By: Laura Walton AFC®
Thanks to a loyal blog reader, we have some fun and encouraging news to enjoy and share over the holiday.
For the full list of 50 positive news items, each creatively illustrated, click here.
• In Sweden, blood donors get a text message whenever their blood saves a life
• A man in India planted a tree every day for 35 years and created a forest larger than Central Park
• Sea turtle populations have increased by 980% thanks to the Endangered Species Act
• A Thai supermarket says no to plastic packaging and wraps produce in banana leaves
• Netherlands has achieved the goal of officially becoming the first country without stray dogs
• In Rome you can pay for Metro tickets with plastic bottles – more than 350,000 bottles have been recycled so far
• Iceland has become the first country in the world to legally enforce equal pay for women and men
• Scientists in Finland have developed world’s first vaccine to fight off ‘bee apocalypse’
• South Korea once recycled 2% of its food waster; it now recycles 95% thanks to smart bins and special biodegradable bags
• Peru has committed to ending palm oil-driven deforestation by 2021.
• Humpback whales have come back from the brink of extinction, from a few hundred to 25,000.
• Scientists in Mexico have created fake plastic from cactus juice that biodegrades in a month and is safe to ingest.
• Scientists can now convert all blood types to the universal type 0 that is safe for all patients to receive thereby saving thousands of lives.
• The Galapagos iguana has made a return almost 200 years after Charles Darwin recorded them on his voyage
• Renewable energy sources now account for around a third of all global power capacity
• In Lagos, Nigeria, The Recycle Pay project allows parents to cover their kids’ school fees by collecting and bringing plastic waste to recyclers
• Research finds that feeding cows seaweed cuts 99% of greenhouse gas emissions from their burps and farts
Just making sure you read all the way to the bottom – happy holidays!