Click it and Unblock the Notifications
When the reality of this world starts to trouble the peace we read about in books, it is comforting to consider other possibilities. Even though those possibilities are too harsh or too naïve or impossible to believe. So strong is the willingness to escape the tyranny of our own consciousness and our perceptions that are too narrow, we hold on to hope. All in the same hope where a better world or a better version of ourselves may lie on the other side of the door.
The Greeks were right to put hope inside Pandora's Box and made her throw it somewhere on earth. Maybe it's still here. Stuck in a dark box. But it is still here. As we entered year 2023, let us know about the good things that happened last year, that has made our world a place to live in. You know what they say, Good Things first!
France became the first country to ban fossil fuel advertisements
In an impressive step taken by the France government, all advertisements promoting fuel, coal and natural gas has been banned to be endorsed in commercials. The companies who violate the ban will be fined $100,000 for each instance and double the amount for repeated violations.
The world's largest shipping container line is rerouting it's fleet to protect endangered blue whales
The world's largest shipping company that is the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announced it is rerouting its entire fleet to protect endangered blue whales near Sri Lanka.
After two years of deadly conflict, Ethiopia's civil war agreed to stop fighting
The two years of conflict has killed thousands of people and has displaced a millions of them. The Ethiopian government and Tigray regional forces announced that they've agreed to end hostilities.
Swiss scientists develop windows of electricity with transparent solar cells
The low-cost dye-sensitized solar cells use photosensitized dye on a semiconductor surface that converts visible light into energy. Previous versions of it had to depend on natural sunlight. But we can see a break though here!
The Women of Iran are TIME's 2022 Heroes of the Year
Heroes in every sense, the women of Iran who stood up for their rights after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by Iran's morality police for not wearing hijab and died in police custody. Sparked a huge controversy across the world, the Islamic Republic saw a rebellion by women after 43 year history.
After nearly going extinct in the region, as many as 150 fin whales were seen feeding off the coast of Antarctica
This fantastic good news comes from Antarctica where the fin whales were said to be extinct. Marine mammal ecologist Dr. Helena Herr says, " Fin whales are the second-largest whales on the planet, and as commercial whaling grew exponentially in the 20th century, their populations were devastated. In the southern hemisphere, there were only a couple thousand left," Herr said.
The world's largest offshore wind farm is now fully operational, helping power 1.4 million U.K. homes
Located in a vast area off the east coast of England, over 165 turbines cover the area will help power more than 1.4 million homes in the UK. It is called the Hornsea 2. What a beautiful sight to see!
The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a jailed activist in Belarus and human rights organizations in Russia and Ukraine
In a global impression of peace gesture, the 2022 Nobel Peace prize award was given to a currently jailed in Belarus Ales Bialiatski. Also to two main human activists organizations, one in Ukraine and one in Russia.
The first train line successfully switched fully to hydrogen
Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that generate electricity by combining hydrogen and oxygen, producing no emissions other than water vapor. Germany takes credit world's first fleet of hydrogen-powered trains.
Countries agreed on climate and biodiversity funding
In a remarkable decision at the UN biodiversity conference in Montreal in December, countries have agreed to allocate $200 billion annually by 2030 to protect biodiversity. $30 billion of this will come from countries in the Global North for conservation efforts in developing countries.
Wild mammals made a comeback in Europe
The iconic wild mammals that were at a brink of extinction were spotted across Europe last year. Gray wolves, brown bears, bison, and, yes, beavers are thriving again in Europe. A fantastic example of conservation and protection acts.
NASA gave us a detailed look at distant galaxies
The James Webb Telescope, the largest space telescope ever built, reached its destination in orbit around the sun in January, a million mile far from home. This $10 billion observatory has captured mesmerizing images of a planet outside our solar system, a nebulae where stars are born and the vivid colorful pictures of distant galaxies.
Alzheimer's became partially treatable
In a ground breaking discovery, a clinical trial of over 1,800 people with early Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, were trialed with an antibody drug that slowed the rate of cognitive decline by 27 percent in patients treated for 18 months. And boom, it did!
Women's sports is gaining popularity
In 2022, the women's sports have stolen the spotlight. A world-record 91,000 spectators watched Barcelona play Real Madrid in March in the UEFA Women's Champions League, while a wide variety of sports in the US, viewing figures, funding, and prize money are up. India is said to start it's first women IPL cricket league in 2023.
DART proved we can protect Earth from asteroids
On a successful mission where NASA and its partners deliberately plowed the DART spacecraft into a small asteroid at 14,000 miles per hour to see if the impact could deflect its path. It did. Currently there is no asteroid that is in a collision course to earth. Let's hope we won't have to do this.
