There were terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Brussels, Orlando, and Nice, sparking fear worldwide. A plane mysteriously crashed en route from Paris to Cairo, killing dozens. Conservative, anti-immigration and anti-globalization voices prevailed in referendums in the UK and the US, and Colombian voters narrowly rejected a government peace deal. David Bowie, Muhammad Ali, Gene Wilder, Prince, and Leonard Cohen died, saddening millions.
Yeah, it’s a reasonable impulse to say that 2016 was horrible.
But as families across the country and around the world sit down at their dinner tables this Thursday, there are still many things to be thankful for. Even this year. Especially this year.
So, let’s be thankful that 6.6 billion of us do not live in extreme poverty, and do what we can to help the other 700 million climb out of it.
We can be thankful that in the past 15 years, the proportion of workers and their families who live on less than $1.90 a day has dropped from 28 percent to 10 percent, that the global infant mortality rate has halved since 1990, and that in the same time 1.1 billion have escaped extreme poverty.
Let’s be thankful for all the times the world came together to combat climate change in 2016.
Like when 96 countries ratified the Paris agreement, including the US, China, and most recently the UK.
Or when 170 countries agreed to ban HFCs.
Or when 24 countries and the European Union put aside their differences in order to set aside 600,000 square miles of protected marine environment.
And 29 countries agreed, in a landmark treaty, to fight illegal fishing.
And the US, Canada, and Mexico agreed to push for zero carbon initiatives.
And this polar bear was very happy.
It wasn’t just large-scale global treaties that made a difference in 2016.
The US created the world’s largest marine reserve off the coast of Hawaii.
Ukraine plans to turn Chernobyl, the site of a tragic nuclear accident in 1986, into a solar energy farm.
Scotland shut down its final coal power plant.
Norway made a commitment to end deforestation.
And the UK passed a law to become carbon-free.
Let’s also be thankful that gender equality is being written into law (and onto dollar bills) around the world.
Like in Pakistan, where “honor killings” now carry a 25-year prison sentence.
And in Germany, where no finally means no, and rape cases can be properly prosecuted.
And in Tanzania, where child marriage is now a punishable crime, and Zimbabwe, where it is now banned.
And in France, where paying for sex is now illegal.
And in Colombia, where same-sex marriage is now legal, and in Pakistan, where transgender marriage is legal under sharia law.
Or in the US, where tampons are now provided free of cost at state institutions in New York, and people who identify as transgender can serve in the army, and Harriet Tubman, a black woman, will replace Andrew Jackson, a white man, on the 20-dollar-bill.
Let’s be thankful that the new UN Secretary-General is dedicated to refugees.
That warlords are being held accountable for sexual violence.
That the UN’s first animal ambassadors are cuddly pandas.
That this giant panda defied odds by giving birth to twins.
That the Americas are finally free of endemic measles.
That child labor is becoming far less prevalent in India.
That scientists are on the verge of curing HIV.
That polio is becoming a thing of the past.
That you can’t use a plastic coffee pod in parts of Germany, a plastic plate in France, or a plastic bag in Morocco.
That there are now meatless burgers and solar-powered planes.
And Justin Trudeau. Let’s just be thankful for Justin Trudeau.