Good News Stories You Might Have Missed in the Madness of 2016

2016 has been a crazy year for everyone, and sometimes it's hard to find the light and good in all the madness. So this year, Newsweek has dug out eight bits of good news that you might have missed "amid the turmoil."

Medicine: An End to Animal Testing?

2016 has brought the animal testing paradox , which is scientists' attempt to give humans better lives without making animals’ existences shorter and more painful. The first-ever fully 3D-printed “heart-on-a-chip” was developed by Harvard researchers this year, offering a synthetic alternative for the living tissue that is currently used in animal testing. Beyond saving animal lives, organ-on-a-chip devices can be efficiently produced and researchers claim they are more accurate at mimicking human pathophysiology. 

Economics: Generation K Will Save Us All

In February economist Noreena Hertz revealed the results of her research about the group she calls “Generation K” after their affinity with Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of the Hunger Games series of novels. She conducted focus groups and interviews with 16-to-18-year-olds in the U.K. and surveyed nearly 2,000 people aged between 14 and 21 in the U.K. and U.S. “They’re actually a very surprisingly financially cautious generation,” she said. Hertz also found that they’re more likely to save as a precaution than the next couple of generations up, and 72 percent of generation K said they were worried about debt. In our politics as well as our pockets, we’re still feeling the impact of the great recession and its economic anxieties. But it seems one long-term outcome could be a generation more careful and less inclined to crash the system than their parents.

Conflict: The Toy Smuggler

Some people risk their lives to deliver aid to Syria; one man does it to deliver toys. Miral Khalagi, the “toy smuggler” profiled by NBC in September, has traveled to the war-torn nation more than two dozen times, slipping across borders with bags of toys for children hit by the conflict.
Originally from Aleppo, Khalagi grew up in Finland. “As a Syrian, I wanted of course to do my part in helping people,” he told NBC. He decided on toys rather than aid after his daughter Yasmeen, then 3 years old, brought him some of her dolls to take. There’s not much in Syria this year that could be classed as “good news," but Khalagi is just one of thousands of humanitarians, from large or small organizations, working to remind the civilians caught in our lifetime’s most devastating crossfire that the world remembers them.

Environment: A Sea Springs Back to Life

The Aral Sea, which lies between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, was once the planet’s fourth largest freshwater lake. But in the decades since the 1960s it became dry. Nikita Khrushchev began a project that saw its two main tributaries, the Syr Darya and Amu Darya, diverted during the 1960s. While nearby arable land expanded, the sea shrank. The local fishing industry almost vanished.
But now, there are signs that the Aral is returning. An Al Jazeera reporter at the old port of  Aralsk, near the northern part of the sea, found this July that fish production at the port has grown from 600 tonnes in 1996 to 7,200 tonnes. The nearby village of Tastubek, over 49 miles away from the sealine in 2010, is now only 12 miles from the water. It’s all thanks to the World Bank-funded Kok-Aral Dam, completed in August 2005, that is finally starting to show progress. The dam separated the northern and southern parts of the sea, in order to divert water back into the desolate north. A second phase of the project is planned, which should bring the water right back up to Aralsk.

Religion: A Broad Church

In a year when Islam has been targeted throughout the West and faith-based sectarian conflicts have re-opened in the Middle East, “religious unity” isn’t a phrase that immediately springs to mind when you think about 2016. But a meeting between two branches of the Christian church did go against the grain. Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, and Patriarch Kirill, leader of Russian Orthodox Christianity, met in Cuba in February. It was the first time in nearly 1,000 years that the most senior figures in the Russian and Roman Churches had met; the two branches split in the “great schism” of 1054. The two Churches did not agree to any formal advance in relations. But the meeting sent a message to Christians: ending human suffering—such as that faced by Christians in war-torn parts of the Middle East—should be more important than theological differences. “God makes no distinctions between those who suffer,” the Pope said at the time. Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis embrace in Havana, February 12. The meeting was a historic moment for the Christian denominations.

Women in Politics: Japan Breaks a Glass Ceiling

Japanese politics is still heavily male-dominated — The World Economic Forum ranks the country 101st out of 145 in terms of gender equality. But this year Japanese people smashed a glass ceiling when Tokyo, the capital, elected its first female governor in a landslide victory. Sixty-four-year-old Yuriko Koike is a former defense minister, an Arabic speaker and an environmentalist. In her campaign she referenced female historical icons, including Joan of Arc, and pledged to tackle childcare shortages “so that both women and men can shine in Tokyo.” Koike is no progressive—she’s a right-wing nationalist who is hawkish on foreign policy—but her presence at the top of politics and willingness to explicitly tackle equality issues is a step toward opening up the top of Japanese politics to women.

Energy: The Sun Shines on Chernobyl

The Chernobyl exclusion zone in Ukraine has stood silent since 1986, when the nearby nuclear reactor exploded. It stands as a reminder of the perils of the nuclear age. But now, as Anthony reported back in November, two Chinese companies this year agreed a plan to regenerate the land surrounding the reactor by constructing a giant solar power plant. The solar farm will be capable of producing 1 gigawatt of energy and construction is expected to begin next year. “There will be remarkable social benefits and economic ones as we try to renovate the once damaged area with green and renewable energy,” said Shu Hua, chairman of Chinese energy firm Golden Concord, the company planning to revive the exclusion zone. If all goes to plan, Chernobyl will be reborn as an icon of the era of renewable energy.

