Some Good News

Ayra Hussain

11/05/2020

In the midst of the chaos that is 2020, we have had many influential celebrity passings, the rise of a pandemic, online schooling, and the very stressful presidential election. Believe it or not, getting good news every once in a while will help people to take a step away from the turbulence of society and see the world through rose colored glasses.

In the arts and entertainment world, the now twenty-one year old cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, was first recognized for his talents at the age of seventeen as being the first black musician to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition. Due to his growing immense popularity and the road he paved for fellow young aspiring black musicians has developed into the awe-inspiring “Skeku effect” where there has been a spike in popularity of the cello in Britain. Along with his prestigious talents, he has used his platform to lobby for more music education in British schools. Not only has the world of music gained some good news from this surreal year, the condition of the environment and mother nature has gained a few pros in this world of cons. In the Dutch city of Arnhem, they have taken the initiative to rid themselves of 10% of their asphalt over a 10-year period and replace it with grass and naitive plants and their city will be able to absorb heavy rainfall and  excessive flood water. With the Earth’s climate nearing a critical point, many countries are putting in the effort to go green. In Norway, for every 1,000 Norwegians, there are 55 electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads. Following the EV trend, the Netherlands has 8.4 EVs, the U.K. has 3.2 EVs, and France has 3.1 EVs per 1,000 cars on the road. The growing popularity of electric vehicles has allowed countries that primarily run on fossil fuels to take the first step in becoming environmentally friendly. Additionally, many European countries have decided to put coal-based energy to rest. Austria and Sweden have newly joined the coal-free club. Although the pandemic has proven to be very cumbersome, it also allowed for the U.K to hit a milestone of going coal-free for two full months since the start of the Industrial Revolution back in the 19th century and for the waterways in Venice, Italy to turn blue once again and for dolphin and fish to return. 

This demanding and uphill battle of a year has had and will continue to be a challenge for pretty much the rest of us yet the awareness of some good news here and there doesn’t seem to be too bad. Through hardships and troubling times, it’s best to remember that sometimes there is light at the end of the tunnel and there are silver linings in the clouds.