Global Summary – Good News 2023

2023 was a challenging year for us as a collective, but it is important for me to remember and remind you that if we look closely, we will find positive points along the way. Although we have already moved into 2024, I think it is still not too late for sharing the good news of 2023. Especially in these days when darkness seems to be taking over the world, it is important to see that the light exists all around us and that the future can be better.

So without further ado let’s see what happened around the world in 2023.

January

– A business in England uses Christmas trees to protect residential areas from flooding.
– Australia has cut plastic waste on its beaches by nearly a third in just 6 years.
– A startup is established in Kenya that captures carbon dioxide, by putting it into volcanic rocks.

February

– 29 species in Australia have recovered enough in Australia to be taken off the endangered list.
– Old batteries from electric vehicles are now being used as a way to store excess solar and wind energy for times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow in California.
– Researchers in Australia have been able to successfully separate seawater to produce green hydrogen without pre-treatment.
– A startup in the USA has created building materials from grasses instead of trees, which absorbs carbon dioxide better during its lifetime and is also faster and more efficient for production.

March

– Switzerland is going to be the first country in the world to install solar panels between the railway tracks.
– Researchers have discovered an efficient way to extract carbon dioxide from the air and store it in baking soda and water.
– The first flight of a regional jet powered by hydrogen fuel cells is successful.

April

– “Ocean Cleanup” an ocean cleaning company has reached a milestone of removing 220 tons of trash from the sea.
– A new shoreline protection that looks like Lego serves as a habitat for marine life.

May

– Breakthrough treatment for melanoma cancer has a 90% success rate.
– Plastic-digesting bacteria is discovered in the Alps and the Arctic.
– Solar farms established in the Gobi desert are ready to supply electricity to 1.5 million Chinese households.
– The first electronic charging road in Sweden will charge electric vehicles while driving.

June

– After 50 years of being considered an extinct species, an earless dragon (a type of lizard) is rediscovered in Australia.
– Clean fuel has been made by extracting carbon dioxide from the air and plastic waste, which is powered by the sun in a process similar to photosynthesis.
– $25 million donation launches Hawaii’s largest coral restoration project to renew 120 miles of reef.

July

– The largest landfill in South America has been turned into a thriving forest full of life.
– Leslie Dart a girl from Canada has planted 372,290 trees across Canada over the past 3 summers and has inspired so many others through TikTok.
– When the kipunji monkey was discovered in 2003, it was defined as endangered, but they are now on the rise.
– 4ocean (who sell plastic bracelets from the ocean) have reached 30 million pounds of waste they have collected from the oceans.

August

– The osprey bird in Ireland has been spotted for the first time in more than 200 years.
– A 5-year-old Seattle boy’s lemonade stand has raised over $17,000 for Maui wildfire victims.
– India has approved $7 billion for 10,000 electric buses to reduce air pollution in 170 cities.
– A plant-based filter removes up to 99.9% of microplastics from the water.

September

– The government in Norway has turned a coal town into a nature reserve and space for wildlife in the largest operation of its kind.
– Oprah and Dwayne Johnson are giving $1,200 per month from their own pockets to survivors of the Maui wildfires.
– An endangered prehistoric bird has been released back into the wilds of New Zealand after extensive rehabilitation.
– The ocean cleaning company “Ocean CleanUp” has launched a huge garbage collection system that cleans garbage from an area of the size of a football field every 5 seconds.
– A couple who won $100,000 in the lottery plan to spend the money on fostering children.

October

– California’s governor has signed a law to help protect pollinators (including bees) from toxic pesticides.
– Scientists have created natural sponges that absorb nano-plastics.
– Robots that look like manta rays will sink seaweed to the bottom of the ocean. This seaweed will help absorb carbon dioxide.
– Scientists have discovered a small strand of RNA that will be key to fighting cancer with the help of our immune system.

November

– Indonesia has announced that half a million hectares of palm plantations will be turned back into forests.
– An egg-laying mammal named in honor of Sir David Attenborough has been rediscovered after being thought extinct for more than 60 years.
– Portugal is operating on 100% renewable energy and has lowered the consumer’s electricity bills to almost zero for 6 days a week.
– A secret donor has donated 2.3 million dollars over 25 years to finance education and support for poor families in China.
– Dominica has created the world’s first sperm whale nature reserve – for 200 whales that call the island home.

December

– The City of California has seen a significant increase in the population of salmon coming to spawn in San Jose after 10 years of clearing the habitat.
– Fishing nets and carpets are now molecularly recyclable thanks to Northwestern University chemists.
– A tiny golden mole unseen for nearly 100 years has been rediscovered thanks to a sniffer dog and determined scientists.
– The area of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has decreased by 55% in the last year.
– Ireland has set a new record in renewable energy by generating 70% energy from the wind.

I hope that the Good News Summary of 2023 has fill your heart a little and given you hope for the New Year. I wish for us that 2024 will be a year of happiness and joy and that we will surround ourselves with positive content that fills us.