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We are often bombarded with fear-mongering and shocking headlines that make us feel that the world is falling apart.

While it’s important to report problems and issues, I believe there is so much good in this world that just needs to be found and promoted. This is especially true after the last few years we have had with COVID, political, and social unrest, and seemingly more negative headlines than we care to count.

That’s why I started The Happy Broadcast and, this year, it's why I am so proud to announce WHOLE, the free happiness app. WHOLE is a culmination of what we started 4 years ago with The Happy Broadcast, a positive place filled with activities aimed at improving your mental health and happiness. We partnered with science to identify activities that are known to boost happiness, and then built them into a daily tracker that suggests simple things you can do to boost your mood.

Consuming positive news is one known activity that can boost your outlook and mood. We need more positive news to acknowledge that the world is actually getting better little by little. So, with that said, here are some of the top performing positive news illustrations from 2021.

You can find my previous articles about The Happy Broadcast on Bored Panda here (2020), here (coronavirus), and here (2019). And if you'd like to read about the good news in more detail and see the sources that I used, you can go to my website, here.

More info: Instagram | WHOLE

2020 and 2021 feel very much the same. The challenges facing the human family right now are big and scary and there’s no guarantee we will overcome ALL of them. But, as millions of people have demonstrated in the past 24 months though, action is possible, better solutions are available and a better future can be built. Science has really helped us overcome a pandemic but it is the people that have shown their kindness and love for one another.

One at a time, we can all make a positive impact. While I don’t want to be cynical and stop believing that the world can get better, I’m also not naive to think that the world can change if I don’t contribute. That’s why the future will be better if, instead of getting overwhelmed, we celebrate and get inspired by the millions of people that have shown us that we can all have a positive impact.

I’m always optimistic. Every year is better than the one before and even in the past couple of challenging years, there have been several silver linings. The new generations are becoming more and more aware that we need to advocate for a better future, and we need to do that fast. I see more and more kindness and more and more people acting selflessly to change what’s wrong and help whoever is in need.

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Even small acts of kindness towards the environment will, in turn, benefit all and I see that happening. That’s why I’ve built The Happy Broadcast, to highlight the selfless actions of many amazing human beings.

2021 has been a great year filled with hard work, fun, kindness, pizza, and dogs. I always have to keep my mental health in check, but that’s why I love to use my art as a beacon of positivity for me and the people that are kind enough to follow my projects.

The biggest challenge (and reward) has been the launch of WHOLE. After three years of hard work on The Happy Broadcast, I met Keith, who is now my partner in this amazing company that wants to become the one-stop source for happiness. We created WHOLE, an umbrella brand that included The Happy Broadcast and other projects focused on mental health and happiness.

Ultimately people are not seeking to be “meditators,” “mood trackers,” or “journalers,” they want to be happier. WHOLE is a brand, community, and all-in-one mobile app focused on delivering all the “spokes” of mental health training within a single app that guides users towards the ultimate goal of increased happiness. The first big milestone was the launch of our WHOLE app, now available in the App Store and Google Play Store.

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Our goal is very simple yet ambitious: To provide comprehensive solutions that increase the overall happiness of individuals while improving society as a WHOLE.

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Mazer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Let’s hope it isn’t patented 200 times in order to keep costs out of reach

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One of the best things I heard in 2021 involves an organization in Finland called Aktivistimummot, meaning “Activist grannies.” It’s a group pushing for environmental change that delivers a lot of information about climate change. Their aim is simple: to ensure their grandchildren have a safe and sustainable future.

It’s a great example of how we can all come together, despite our age difference, for the greater good of a sustainable and fulfilling life for everyone.

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Ozzie Ogawa
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's not just the number of the trees but the species as well. They should plant not just native trees but natives plants as well. A healthy forest should be diverse, both genetically and species.

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Last year, I told Bored Panda about how rough it was in 2020, what helped me keep my sense of direction and not get lost during the pandemic, and what new artists should keep in mind. I think that 2020 was definitely a rough year, but I’ve never seen so many great stories of human kindness like then.

