I know, I know. You’re SO over me. You lost a favorite celebrity. Your Samsung Galaxy exploded. You got really tired of Pokemon Go really fast. But look a little closer. I was also all kinds of awesome - in ways that left you a better place.
THE WORLD
There’s finally peace in Colombia • Non-violent protests helped impeach a president in South Korea • Gambia voted out a dictator • The military no longer rules Myanmar • Lebanon picked a leader - after 45 tries • A Pope and a Russian Orthodox patriarch met for the first time in 1,000 years
THE ENVIRONMENT
That big ozone hole over the Antarctic is starting to heal • India planted 50 million trees – in one day! • Norway banned deforestation • The Paris Agreement to limit global warming is now international law
THE US
The high school graduation rate is at its highest • The teen birth rate kept on falling • The unemployment rate is the lowest in 10 years • Americans gave to charity more than ever before
HEALTH
Researchers found new genes that may help cure ALS (thanks ice bucket challenge) • There’s hope for a new HIV vaccine • The measles is no more in the Americas • Sri Lanka proved you can finish off malaria • China bred good mosquitoes to fight the bad ones • West Africa is ebola-free (And an experimental vaccine is 100 percent effective)
HUMAN RIGHTS
Gambia and Tanzania banned child marriage • The death penalty is illegal in more than half the world • 300 African communities pledged to end female genital mutilation • A law against ‘honor’ killings finally passed in Pakistan
CONSERVATION
The tiger population rose for the first time in 100 years • Pandas are endangered no more • There were only 126 kakapo parrots left in the world; now there are 154! • Hawaii boasted the largest protected place on the planet
SPORTS
The Cubs finally won the World Series • Leicester City defied the odds to win the Premier League • The title-starved Cleveland won the NBA crown • The Olympic refugee team won our hearts
SPACE
There may be a ninth planet lurking in our solar system • Juno made it to Jupiter - after five years • Scientists found an Earth-like planet just 4.2 light years away • We got serious about putting humans on Mars