1. The value of UK ethical markets grew to almost double that of tobacco

At £38bn, the UK’s ethical goods market is worth twice that of tobacco, research released in January suggested. From electric cars to sustainably sourced fish, 2015 saw an average 8.5 per cent increase in sales of ethical goods.

2. Premature deaths for four major non-infectious diseases dropped

Premature deaths for the world’s four biggest noncommunicable diseases –cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory –  have declined by 16 per cent since 2000 according to World Bank data released this year.

3. There has been big progress in treating HIV and Aids

In July, UNAIDS, revealed that half of all people on the planet with HIV are now getting treatment – the first time in history that this has been the case. And, deaths caused by Aids around the world have dropped by half since 2005. The life expectancy of people with HIV in Europe and North America is now ‘near-normal’ thanks to new drugs, according to a study published in The Lancet in May. 20-year-olds who started antiretroviral therapy in 2010 are projected to live 10 years longer than those who began treatment in 1996.

4. Clean jobs cleaned up in the US

Clean energy jobs in the US now outnumber positions in oil and gas by five to one. Jobs connected to solar, wind, energy efficiency, smart grid technology and battery storage outnumber all fossil fuel jobs by more than 2.5 to one.

5. El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban mining

The small Central American country made history in March as the first nation to impose a blanket ban on metal mining. The decision followed a protracted struggle to protect the nation’s diminishing water sources from polluting mining projects.

6. The dementia rate in the UK is set to decline

Fewer people than previously thought will have dementia in the future because of improvements in healthcare and healthier lifestyles, research released by UK experts this year revealed. Academics writing in the British Medical Journal said although people are living longer lives, which is fuelling a rise in the number of people with the condition, the number of newly diagnosed cases of dementia is falling.

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7. Significantly fewer children around the world are dying from diarrhoea

Thanks to better access to clean water and sanitation, the number of children around the world who are dying from diarrhoea has fallen by a third since 2005.

8. A river was awarded the same rights as a human being

A river in New Zealand was granted the same legal rights as a human being. After 140 years of negotiations, the Māori won recognition for the Whanganui river. In December, Mount Taranaki in New Zealand was also granted the same legal rights as a person.

9. Europe is set to act on bee-harming pesticides

Europe is poised for a total ban on bee-harming pesticides. Draft regulations reveal that the European Commission wants to prohibit the insecticides that cause ‘acute risks to bees’. In November, UK’s environment minister Michael Gove confirmed that the UK will support an extended ban against the use of these pesticides.

10. The tide is turning against wasteful plastic bag use

Some 40 countries have now banned, partly banned or taxed single-use plastic bags. In August, Kenya introduce the world’s toughest plastic bag ban: four years in jail or a $40,000 (£30,000) fine. Producing, selling and using plastic bags is now illegal there, though officials say that ordinary shoppers will more likely be warned and have their bags confiscated. China, Rwanda and Italy are among the other nations taking action.

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11. Record-breaking rates of organ transplants are taking place

A record 50,300 people are alive in the UK today thanks to organ transplants, after a surge in donor numbers and progress on survival rates. According to figures released in July by NHS Blood and Transplant, 4,753 people received transplants within 12 months between 2016 and 2017. Organ transplants now help 800 more people per year than they did in 2012.

12. France banned the use of unhealthily thin fashion models

A law in France banning the use of unhealthily thin fashion models came into effect in May. Models working in France will now need a doctor’s certificate attesting to their overall physical health, and particularly their body mass index (BMI). Digitally altered photographs have also had to be labelled as such from 1 October 2017.

13. The number of UK smokers fell to a record low

The number of UK smokers has dropped by almost 2 million, 10 years after the UK’s indoor smoking ban came into force, Cancer Research UK announced this summer. A 20 per cent drop in heart disease deaths has been reported.

14. Ireland joined other nations to say ‘frack-off’ to fracking

Ireland joined France, Germany and Bulgaria this summer in pledging to ban onshore fracking. Ireland is set to ban the controversial drilling technique after its senate passed legislation in June outlawing the practice.

15. The first female president of the UK supreme court was sworn in

The first female president of the UK’s supreme court and the youngest lord chief justice in 50 years have been sworn in. Brenda Hale’s appointment to the leading role at the UK’s highest court was announced by Downing Street in July. She is known as a champion of diversity within the judiciary. Sir Ian Burnett, 59, was sworn in as lord chief justice.

16. The EU acted to curb power plant pollutants

The EU imposed new, stricter limits on pollutants such as nitrogen, sulphur, mercury and particulates that will apply to all 2,900 of Europe’s large power plants. Power plants in the EU will have to cut the amount of toxic pollutants they emit under the rules approved by EU member states in April.

