Despite wars and violence in the Middle Ease, when you add up all the good news headlines in 2006 the world emerges looking a lot brighter. Steady progress to reverse global warming, species decline, oil dependence and disease in 2006 alongside trends toward peace and sustainability make it a year worthy of congratulations. Presenting the 8th Annual Top Ten Good News Stories of the Year...
o A Giant step was taken to win the hearts and minds of world citizens in the cause of reducing global warming when Al Gore premiered the film, An Inconvenient Truth. With it's theatrical release came an expansion of our understanding of climate change.
1) Bold Steps in 2006 Reduce Global Warming
o Stars like Brad Pitt cast a spotlight on Green building practices that help reduce warming. He helped create a Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans this year and when the winner was announced, a 'green' housing plan was unveiled for the city's Lower Ninth Ward incorporating the newest sustainable technologies to cut pollution, as well as energy costs by 50 to 60 percent.
o British billionaire, Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Conglomerate (and Virgin records and airline) announced in September he will personally invest $3 billion in alternative energy initiatives. He committed all personal profits from his airlines and rail company for the next ten years toward developing energy sources that do not contribute to global warming.
o As of October, 2006, 320 mayors of US cities had boldly gone where the U.S. president would not -- into the forefront with 164 nations to embrace the Kyoto Accord setting targets that will lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2012. Big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas have signed on to Seattle mayor Greg Nickels' Climate Protection Initiative pooling their best ideas to share with smaller cities.
o In one of the biggest environmental victories this year, the Bush Administration issued new rules in June requiring oil refineries to begin making ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), a fuel with 97 percent less sulfur than ordinary diesel, which will cut smog-forming emissions by 10 percent. A spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council called the new EPA rule "the biggest step toward cutting vehicle pollution since lead was taken out of gasoline two decades ago."
2) Billionaire Warren Buffett Leads New Wave of Generosity w/ Largest Donation Ever
o Warren Buffett, the world's second richest man - worth $44 billion - said in June he will begin to give away 85% of his wealth to foundations focused on world health -- eradicating diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis -- and on improving U.S. libraries and high schools. The value of his donation today is $37 billion, the largest philanthropic gift in history.
o The percentage of Americans volunteering has reached a 30-year high says a new study. It is fueled in part by the boom in teens pitching in for their communities. "We may be on the cusp of a new civic generation," said the director of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which has tracked volunteer rates since 1974.
o In the same year it stopped receiving global food aid, China emerged as the world's third largest food donor, according to a report by the World Food Programme released in August. Another success story is India's transformation as a recipient of food aid in 2000 to becoming the 15th largest donor to WFP last year.
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