At first sight the saying ‘May you live in interesting times’ appears to be a blessing from one person to another. In fact, it is generally accepted that the phrase is an old Chinese curse, where ‘interesting’ is a euphemism for unstable, chaotic or otherwise difficult times. Many readers will be pleased to see the back of 2019 which has indeed been ‘interesting’, with DB issues, Professional Indemnity problems, pressure on fees, ever increasing costs and an overarching difficult political and economic environment.

So here is some good news from 2019. 

• Sea turtles are making a huge comeback, with their populations increasing by 980%, thanks to the Endangered Species Act. 
• In Sweden, blood donors get a text message whenever their blood saves a life. 
• Seven eggs from the world’s last two remaining Northern White Rhinos have been successfully fertilized.  This may save the species! 
• Holland covers hundreds of bus stops with plants – “Green Roofs” – where bees can take refuge. 
• San Francisco’s Cuddle Club unites senior people and senior dogs who need companionship, exercise and affection.
• South Korea is organising daytime disco parties for people over 65 to tackle loneliness and dementia. 
• Rice farmers around the world are using ducks instead of harmful pesticides! Ducks feed on insects and weeds, without touching the plants. 
• Renewable energy sources now account for around a third of all global power capacity. 
• Baby African elephants will no longer be taken from the wild and sold to zoos and circuses after a near-total ban has been approved. 
• In Rome, you can now pay for Metro Train tickets with plastic bottles.  So far more than 350,000 bottles have been recycled.
• Malawi female Chief comes to power, annuls over 1,500 child marriages, makes it illegal and sends young girls back to school.
• An unprecedented legal victory for indigenous rights in Ecuador frees up huge swathe of Amazonian rainforest from gold mining.
• Global suicide rate has dropped by 38% from its peak in 1994, a reduction of over 4 million.
• California limits pet store sales of cats, dogs and rabbits to rescue or shelter animals only. 
• A man in India planted a tree every day for 35 years and created a forest larger than Central Park.
• Humpback whales have come back from the brink of extinction.  Thanks to conservation efforts, they’ve gone from a few hundred to 25,000!
• A record-breaking 4,855 people waited for hours in the rain for stem cell test to help save a 5-year-old boy fighting a rare cancer.
• A robot called LarvalBot is delivering coral babies to the Great Barrier Reef to help restore coral reefs to what they were.
• A Thailand supermarket says no to plastic packaging and wraps produce in banana leaves. 
• For the first time, mathematics’ most prestigious prize has been awarded to a woman, Karen Uhlenbeck. 
• New study finds that dog’s highly evolved sense of smell can identify cancer with incredible accuracy. 
• Scientist in Mexico creates fake plastic from cactus juice that biodegrades in a month and is safe to ingest. 
• A seven-mile “bee corridor” of vibrant wildflowers is being planted to encourage the insect’s population in London. 
• Galapagos iguana makes return to the island almost 200 years after Charles Darwin recorded them there. 
• German circus uses hologram animals instead of real animals, in an attempt to end animal cruelty.
• Amazon tribe wins legal battle against oil companies, preventing drilling in Amazon Rainforest. 
• Canada passed a bill that makes it illegal to keep whales, dolphins, and porpoises in captivity for entertainment. 
• Scientists in Finland have developed world’s first vaccine to fight off ‘bee apocalypse’. 
• The UK has reduced its carbon emissions for the sixth year in a row.  The last time emissions were this low was in 1888. 
• In Lagos, Nigeria, The Recycle Pay project allows parents to cover their kids’ school fees by collecting and bringing plastic waste to recyclers. 
• South Korea once recycled 2% of its food waste.  Now it recycles 95% thanks to smart bins and special biodegradable bags.