Despite all the challenges, it looks like humanity understood how deeply we depend on each other and how much our mental health is central to everyone's recovery and well-being. Sharing good news is a joyful experience for all and also an important part of daily conversations.

There is so much good in this world that just needs to be found and promoted. Never forget that the reason why we have positive news to share is that some amazing and brave individuals did something to solve an issue that worries us all. So, one at a time, we can all make a positive impact. It's our time to BE the positive news.

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Jerry Mathers
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hope they take it a step further and prohibit all goods by companies use shark fins in any product.

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Paula Marowsky
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What do they do with all that plastic after they take it out? Just dump it on the earth?

angelab_1 avatar
Angela B
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Genuine and honest question. Where did all the plastic get put? Was it recycled? Or become landfill? I am not being sarcastic, I would like to know where it went after being removed from the ocean.

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Lilly Rose Poppy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think this is from team seas, the Mr Beast and Mark Rober thing. If I'm correct, then they are recycleing the plastic. You can search up team seas on YouTube to learn more. The videos by Mr Beast and Mark Rober are the best

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Allena Sharpe
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being "that person" 33 billion pounds of plastic enter the ocean every year. That's 2 garbage trucks every minute. https://usa.oceana.org/our-campaigns/plastic/ So we're gonna have to seriously step this up to have a meaningful impact. Environmental Studies major.

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Zophra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Thank you. You be that person so I can be a better informed person. :)

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Ranax
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Accurate drawing as they also fish up lots of animals. In this case the cute is probably worse than the disease.

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F. H.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly. It's also not clear what it does to the plankton on the oceans surface and whether it is effective with all the fuel they are burning.

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Christina Uhlir
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I applaud their effort; however, I don't think that ocean garbage can be cleaned if we do not stop those who dump their garbage in oceans!! Get back on our beleaguered earth.

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Richard Grant
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

10 tons of garbage in a pile size of Texas, is literally a drop in the ocean. Reuse and/or recycle goes a long way in helping to fix the problem.

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Brandy Grote
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where does it go after that? Most recycling plants are already overburdened with waste, to the point richer countries are just shipping it to poorer countries! Plastic CAN be converted into fuel oil - for a cost. But that cost is lower than shipping charges.

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lara
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A major article in one of the magazines said that one of the "big" plastic islands has become a "home" for various animal life and plant life. The scientists were very shocked and surprised. They shouldn't be, life is very adaptive. https://www.sciencealert.com/plants-and-animals-have-started-living-on-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch

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September Meadows
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

20,000 pounds is 0.0000000000000001% of the plastic in the ocean, and 0.000000001% of the daily amount of new plastic added to the ocean.

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jennifer chriestmon
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gotta start somewhere, hopefully with time and change we can clean up a lot more! Kudos to them!

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Paul Z.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good start. Only 10.000kg though. There are millions😓

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Richard Grant
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Needle in a haystack. There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. Any improvement is great though.

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Jonny Chevalier
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

butter hurry it up I hear creatures are starting to make the plastic island home.. not good for them . I heard there is a company that can turn plastic waste into roads. what a blessing that would be.

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Leesa DeAndrea
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been following them on YouTube. It's really interesting what they are doing.

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Jaybird3939
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know if this is OK, but...A group I contribute to 4ocean will clean 1 pound of garbage from the ocean for $20 and will send you a bracelet made of recycled materials. I have 3 and they're really sturdy and you can pick the materials. 4ocean.com

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Cybele Spanjaard
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

keep our waters clean.. the careless uncaring litterers outweigh the gatherers..

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Hetal Vyas
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can't fishing trawlers use a fine net to dredge for rubbish?

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Rowan Tracey
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These are great and uplifting, but I wanted to say something about this one! The Ocean Cleanup is *not* the cleanup to support, because they do very little research on marine life that makes their homes of the plastic they fish up, plus the amount of energy they use to do these cleanups makes it not worth it. HOWEVER! There are a bunch of other cleanup groups that *are* doing research, and cleaning the ocean in a much more sea life and environmentally friendly manner. Still a win!

