- Wild Poliovirus has been eradicated from Africa https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/africa-finally-eradicates-wild-poliovirus/

- Beer gone unsold in Australia is being converted to renewable energy https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/11/australia/coronavirus-australia-beer-energy-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

- There's been an elephant baby boom in Kenya https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08ndfw1

- Wolverines return to Mt Rainier Nation Park after more than 100 years https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/3925/Wolverines-Return-To-Mount-Rainier-National-Park-After-More-Than-100-Years

- Once declared a major ecological disaster, the Mesopotamian Marshes have made a staggering recovery https://www.positive.news/environment/how-a-disaster-zone-in-iraq-became-a-conservation-success-story/

- The people of Papua New Guinea Donate $61,000 to the victims of the Australian Bushfires https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/3905/People-of-Papa-New-Guinea-Donate-61-000-To-Australia-Bushfire-Victims

Holy shit are they selfless. Good on them, but honestly... I wish we refused their money, they already have a low standard living... We have a Trillion dollar plus economy for 24~ million people, we should be able to afford it.

But good on 'em. They are what we should all aspire to be like.

Tagging, great thread

Conservation efforts have prevented the global extinction of between 28 and 48 bird and mammal species since 1993
https://www.positive.news/environment/positive-news-stories-from-week-37-of-2020/

Multiple studies confirm that cheap and readily available steroids dexamethasone and hydrocortisone reduce mortality in severely ill COVID-19 patients by 20%
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/sep/02/two-types-of-steroid-found-to-save-lives-of-some-covid-19-patients

Teenagers across the US have stepped up to deliver food, offer online tutoring, email sick children, and raise funds to supply hospital workers with protective gear
https://apnews.com/1260e4e977b7240f2e3f81c6bbcd24fd

The viral "ice bucket challenge" is being credited for funding a promising new treatment for ALS.
https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/3938/Ice-Bucket-Challenge-Funds-Promising-New-Treatment-For-ALS

Zimbabwe reverses 2015 decision to allow coal mining in its national parks
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/zimbabwe-bans-coal-mining-in-hwanche/

Revolutionary new treatment could cure a type of blindness that affects around 1 in 4000 children https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/hungarian-scientist-botond-roska-wins-the-korber-prize/

Community fridges are popping up across America for mutual aid amid the pandemic. The fridges are stocked by donations from local businesses and community members with extra food to spare. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/10/no-one-should-go-hungry-sidewalk-fridges-of-free-food-help-americans-survive-pandemic

Conservationists in Australia have eradicated all feral cats and foxes from a vast 9,570-hectare fenced area at Mallee Cliffs National Park, creating the largest feral predator-free safe haven on the mainland. https://www.australianwildlife.org/mainland-australias-largest-feral-predator-free-haven-declared-at-mallee-cliffs-national-park/

LEGO to ditch plastic packaging from 2021. https://www.positive.news/society/positive-news-stories-from-week-38-of-2020/

Transparent solar panels and ‘Quantum Dots’ could make skyscrapers power themselves. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ubiqd-solar-panel-transparent-windows-for-skyscrapers/

Lonely widower puts up a poster asking for new friends; is flooded with messages from new pals. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/lonely-widower-poster-thousands-of-friends/ 

In the first half of 2020, renewables (solar, wind, hydro and biomass) didn’t just beat out coal on the European grid — they beat out all fossil fuels put together. As a result, the continent's power sector CO2 emissions fell by 23%.  https://ember-climate.org/project/renewables-beat-fossil-fuels/

U.S. Senators reach bipartisan agreement to phase out use of a potent greenhouse gas. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/republican-senators-introduce-amendment-to-ban-potent-greenhouse-gas/

Bee populations in the US are showing signs of recovery, with colonies increasing nationally by 14% and as much as 73% in one state, in the past year. MyModernMet

Trials of the Oxford vaccine underway in Brazil are showing promise. To date, at least 5,000 volunteers have been administered the drug - or a placebo drug - and have not presented any serious adverse reactions. Rio Times

Magawa, an African Giant Pouched Rat, was awarded a gold medal from the PDSA, a British veterinary charity, for his work over the past seven years leading to the detection of 39 landmines and 28 unexploded items and clearing an area of more than 20 soccer fields in the process. https://www.vice.com/en/article/935pmp/this-hero-rat-is-saving-cambodia-one-landmine-at-a-time

Venom from honeybees has been found to rapidly kill aggressive and hard-to-treat breast cancer cells, according to potentially ground-breaking new Australian research. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-01/new-aus-research-finds-honey-bee-venom-kills-breast-cancer-cells/12618064

The iconic Tasmanian devil has just been returned to mainland Australia for the first time in 3,000 years. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/tasmanian-devils-comeback-mainland-australia/

Scientists create ‘Super Enzyme’ that eats Plastic six times faster than previous Enzymes https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/a-super-enzyme-has-been-created-to-breakdown-plastic-three-times-fast/

The proportion of the world's children under the age of five infected with hepatitis B has dropped to just under 1%, down from 5% in the early 2000s https://www.who.int/news/item/27-07-2020-world-hepatitis-day-fast-tracking-the-elimination-of-hepatitis-b-among-mothers-and-children

In 2002 there were only 92 Iberian Lynxes left alive. Thanks to conservation efforts there are now 894, with a 23% population increase last year alone https://www.lavanguardia.com/natural/fauna-flora/20201006/483890786688/exito-total-la-poblacion-de-linces-se-multiplica-por-10.html