17. Global child labour fell

A report released by the International Labor Organization in October revealed that global child labour has declined sharply. There were 98 million fewer boys and girls being exploited in 2016 than in 2000.

18. Denmark announced it had cut food waste by a quarter in five years

The Scandinavian nation has become one of the leading European countries in the fight against food waste. In 2016, a charity in Copenhagen opened Denmark’s first ever food surplus supermarket, which sells products at prices 30 to 50 per cent cheaper than usual retailers.

19. Shareholders of the world’s biggest oil company defied its board to urge better reporting on climate change

In May, a shareholder ‘rebellion’ forced ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, to start reporting on the effect of preventing climate change on its bottom line.

20. Iceland became the first country to make equal pay compulsory by law

On International Women’s Day 2017, Iceland became the first country in the world to make equal pay compulsory by law.

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What went right in 2017. Illustration: Growth of UK ethical markets, by Spencer Wilson

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1. Nations united to outlaw commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean

The EU and nine nations including the US, Russia, China and South Korea reached a deal to make the Arctic off-limits to commercial fishers for the next 16 years. The pact, announced in November, will give scientists more time to understand the region’s marine ecology and the potential impacts of climate change become fishing becomes widespread there.

2. France banned fracking and oil extraction in all of its territories

French parliamentarians passed a law in December, banning fossil fuel extraction. President Macron says he wants France to lead the world with the switch to renewables.

3. The measles vaccine saved millions of lives, it was revealed

In October, new research from the Center for Disease Control showed that the measles vaccine saved 20.4 million lives between 2000 and 2016.

4. More countries banned the use of wild animals in circuses

In November, the Indian government officially banned the use of all wild animals in circus performances. A month later, the Italian parliament did the same. Now, 40 nations have animal circus bans in place.

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5. Global deaths from tuberculosis have fallen, figures showed

In November, the WHO announced that global deaths from tuberculosis have dropped by 37 per cent since 2000. It means an estimated 53 million lives have been saved.

6. Millions more got access to electricity

The International Energy Agency announced in October that nearly 1.2 billion people around the world have gained access to electricity in the last 16 years.

7. The UK and Canada led a global alliance against coal

In November, a new global alliance of more than 20 countries including the UK, France, Mexico, Canada and Finland, committed to end their use of coal before 2030.

8. California recognised non-binary genders, and Germany made a significant ruling too

California became the first US state to legally recognise non-binary genders, and Germany’s top court ruled that lawmakers must legally recognise a third gender from birth.

9. Australia legalised same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage will become legal in Australia after a historic bill was passed in the House of Representatives in December. An overwhelming majority of MPs voted to change the Marriage Act, eight days after a similarly decisive result in the country’s Senate.

10. Global deaths from terrorism have dropped from their peak in 2014, it was announced

Global deaths from terrorism dropped by 22 per cent from their peak in 2014, due to significant declines in four of the five countries most impacted: Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. The announcement was made in the Global Terrorism Index 2017 in December.

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11. Major fashion brands announced they will go fur-free

Gucci announced in October that it would go fur-free in 2018. It follows another major fashion house Armani, which went fur-free in 2016.

12. One of China’s richest women announced a $2bn donation for wildlife conservation

The donation by He Qiaonv is thought to be the largest environmental philanthropic pledge of all time.

13. Mexico announced it would create a huge new ocean reserve

In November, Mexico’s government announced the creation of a 148,000 sq km ocean reserve. ‘The Galapagos of North America’ is set to help protect hundreds of species, including rays, humpback whales, sea turtles, lizards and migratory birds

14. The UK will support an extended ban against of use of bee-harming pesticides, it was announced

Research led environment secretary Michael Gove to overturn the UK government’s previous opposition, making a total EU ban much more likely according to experts.

15. Global child labour fell

A report released by the International Labor Organization in October revealed that global child labour has declined sharply. There were 98 million fewer boys and girls being exploited in 2016 than in 2000, the body estimates.

16. Women in Saudi Arabia received the right to drive

Women in Saudi Arabia are now legally allowed to drive. It followed a ruling that women would no longer need male permission to travel or study.

17. ‘Boys should be free to wear tutus and tiaras’ said the Church of England

Primary schoolchildren should feel free to dress up in a tiara or a superhero cloak without expecting comment from teachers or pupils, the Church of England said in new bullying guidance issued to its schools in November.

18. Authorities in Oxford announced plan for ‘world’s first’ zero emission zone

In October, city and county councils in Oxford submitted joint proposals to introduce a Zero Emission Zone in Oxford city centre. They say it would be the first of its kind in the world, and could lead to “historic” reductions in air pollution.

