#itshappening – Real Signs of a Brighter Future

We are all used to hearing news reports about things that go horribly wrong, but what about stories of things that are actually going right? There are plenty of those too, and maybe it’s time we pay a little more attention to those good news. Under the hashtag banner #itshappening, British environmental organization 10:10 is doing just that and have a dedicated page where they collect crowdsourced “examples of the shift to a low-carbon world.”

Here are examples of some of the top stories at the time of this writing:

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future
Amazon rainforest on the right track
As well as being home to some of the world’s most amazing wildlife, the Amazon’s trees absorb and lock away billions of tonnes of CO2. Amazon deforestation has been slowing down for a while now, and is now at the lowest level since records began 24 years ago. The real victory comes when the Amazon’s gaining more trees than it’s losing, but this is still fantastic progress. Photo: Neil Palmer/CIAT

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

China’s new city is a glimpse of the future
A new ‘Great City” is defying all the stereotypes of Chinese urban living. You can get anywhere in the city on foot in about 15 minutes, and the super-efficient buldings are mixed with plenty of green space. The result: half as much energy and carbon as a similar development, and a better life for the 80,000 residents. The new development, designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill, gets underway in early 2013 and should be completed in about eight years. Photo: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

Community buys out the local solar farm
Westmill Solar Cooperative just became the UK’s first and world’s largest community-owned solar project, after raising £6 million to buy out their local solar park.

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

Question Time sees the light
“I’ve been greatly inspired recently to hear that the entire travelling BBC Question Time lighting system has been converted to LED. The last two programmes broadcast were entirely lit with LED. The power consumption for the show is now just 25% of what it was before.” Colin Jones, Devon

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

A brand new class of Solar Schools!
Solar Schools is back! After a really successful trial we’ve stepped things up for 2012, with three times the number of schools fundraising for their own solar panels. Is there one near you?

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Futureq

The world’s most climate-friendly farm?
Cottage Farm is an organic, sustainable, carbon neutral farm powered by renewable energy with near zero use of fossil fuels, one of the first in the
country.” Paul Sousek, Cornwall

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

Homemade solar panels!
“I’m proud of my homemade solar panels which work well and cost £352 for materials, mainly pipe and valves, as the rest was discarded stuff. Now four summers old they’ve probably paid for themselves.”
Joe Fergusson, Ayrshire

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

Tasty meals from surplus food
Foodcycle volunteers rescue surplus food from supermarkets and cook nutritious meals for people at risk from food poverty and social isolation. This photo is from a Jubilee event they did with Age UK back in June 2012.
” Mal Chadwick, London

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

South Korea doubles 2013 emissions target!
The South Korean government has announced new emission reduction targets for 2013 – industrial and power sector businesses will be required to make a 3% cut compared to this year’s target of 1.4%. Reaching the new target would equate to a reduction of 17.2 million metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Photo: Ryan Pikkel

#itshappening - Real Signs of a Brighter Future

Britain’s first community wind farm
The UK’s first community owned wind farm, Baywind Energy Co-operative was established in 1996. Baywind assisted the Co-op Group during their Join The Revolution campaign.

10:10 wants to see how #itshappening where you are. Help them share the good news by submitting a photo of your own.

About author
A designer by trade, Johanna has always had a passion for storytelling. Born and raised in Sweden, she's lived and worked in Miami, Brooklyn and, currently, Ojai, CA. She started Goodlifer in 2008 to offer a positive outlook for the future and share great stories, discoveries, thoughts, tips and reflections around her idea of the Good Life. Johanna loves kale, wishes she had a greener thumb, and thinks everything is just a tad bit better with champagne (or green juice).
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What constitutes the good life? It’s a question we’ve asked ourselves since the dawn of time and something we all strive for. To us, the good life is not a destination but a journey. We want to see more positivity in the world. Thinking happy thoughts makes for happy people, and happy people are more productive, innovative and at peace with the world. We believe in the transformative power of good news.

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