You would be forgiven to think that the world is going to hell - at an ever increasing rate. News headlines, written to trigger your curiosity, shout and scream of drama, outrage, and seemingly intractable problems.
But there are so many people who are doing good, people and organizations stepping up to the challenge of pollution, deforestation, rewilding denuded landscapes. These are some of my heroes.
I share these examples with you - and hope you'll add your heroes in the comments
The Ocean Cleanup
Are a group dedicated to cleaning our oceans of plastic pollution. They've been trawling the great Pacific Garbage Patch and begun work of putting collection barriers on the rivers that are polluting the Pacific Basin and the Caribbean. And the extraction videos from the Pacific is some great ASMR!
Is a You Tube channel from Shaun Overton that documents his purchase of a remote part of Southern Texas and his 30 year project to restore the land to it's original (pre cattle ranching) state - but reestablishing the native forest. The combination of figuring things out (like how to get equipment out there), dealing with surprises (illegal immigrants traversing the property on their way to a new life) and learning to evolve the plan to trap more water to support the eventual seedlings is an inspiration
But not all heroes are embarked on 30 year or ocean spanning pursuits. I have a colleague who founded and ran a social enterprise for survivors of sex trafficking
Another volunteers with https://www.wearebreakthrough.org/ to help young men transition out of prison and back into a new beginning
And a Singapore colleague volunteers at Hope Centre who provide drop in centers and tutoring (https://hopecentre.org.sg/contribute/donate)
The world is full of good. Let's celebrate that and remember what a wonderful place we live in!