From back in July: 7 Pieces of Good News Nobody Is Reporting. Despite it being written by Cracked, this is fantastic stuff! Actually, Cracked makes it fun to read as well has happy to learn. :)
#7. The Gulf of Mexico Is Almost at Its Pre-Spill Health Levels
Excellent
#6. The Good News About AIDS
Amazing, and utterly astounding if you grew up with the “AIDS Epidemic”. My favorite part is the ability to prevent (nearly 100%) transmission from infected mothers to their babies during pregnancy and birth.
#5. The Antarctic Ozone Hole Is Shrinking
:) Down 15%, and still going!
#4. Traffic Fatalities Are Insanely Low Now
We have the safety of cars to thank. But the best part of this read is the author’s commentary:
“…it doesn’t hurt that drunk drivers are now the moral equivalents of Nazi war criminals and people who go without seat belts are the sympathizing Brazilians who willingly harbored them. As for driving texters, they might as well kill themselves with a machete slice to the gut, as far as the court of public opinion is concerned. So, yeah, you might say that this is one case where stupid PSAs have done the exact job they were meant to do.”
#3. Teen Pregnancy Is Also at a Record Low
“So to what do we owe this good fortune? … Literally no one knows.” Hmm….
#2. People Get Happier as They Get Older
If you can just make it to 50, it all gets better from there, according to a study of 340,000 people (that’s large for studies!) aged 18 to 85. The full NY Times article is here, but here’s a nice summation:
- Enjoyment and Happiness: Decreased every year until about age 50, then rose steadily until age 75.
- Stress: Declined every year from age 22 and reached its absolute lowest at age 85.
- Worry: Held steady between 18 and 50, then sharply dropped off.
- Anger: Decreases every year from 18 on.
- Sadness: Peaked at 50, hit its low point at 73.
Excellent! And to top it off:
#1. We’re ALL Living Longer, Better
I just Love that it’s not only Western countries (Western Europe and North America inclusive). No, it’s the whole world better off than just 100 years ago. Just imagine.