no. 131: The very best of 2024

Hey fam,

For this last edition of the year, I looked back at the ~1,000 stories of progress we covered just in 2024, and pulled out some of our favorites from each month.

One thing is clear: A LOT of good stuff happened. It's hard to remember it all.

I hope this can be a reminder that even when we feel run down, tired, and overwhelmed, somebody, somewhere, is doing something extraordinary to improve the lives of people, plants, animals, communities, and our planet.

Whether you're feeling excited or nervous about 2025 (or a bit of both), I promise you that these good stories will keep coming!

In fact, I have very big things planned for this newsletter and our wider community focused on creating real life impact, and can't wait to share them with you.

I appreciate each and every one of you for being here and choosing to welcome some positivity into our own lives and the world.

Rest up in the last days of the year, and I'll see you in 2025!

(Oh and lastly, I know it's a very giving time of year... if you've gotten value from these newsletters and my reporting of these stories, becoming a supporter or leaving a tip would be a great way to show me ;). Sending an email to me know what you think would be lovely too!)👇

Out of about 1,000 positive stories of progress from 2024, here were some of our favorites...

January

Plastic bans in 3 US states and 2 cities saved enough to wrap around the entire planet 42 times, China revealed they installed more solar panels just last year than the entire history of any other nation, and $110 million was dedicated to building wildlife corridors across 17 US states.

February

They took a real plastic-eating worm and recreated its gut microbes in a lab, over 100 species were discovered near an underwater volcano in Chile, and the River Mersey had Europe’s greatest-ever recovery.

March

The world’s largest seed vault got its biggest contribution from 77 nations, scientists went to a degraded coral reef to play recordings of the snaps and groans of a healthy one which helped it recover, and Oregon passed a right-to-repair law forcing manufacturers to make it easier for the public to fix our tech.

April

A full solar eclipse in North America brought the world together in awe, a Swiss court ruled the nation is legally responsible to protect citizens from climate harms, and the US EPA said water utilities must remove harmful forever chemicals called PFAs from our drinking water. And as a big bonus, Canada gave over a million acres of land back to the Indigenous Haida Nation after decades of negotiations

May

The Debt Gala took place as an anti-Met Gala to raise funds for medical debts, a project to re-wild 2,000 southern white rhinos began in South Africa, and locals in Patagonia won a decade-long fight to protect the stunning Cochamó Valley.

June

A study found that elephants call each other by name just like humans, Vermont became the first state to pass the Superfund Act making top polluters pay for damages they’ve caused, and Indigenous Peruvian women won a 4-year battle to classify the Marañón River as a living being.

July

Hawaii banned deep sea mining in its waters, Indigenous People built dozens of bridges to connect Amazon rainforest canopy allowing wildlife to safely get across, and New York City’s summer streets resumed closing 20 miles of roads for half a million people to walk and bike in car-free zones.

August

A new right to disconnect law in Australia made it illegal to punish someone for ignoring work messages after hours, four dogs became conservationists using their superior sense of smell to find endangered turtles, and the Amazon rainforest reached its lowest deforestation level in Brazil since 2016.

September

The Klamath River flowed again after 100 years thanks to the largest ever US dam removal, the UK closed its last coal power plant, and two students wrote a law for a school project that became real requiring climate education in Illinois schools.

October

The FTC finalized a rule letting us end any subscription with just one click, the Chumash sanctuary co-managed by Indigenous communities was created on 4500 square miles of waters, and California passed a law forcing confusing “best by” food labels to become more clear.

November

An endangered black-footed ferret clone named Antonia gave birth, Paris started replacing 60,000 parking spots with trees, and scientists discovered the world’s largest coral colony so big it’s seen from space.

December

Another egg was laid by a 74-year-old albatross named Wisdom who’s the world’s oldest known wild bird, Scotland progressed a bill to jail executives of major polluters for destroying ecosystems, and Norway agreed to pause deep sea mining protecting the mysterious deep ocean.

Last but not least

Our community (AKA you) shared thousands of ways we’re making the planet better together by improving our communities, supporting each other, and building the future we wanna live in 💚🤝.

Comment your favorite story of this year at the end of this post, whether it's from this list or a personal win!

And that's all for this year, folks.

Much love.

Talk to you soon ✌️💚

This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. 700,000+ people are in our community replacing dread & fear with hope & action across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, and now YouTube. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com