2019 was the year of many memorable events in history - we have so many reasons to be positive going into the next decade and 2020 is going to be epic! 

Despite the extent of 'work' to do, we are all about celebrating what we have done, the good that is happening right now. Small changes add up and collectively, starting where you can has an enormous impact!

In May, "An Indigenous tribe of people called the Waorani in the Ecuadorian Amazon won a lawsuit that protected some half a million acres of forest land from being mined for oil drilling." - read more here. 

 Who says starting small can't have a massive impact? 

With concern of Mulai Reserve on Majuli Island in India being submerged by the 2000's, attempts were made to reforest the land eventually coming to Jadav single handedly replanting the sandbars with bamboo and tree species. Today, the land is repopulated with wildlife. Read more here. 

On June 10th, Canada's parliament passed legislation to ban whale, dolphin and porpoise captivity. Fines up to $200,000 Canadian dollars can be issued for violators. Read more here. 

Women are commonly paid less than men - this happens all around the world, including New Zealand. Iceland was the worlds first country to install gender equal pay. Read more here. 

Go NZ! Plastic bags were banned from July 1st, and from June 1st Foodstuffs supermarkets announced their BYO containers scheme. Select Pak'n Save, New World and Four Square stores now accept customers to be zero waste for deli sections! Read more here. 

From the brink of extinction, with numbers as low was 450, Humpback Whales are no longer endangered. Horrific Whaling in the 1900's caused protection practices to be initiated in the 1960's when the species decline was alerted. Read more here. 

Greta Thunberg, 17 year old Swedish climate activist, was the initiator of Schools Strike For Climate protests across the world. Students and adults taking stand for their Whenua and their futures. Read more here. 

Investors are diverting their assets away from fossil fuels towards the clean energy transition. The toxicity of coal, oil and gas are being recognised for contributing to the climate crisis, as well as financial strain. Read more here. 

With YouTube being a large video platform, this ban is set to significantly reduce the availability of content featuring hate, violence and discrimination. Read more here. 

Renewable energy includes solar, wind and hydro. At the end of 2018 renewable energy accounted for a third of total electricity capacity! Read more here.

Over the past decade same-sex marriage has been legalised in many countries over the world. However, in many countries it is still sadly frowned upon and illegal. Same-sex marriage became legal in 2013 in NZ and 2017 in Australia. Read more here.