Violence Against Women: Somalia Takes New Steps on FGM

According to UNICEF, about 98 percent of Somali girls and women aged between 15 and 49 undergo some form of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), the removal of external female genitalia. The Somali constitution forbids the practice, but the country’s parliament, which was only established in 2012, has not passed a law on it. But back in March, as my colleague Conor reported, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke added his name to a petition that calls on the Somali government to adopt a full FGM ban. Ifrah Ahmed, a Somali anti-FGM campaigner, told the BBC his backing would provide a “huge boost” to the campaign. Somalia’s government is presently in limbo as a general election scheduled for next autumn has suffered repeated delays. But campaigners hope the commitment will stick, and turn into a step forward for the country’s women.

Read more at Newsweek

"Don't try to be different. Just be good. To be good is different enough."

                                                                           -Arthur Freed

Deed of the Day!

The five goats, two alpacas, two rabbits, potbellied pig, cat, guinea pig, dog and five horses at veteran Tice Ridley’s ranch play critical roles in helping veterans, along with first responders and their families, heal from the wounds of war.      

 
Ridley, at the age of 44 is a retired Army war veteran and major who served for 18 years. He calls his farm the Circle of Veterans and Families, and its mission is “to keep soldiers alive and families together.”            
  

In 2015, after taking medical retirement from the Army, he co-founded the nonprofit organization with his wife, Samantha Ridley, in Florida. Located on his 10-acre Circle V Ranch, the organization gives him "purpose while providing hope." Ridley told TODAY that an inspirational to this project is that they are aware that “not all wounds are visible."      
 
The ranch welcomed its first veteran guests on November 2 in a joint effort with Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida, to provide services to veterans. The use of alternative therapies differentiates the ranch from more traditional treatment facilities. At Circle V Ranch, participants can engage in meditation, yoga, hypnosis and smoking cessation. They can also participate in peer group support, equine-assisted psychotherapy and companion dog pairing canine therapy. For about a year, Ridley and his wife had been self-funding limited weekend visits on the ranch as a test run for the broader program that was recently opened.
 
Jay Hoffman, who served in the Navy from 1972 to 1975, visited the ranch on that first day. He’s rehabilitating from drug and alcohol addiction. “Tice has opened up a door for me,” Hoffman told TODAY. He said that addiction treatment at a for-profit facility usually means that when the treatment period ends, he’s sent “back to the streets, with no place to go. If you want to get drunk or high then, you can.” But being at the ranch is like “being in no man’s land, and that’s good,” he said. “We’re so far out here, away from the city. Friends and the animals are just so therapeutic.” Hoffman said he likes rubbing the ears of the rescue potbellied pig, Bacon, and feeding him. He also pets the resident kitty, Mittens, and waters the horses.      
 
Ridley, who has six medals for outstanding service, returned from Afghanistan in 2010; in 2013 he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. And he’s far from alone: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 8 million adults have PTSD during a given year.      
     
Ridley told TODAY that he found himself struggling to understand his condition and finding help so he could integrate better into society and try to live a normal life. Ridley had lived in Chicago, which has no military base, meaning a lack of treatment resources for veterans. Ridley knew that waiting to find mental health treatment could take a long, and he wanted to investigate lesser-known alternative therapies he'd heard about, some of which involved his passion for animals.    

He was then further motivated after a disappointing visit with a therapist in Chicago. That counselor advised Ridley's wife to "just leave” or divorce her husband when it appeared that Ridley’s current treatment wasn’t working. Ridley decided to try alternatives including hypnosis and rapid-resolution therapy. The treatments helped, and Ridley says he's a lot less jumpy now and less prone to outbursts or periods of extreme emotional upset.

Darlene Williams, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified hypnotherapist who sees veteran clients at the ranch says, "What's happening at Circle V is such important work for people who have experienced the tragedies of war. The problems can be very complex and for that we need to offer something more comprehensive.” She told TODAY that, “The research supports the benefits of these kinds of alternative therapies for military populations.”      
     
Some people may be intimidated by the horses’ size, Ridley admits, but clients don’t ride them. Instead, they do what's called "ground work,” and it’s therapeutic for veterans. "With ground work, they can't touch the horses or use a treat," he said. "They can put a halter on them and they can try to figure out what the horse wants in other intuitive ways.”      

Ridley's other furry creatures provide a warm, hands-on experience to calm sensitive nerves and allow the veterans to know the joy of safe, noncompetitive "aha! moments” when they interact with animals. “For a couple to open their home to other veterans just blows me away,” said a friend and veteran. “They are so gracious and kind.”      

As for Ridley, he’s proud of his fellow veterans. On November 18, he hosted a special Thanksgiving dinner for them and the ranch’s supporters. He's looking forward to many more, since he knows Veterans Day is but one day a year.

Deed of the Day!

Some people risk their lives to deliver aid to Syria; one man does it to deliver toys.

Miral Khalagi, the “toy smuggler” profiled by NBC in September, has traveled to the war-torn nation more than two dozen times, slipping across borders with bags of toys for children hit by the conflict.
Originally from Aleppo, Khalagi grew up in Finland. “As a Syrian, I wanted of course to do my part in helping people,” he told NBC. He decided on toys rather than aid after his daughter Yasmeen, then 3 years old, brought him some of her dolls to take.

There’s not much in Syria this year that could be classed as “good news," but Khalagi is just one of thousands of humanitarians, from large or small organizations, working to remind the civilians caught in our lifetime’s most devastating crossfire that the world remembers them.