Uganda is planting 3 million trees to help endangered Chimpanzees https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/uganda-is-planting-3-million-trees-for-chimpanzees/

Woman raises $85,000 for Covid relief by climbing all 58 of Colorado’s 14,000 foot mountains https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/brittney-woodrum-colorado-mountain-hike/

Singapore has created a 400 hectare park in the northern portion of the island, a sanctuary for migratory birds and other wildlife. It's part of a wider initiative to turn disused industrial areas back into natural landscapes, and plant 1 million trees across the city-state by 2030. Mongabay

Scientists discover a method of converting plastic waste into hydrogen which can be used as clean fuel https://bit.ly/3m14wMW

The world is winning the fight against tuberculosis. The WHO has just published its annual TB report, showing that between 2015 and 2019, global deaths fell by 14%. In fact, since 2000, TB treatment has averted more than 60 million deaths. https://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/TB20_Exec_Sum_20201014.pdf

Egypt has managed to plant trees in the desert using wastewater, creating a massive 200 hectare oasis known as the Serapium Forest, which has boomed despite a recent drought. Following the success of the project, the country is now looking to plant more desert lands with trees to fight climate change. Al Monitor

Seattle's Duwamish River is visibly healing. In 2001, after a century of unchecked industrial pollution, it was labelled as one of the most toxic sites in America. After two decades of clean up efforts by conservationists and community groups, wildlife is now returning and the river is the cleanest it's been in 100 years. Seattle Met

South Australia has met 100% of its electricity demands with solar energy for the first time https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/south-australia-solar-meets-100-percent-energy-demands/

The UK announces its first trainline running entirely on renewable energy https://www.positive.news/society/positive-news-stories-from-week-44-of-2020/

The Grey Wolf has been lifted off the Endangered Species list after 45 years thanks to conservation efforts https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/gray-wolf-taken-off-endangered-species-list/

Humanity is winning its fight against elephantiasis, the second leading cause of disability in the world. In the last 20 years, the number of people infected has dropped by 74%, from 199 million to 51.4 million, and last year three countries, Malawi, Kiribati and Yemen, eliminated it altogether. The Lancet

Since 1995, the proportion of girls receiving primary and secondary education has increased from 73% to 89%. That's an extra 180 million girls in school compared to a generation ago, plus three times more women are now enrolled in universities. https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/sites/default/files/Gender_Report_2020_press_release.pdf

There's been a new breakthrough in the fight against AIDS. A new antiretroviral administered as an injection six times a year is 89% more effective at preventing HIV in women compared to standard antiretrovirals, which have to be taken daily. NYT

The Falkland Islands have been cleared of all landmines, nearly 40 years after the end of the war with Britain. Tens of thousands of mines and bombs have been removed since 2009, as part of a UK-funded programme, a task carried out by a team of specialist de-miners, many of them from Zimbabwe. "We never thought the islands would be completely mine free, this is a momentous change." BBC

Cambodia has made huge inroads in its fight against malaria this year. In the first nine months of 2020, the country saw a 70% decrease in malaria cases compared to the same period last year. “This is a proud achievement for Cambodia, and our biggest step made so far to eradicate the disease.” Khmer Times

Argentina has broadened the use of medicinal cannabis, allowing it to be prescribed for any condition backed by scientific evidence, and letting people grow it at home. New rules also state that cannabis should be made available for free in the country’s public health system for patients without insurance. Vice

In the Pacific Northwest, the Yurok tribe has begun the reintroduction of the Californian Condor to its ancestral lands along the Klamath River. The program, a partnership with 16 different federal agencies, private companies, and conservation organizations, will restore North America's largest bird to parts of the country where it hasn't been seen in more than a century. Audubon

Malaria deaths fell to the lowest level ever recorded last year. The mortality rate has dropped by almost 60% in the last two decades, from 24.7 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 10.1 per 100,000 in 2019. 1.5 billion malaria cases and 7.6 million malaria deaths have been averted globally in the period between 2000 and 2019. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015791 

Singapore has become the first country in the world to give the go-ahead to meat created without slaughtering any animals, after approving the sale of lab-grown chicken nuggets. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/worlds-first-cell-cultured-chicken-likely-to-be-at-restaurants-in-singapore

A new study has shown that air quality in Europe has improved dramatically in the past decade. Thanks to the implementation of better environmental and climate policies, around 60,000 fewer people died prematurely due to fine particulate matter pollution in 2018, compared with 2009. For nitrogen dioxide, the reduction is even greater; premature deaths have declined by about 54%. https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/marked-improvement-in-europes-air

All six major US banks have now ruled out financing oil and gas development in the Arctic. https://www.sierraclub.org/articles/2020/12/not-single-major-us-bank-now-willing-finance-arctic-drilling

The leaders of 14 countries responsible for 40% of the ocean’s shores have pledged to end overfishing, restore fish stocks and stop pollution from entering their waters, in what has been described as the world’s biggest ocean sustainability initiative. https://www.positive.news/society/positive-news-stories-from-week-49-of-2020/

Revolutionary new treatment destroys cancer cells permanently in animal trials. https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/crispr-based-genome-editing-system-destroys-cancer-cells-tel-aviv/

New additive makes plastic not only biodegradable, but break down within a year.  https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/polymaterias-plastic-packaging-biodegradable/