nice things

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The 99 Best Things to Happen in 2017

pilferingapples:

Just a few of the stories: 

14. Leprosy is now easily treatable. The number of worldwide cases has dropped by 97% since 1985, and a new plan has set 2020 as the target for the end of the disease. New York Times

 

28. Cameroon committed to restoring over 12 million hectares of forest in the Congo Basin, and Brazil started a project to plan 73 million trees, the largest tropical reforestation project in history. Fast Co.

30. In 2017, the ozone hole shrunk to its smallest size since 1988, the year Bobby McFerrin topped the charts with ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy.’ CNET

39. In October, a new report by the International Labour Organisation revealed that global child labour has plummeted. In 2016, there were 98 million fewer boys and girls being exploited than in 2000. CS Monitor

 

45. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest pile of money on the planet, announced they were officially divesting from all fossil fuels, and the global insurance industry has pulled $20 billion. Telegraph

46. In 2017, the United Kingdom, France and Finland all agreed to ban the sale of any new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2040.

48. In one of the great climate change victories of our time, TransCanada terminated its tar sands pipeline, triggering a $1 billion loss and ending an epic 4 year battle between politicians, big oil, environmentalists and indigenous communities. Calgary Herald

 

50. In the United Kingdom, the birthplace of the industrial revolution, carbon emissions fell to the lowest levels since 1894, and on the 21st of April the country did not burn coal for the first time in 140 years. Independent UK 

69. As plunging crime closed prisons across the Netherlands, the government started turning them into housing and cultural hubs for ten of thousands of refugees instead. Fast Company

 

81. Rates of violent crime and property crime have dropped by around 50% in the United States since 1990, yet a majority of people still believe it’s gotten worse. Pew Research

 

91. A decrease in pollution in the Ganges brought Gangetic dolphins, one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world, back from the brink of extinction. Hindustan Times

 

 

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copperbadge:

copperbadge:

I hung a sign on my door tonight reading 

I have the flu! I don’t want to infect any little monsters! So please help yourself!

with an arrow pointing to the candy bucket next to the door. 

So far three separate small children have yelled PLEASE FEEL BETTER at me through my door. Also one of them told what was clearly his younger brother “Take ONLY ONE, don’t be greedy, the Great Pumpkin can see you.”

Faith in the world: restored. 

When I loaded up the bucket it had in it:

One bag’s worth of Starburst
One bag’s worth of Dum Dum lollipops
Two bags’ worth of M&M snack-size packs
Two small bags’ worth of erasers (skulls and black cats)
One bag’s worth of plastic fangs because those were MY FAVORITE as a child

I just brought the bucket in and it had in it:

Two individual Starburst
About half a dozen erasers
One Blow Pop lollipop
One snack-sized Twix bar

Apparently someone thought that I might like a blow pop and a Twix bar. Thank you, trick-or-treating child, I DID. 

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ficklesunfries:

darkampharos:

Wait weren’t they her shitty parents in Matilda?

Yep! It was right after filming it, actually.

What’s even better is that Maras mother LOVED the book Matilda. She loved it so much that she got her daughter the part, however she died before she got to see it. Or so Mara thought. Apparently just a few weeks before she died Danny Devito went in to the hospital with a rough first edit of the movie and got to let her watch it before she passed.

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A dog called Odin survives California wildfires after refusing to abandon his goats

thejusticethatissocial:

As the raging California wildfires encroached upon Roland Handel’s home, he had to make a split-second decision — try to force his dog Odin into the car, or leave him behind.

Odin is one of two great Pyrenees who take turns guarding the family’s eight goats from coyotes and mountain lions, and he was on duty the night the fires broke out.

“I had my 14-year-old daughter and we had to get out,”

Handel

said between sobs.

So he opened the gates so the animals could flee, then drove off with his daughter, their three other dogs and two cats all packed into the family car.

“By the time we were going down the road, you could hear the twisting metal of transmission towers falling and propane tanks exploding,” he said. “I’ll never forget it.”

He returned the next day, circumventing roadblocks to get there.

He discovered that his home and everything else on his property was completely destroyed.

Except for Odin, who was there waiting for him — with all eight goats.

The dogs paw pads were burnt and his bright white fur was singed orange. 

“He looked small and he was limping. He was lying down a lot. He was clearly exhausted.”

A group of deer had gathered with Odin and the goats, Handel said, perhaps also taking advantage of the brave pooch’s protection. The deer scattered when Handel approached.

He believes the dog led the other animals to a clearing at the center of a high outcropping of rocks to avoid contact with the flames.

“Its amazing he’s in such good spirits. He doesn’t show signs of being traumatized at all. He’s just really happy,” Handel said.

“He’ll make a full recovery. He’s going to be back with his goats.”

Handel is now raising money on YouCaring to rebuild the animals’ barn and water supply before winter. 

Well now I’m crying at my dining room table over a dog and his goats

 

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