Conservancy Canada, after protecting it from city sprawl for 50 years.
– Jet is flown by United Airlines entirely powered by 100% plant-based fuel from corn stalk waste.
– ‘Floating Continent’ is created that could collect and recycle plastic from the ocean.

It has been a wonderful year and I wish for us all that the new year will be full of even more good news.

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