Five Pieces of Good News That Will Put a Smile on Your Face

You want a present this holiday? Well, here it is.

Photo credit: Austin Chan.

It’s been a year, hasn’t it?

2022 ushered in a population benchmark: 8 billion people now inhabit this planet, despite a raft of fun new Omicron variants and the destabilizing effect inflation has had on anyone’s plans to start a family. Or even have sex.

Turmoil rocked British politics. Like Covid-19 itself, Trumpism has morphed into a whole new virus, one that is so destructive and unhinged, it has largely left him behind.

Putin’s still alive, which is unfortunate since he’s using his own countrymen as cannon fodder in a stupid, pointless war against Ukraine. I’ve always thought that wars, which are usually started by old men and fought by young ones, are a way of eliminating sexual competition. Now that Putin’s in the winter of life’s seasonal journey, it sure feels as though he’s doing just that.

If all the strapping young bucks are gone, well … that’s just more for him, isn’t it?

But there was good news, too, which often gets shouted down by the bad. And don’t we deserve it? I, for one, could use a little good news pick-me-up. Let’s hope, what with winter solstice inaugurating longer days, life will return to normal again.

Whatever normal looks like.

So, in the interests of reminding you that the news cycle rarely reports on good news because nobody cares, here are five great things that are happening right now.

1. The hole in the ozone is getting smaller. Yes, I was as shocked as you are when I read that, and yet it’s true. To be sure, this doesn’t mean we’re making huge progress on global warming yet. Separate issues. But the ozone layer shields life on Earth from harmful radiation from space. And, after we tainted the atmosphere in the 1980s with chlorofluorocarbons and halons and then blew a hole in the ozone layer over the South Pole, I am happy to report that the world shook off its usual malaise and signed the Montreal Protocol. Countries were then obligated to phase out those chemicals, which they did.
   
   The hole was at its largest in 2006, but since then, it’s been slowly shrinking.

   

   
   

2. Lost species are rebounding. Wolves, bears, and bison are making a “spectacular” comeback in Europe. While I hardly wish to come face-to-face with a wolf, a bear, or a bison, I recognize how essential they are to biodiversity. In fact, many previously-struggling species are making a comeback, including loggerhead turtles, Eurasian otters, humpback whales, and wolverines. Although one in eight birds and one in five mammals remain in peril, human intervention is aiding in the recovery of these endangered critters, which means we can likely save others.
   
   Even an iguana thought to have been extinct for the past 200 years has been spotted in the Galapagos Islands. Their numbers had once been decimated by dogs and feral pigs, but they are staging a very satisfying comeback tour, complete with air guitar, and scientists appear to be happy.

   

   Steve is a Sagittarius on the cusp of Aquarius. He’s into Norwegian Death Metal, long walks in rain, and doesn’t do “drama.”

   
   3.We can now print as much wood as we want without felling a single tree. If that’s not straight up fabulous, what is? And while it’s true that I harbor a healthy skepticism toward tech, as Monday’s article will attest, this is exactly the kind of thing tech ought to be used for: making the world a better place for everyone, not just a couple of dorks in hoodies.
   

   Since the beginning of human civilization, we’ve managed to wipe out about 54% of the world’s tree population. And yet, the things we need trees for (paper, wax, medicines, etc.) make their harvesting a necessary part of our lives. Now, the scientists at MIT have proven that deforestation is no longer necessary. We can grow all the wood we need in a lab. In fact, they can bio-print any size or shape of wood, right down to a kitchen table.
   

   
   Do we humans have a penchant for solving one problem and creating three others? Yes. But I’m hoping that solving this huge problem (deforestation and how it’s impacting our climate catastrophe) will offset any possible consequences, should they arise.
   

   4. If Putin knew how his war in Ukraine was forcing Europe to ramp up its renewable energy game, he’d probably end the war tomorrow. Portugal, in particular, with its solar and wind farms, could overhaul its entire economy by selling its surplus to the rest of Europe—and it just might.
   

   But last Tuesday, U.S. researchers overcame a major deterrent to producing near-limitless amounts of clean fuel when they successfully harnessed the energy created when atoms are fused together. Unlike fission (when atoms are split apart), fusion doesn’t create a chain reaction and produces no dangerous long-term radioactive waste. And while there’s a long way to go before the technology can be applied on a global scale, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D) said, “This astonishing scientific advance puts us on the precipice of a future no longer reliant on fossil fuels, but instead powered by new clean fusion energy.”
   

   Way to go, team!
   

   5. London theaters pledged to give away free tickets. One of my biggest grievances against the arts in general is how inaccessible they are to those of us who don’t have the money to enjoy them. Broadway tickets, for instance, are ridiculously expensive. They have to be in order to absorb all the costs of mounting a Broadway production. But so many talented, curious, artistic (and future-artist) folks are being deprived of the creative oxygen they breathe due to economic circumstances.
   
   Weep no more!
   

   As of January 9, 2023, a new program in London called the Ticket Bank will start giving away unsold theater tickets to those who can’t afford them. 1,000 tickets per week, to be exact. The tickets will be free or pay-what-you-can, which opens up a whole new world to the disadvantaged, some of whom will surely go on to become theater actors themselves one day.

   

   Theater Royal, Stratford East

   “Art is a human right,” says Chris Sonnex, who came up with the idea. “People who are suffering as a result of the cost of living also need access to community, entertainment and things that warm the soul.”

   And there you have it—great news, which is my holiday gift to you. I genuinely felt better after researching these advancements, and they helped me remember: we may be apes, but we are clever apes. Maybe there’s hope for us after all.

   
   Have a wonderful holiday. Love and lots of it from your friend and fan here at Cappuccino.

   Do you have some good news you’d care to share? I’m all ears. Leave your comments in the comments section below.