2020, the Positives

I'm not going to lie. 2020 was...a disaster. A disaster in many ways. I know there are many people who are all too happy to kiss this year goodbye. However, there were some good things about this year. It wasn't all a mess. So, courtesy of the Good News Network, here's some little events that show that there were some upsides and heartwarming moments. 

- Old people recreating album covers. A north London nursing home had a bit of a problem. Due to the pandemic, the residents were locked down and could not get visits from their families. Activities co-director Robert Speker, who was also a photographer, decided to employ those skills to help old people recreate album covers from various artists. Among he album covers homaged were David Bowie's Aladdin Sane and Adele's 21. 

Speker shared the photos on Twitter, which received a lot of positive response. Speker's set up a GoFundMe to help pay for future projects with the seniors. I remembered hearing about this and thinking it was pretty cool. The photos are really awesome.

- Renewable energy invention wins 2020 Dyson Prize - Solar farms are becoming a more popular form of getting renewable energy, but they also have flaws. Mainly, they have to face the sun, as they can only collect visible light. They also are often placed on land that can be used for farming. In the Philippines, 27-year-old Mapua University student Carvey Ehren Maigue found a way to fix that: AuREUS System Technology.

AuREUS is a material that can be attached to a pre-existing solar farm structure. Inspired by the Northern and Southern Lights, the material absorbs ultraviolet light and converts it into the visible light that solar farms need to collect to create electricity. As a result, AuREUS can be used to help solar farms generate electricity no matter what the weather condition. The substance generates no waste, and it was made from rotting crops. Imagine it. This material is a giant leap forward towards a world where pollution will be a thing of the past.

- We got more trees! NASA has reported that their satellites have detected that we have more trees now than twenty years ago. And why is that? China has launched programs to plant more trees and volunteers in India have broken its own world record by planting 66 million saplings in 12 hours. It hasn't offset the loss of forests in Brazil and Indonesia. However, it has shown that people can fix the damage they cause, once they realize it and work at it.

- A possible cure for diabetes may be coming. At the University of Alberta, scientists have managed to cure diabetes in mice. How it works is stem cells are used to reverse-engineer insulin islets out of blood cells. It's a modification of the "Edmonton Protocol". The Edmonton Protocol used the islets from organ transplants. The problem was, it also required the usage of powerful meds to prevent rejection. With the stem cell process, the patient's own cells are used, preventing rejection. If this works on humans, a disease which affects 422 million people worldwide could go the way of smallpox. 

Appropriate that Canada is where this discovery was made. About a century earlier, Sir Frederick Banting discovered using insulin to treat diabetics.

- Linda Herring is honored for adopting 600 children. In Johnson County, Iowa, there resides a woman named Linda Herring. She worked as a night custodian at a high school and ran a local daycare. She volunteered as a first responder. And over 50 years, she's taken in over six hundred children, many with special needs. 

In January, the 75-year-old Herring would retire from fostering in October due to health concerns. In response, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors honored her with a special ceremony. Several of her biological children and grandchildren have continued her legacy by fostering children themselves. Just goes to show, one person can have a major impact.

- Koala visits Adelaide house and latches to Christmas tree. Amanda McCormick of Adelaide, Australia had discovered that a koala had wandered into her house and decided to play decoration of her Christmas tree. The charity group 1300Koalaz had been called about it, and at first they thought it was a prank. But koalas had been known to wander into homes, and the charity was able to find a proper habitat for the little marsupial. Looks like that little koala wanted to enjoy some of that Christmas spirit.

- Massachusetts community rallies to repair house. When electrician John Kinney went over to the home of 72-year-old Gloria Scott to repair a light fixture, he found that her home was in quite a state of disrepair. He rallied other tradespeople in Woburn, Massachusetts to help repair Scott's home free of charge. Kinney then created the initiative Gloria's Gladiators to call on tradespeople to help needy seniors with their homes.

- 'Frankie the Adventure Goat' travels America. In 2016, artist/travel writer Cate Battles and husband Chad started traveling the country in their Airstream trailer alongside their goat Frankie. They've traveled to 20 states and crossed 60,000 miles. 

- Feeling down during the winter? A light lamp can help. It's believed that 10 million Americans suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). It's the brain feeling a bit of confusion due to changing seasons. A special lamp can help relieve this, but one has to be careful when to use it during the day.

So, yeah. There has been some good in 2020. Scientific advances, people being kind, animals being awesome. I wish you all a very Happy New Year! May 2021 be a good year for you all!

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!