19. Norway’s FA agreed a deal to pay male and female players the same

The Norwegian Football Association and the country’s international team players agreed a new deal in October to pay male and female players the same. Under the agreement, players on the men’s team will make a financial contribution to the women’s team in order to bridge the disparity in earnings.

20. A digital platform launched that uses crowdfunding to help homeless people into new careers

Digital platform Beam, launched in October by entrepreneur Alex Stephany, aims to help people out of homelessness by providing a long-term solution. His tech startup Beam allows people to fund employment training and careers advice to help homeless people in the UK.

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If you began a sentence with the phrase “what inspires me is…,” what words might naturally follow? I often use this sentence completion process when I’m teaching about the psychology of inspiration. One day, I was intrigued when many on my course gave the answer “Mike”. Who was Mike? And what had he done to have such impact on this group? I was keen to find out more.

The Mike in question was Mike Feingold, a permaculture teacher in Bristol. He’d recently given the group a slideshow revealing how a ravaged landscape, which looked like the surface of Mars, had become transformed through permaculture intervention into an abundant and productive forest. When the impact of human activity so often turns forests into deserts, it was deeply inspiring, and reassuring, to see this process in reverse.

Inspiring examples give us a glimpse that something else is possible. They provide a new reference point that ups our bar when considering what we might do. As we learn by watching others, one of the biggest influences on human behaviour is what we see other people do. Unfortunately, our tendency to follow the example of role models can also work in a negative way, as the following experiment illustrates.

“If all we see is people carrying on as if nothing is wrong, that becomes a reference point that influences our response”

Social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley recruited volunteers for their research and asked them to fill out a questionnaire while they waited in a room. While they worked, smoke started trickling in through a vent in the wall. If a volunteer was in the room by themselves, it didn’t take long before they raised the alarm. But if several people were in the room together, they’d look to see how others responded before doing anything themselves. In some groups, two people had been instructed to ignore the smoke and carry on with their questionnaires. When volunteers saw others filling in their forms even as the room filled with smoke, they’d be much more likely to do this too. Many carried on writing even when the room was so smoky it was difficult to see.

This experiment can serve as a metaphor for responses to world problems. When we become aware of disturbing information, we’re likely to look around to see how others respond. If all we see is people carrying on as if nothing is wrong, that becomes a reference point that influences our response. How important it is then to look out for and notice responses that are creative, constructive and inspired. And how important too is the work of Positive News in bringing such responses to our attention.

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There’s one more step we need to take though if we want inspiration to spread. We need to pass it on. One way of doing this is by having conversations where we hear each other describe what we find inspiring. Another approach is to remember that whatever people see us doing can become a reference point for them. When they see us acknowledging concerns and responding in a constructive way, they’re more likely to as well.

So to become inspired, focus your attention on what you find inspiring. If initially you can’t find anything, begin the quest of searching it out. When you find something, you can help inspiration grow by following the examples you’re impressed by. Inspiration is an energy we can open to and a direction we move in. When we follow its trail, we help others move this way too.

Chris Johnstone is author of Find Your Power and co-author of Active Hope.

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On the day that the autumn print issue of Positive News went to press, it was exactly 50 years since the legendary “I have a dream” speech of Martin Luther King.

An inspiration to King was the educator Howard Thurman, who said: “There is a spirit in man and in the world working always against the thing that destroys and lays waste.”

The spirit of which Thurman speaks is clear in the work of people like Azzam Alwash, who is driving the restoration of the once devastated Mesopotamian marshlands, now Iraq’s first national park. It’s there in the women who are “quietly unleashing a new wave of female empowerment”. It’s apparent in the wisdom of those who question our definition of progress – as we report encouraging moves to protect the cultures, knowledge and resources of indigenous peoples.

This spirit is also behind medical breakthroughs and it can be found in the everyday act of kindness of buying a ‘suspended coffee’ for someone – an idea that has now spread worldwide. It’s there in the mosques reaching out in the face of religious hatred, and in the example of transformation set by former gang member Simeon Moore, who turned his life around and brought peace between rival gangs in Birmingham. And on the economic frontline, where “ideas are really coming,” it’s there as groups unite to produce a charter for a new financial system.

But that spirit is also clear in you. As we read your responses to our 20th anniversary reader survey, one thing shines above all: your passionate support for our mission and values. Thank you to everyone who filled in the survey (and congratulations to the prize winners); we will soon be announcing plans for how we intend to expand Positive News with this shared goodwill as our foundation.

It is inspiring to be reminded, through the stories we publish and your response to them, of the spirit of life of which Howard Thurman spoke and Martin Luther King embodied.

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