Reasons to be ENCOURAGED about the new year.

Here is a list of reasons to be encouraged in 2017:

1. Our next generation of voters and leaders, (I'm looking at you, Millennials,) are an awesome bunch of kids committed to the environment, equality for all, and a bright future for everyone on the planet. And they're on their way up.
2. Organizations like the Sierra Club, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Southern Poverty Law Center are seeing huge surges in donations. Let's keep that going!
3. Newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post, and magazines like The New Yorker have seen a huge upsurge in subscriptions. All those brilliant reporters are going to be hard at work exposing all kinds of government sludge.
4. Solar power is taking increasingly larger shares of the energy market away from coal and oil, and that is creating all kinds of jobs, and we should see that trend continue.
5. Hybrid and electric cars are getting cheaper, and better.
6. China just banned the ivory trade. How about that?
7. We are seeing a huge wave of political engagement in progressives who have never engaged politically before. This is new, and exciting! A great example: The Million Woman March, January 21, 2017, in cities all over the country! I'm going to be at the one in Washington DC, and I'm going to be posting all kinds of pictures and videos about it.
8. Cities and states are starting to realize that we can't wait for the federal government to fix the environment, and so they are taking on these challenges themselves. Yay local government!
9. The United Nations is becoming a more outspoken voice of reason on the world stage.
10. People are consciously choosing to help the environment rather than hurt it by starting to garden, supporting local farmers' markets, and composting their waste. More people ride bikes to work, bring their own travel mugs to the coffee shops, and cook at home rather than order take out. This greener lifestyle will keep catching on, especially as the Millennials start calling the shots.


So happy new year everyone. Let's make it a good one, because my darlings, it turns out saving the world is up to us.