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Space Oddity
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please check out Dr. Rebecca Helm’s work. The Ocean Cleanup, while well-intentioned, threatens to wipe out an entire ecosystem of fragile open ocean life that we have barely begun to study or understand: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/ocean-cleanup-project-could-destroy-neuston/580693/

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Ryan Deschanel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And it also reminds us that there is still much more floating around there.

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K Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've seen videos of this, they have an account on Tik Tok. They show a lot of what they actually remove from the ocean.

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just another drone
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But plastic trash in our ocean is set to triple by 2040 (according to NatGeo) and there are already an estimated 10 MILLION TONNES (10 billion pounds) being dumped in EVERY YEAR. 20K pounds is F*****G NOTHING.

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K Miller
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Work needs to be done to reduce current waste, and provide proper waste collection in some places for sure, but The Ocean Cleanup is doing good things and they're only just getting started. They're specifically working to clean the great Pacific garbage patch. Found an article on CSBnews.com from Oct 21, 2021, this 20,000 lbs was only part of a series of tests they conducted using their system over 12 weeks. In total they removed over 63,000 lbs of plastic. And this is only the test phase. They're estimating that if they have about 10 of their systems in place, they can remove 50% of the plastic from that garbage patch in the first 5 years. Is it perfect? Probably not, but it's a start.

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One of the things that helped me through the pandemic was working on The Happy Broadcast and interacting daily with my community. Sharing good news is a joyful experience for all and also an important part of daily conversations. Also, baking bread and pizza had a huge impact on my sanity during lockdown.

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One of my favorite pizzas, besides the classic Italian Margherita, is pizza Bianca (which means no cheese and no sauce) topped, after being baked, with a cold mix of vegan feta, arugula, olive oil, salt, and fresh thyme. It’s very fresh and different from the usual pizza we eat at a restaurant, but I’m a creative person, so cooking is another avenue to express that.

Having a sense of purpose makes me feel less lost. I also try to not spend too much time on my phone scrolling through hundreds of posts and I turn my phone off before I go to bed. If I’m feeling blue, I put on some songs that make me want to play the air-guitar and the air-drums, like ‘Gloria’ by ‘The Lumineers.’

I've always loved doodling... especially things with cute faces because it's so relaxing, creative, and fun! I like the message more than the style, so I don’t spend a lot of time on an illustration. Most of my time is spent sketching all the ideas that float in my brain. My advice to young artists is not to focus on trends; focus on what you like to draw. 

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Jo Choto
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We really don't need to keep people in dangerous underground slavery conditions, and allowing a very small number of people to control the supply and get rich on the backs of the workers, just for a tiny gemstone that can be safely replicated in a lab.

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Rissie
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to be a doozy, because it's admirable that we are capable of change if we set our minds to not using cfc's, but sadly CO2 emissions need to get down (which is a lot harder) to not undo that success in the long run. Bad news stinks of course so, see we can do it, go humans!

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JuJu
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have a few hundred of these in Leipzig. And nobody gets stung.

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Stacy Parker
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe that Iceland, Sweden, Costa Rica, and Uruguay are part of that group. Not sure about the rest.

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Romenriel
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Very good, also helps with poverty that is endangering humans.

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Alexia
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Here is a photo from the campaign. It was actually efficient, several dogs were adopted. It also produced some sweet moments, as some dogs woulnd't leave their humans' arms or would run away on the field :))) 646x528-61...b422a5.jpg 646x528-61b3513b422a5.jpg

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Leo Domitrix
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In short: Common sense! Nature has its pest control. Just make friends with it. (Yes, I am okay with snakes. One black ratsnake native to my area means you won't see rats, mice, or the venomous snakes!)

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Romenriel
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd like to see a source on this one, it would be awesome but I don't see how it could happen.

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ivan bolitekurac
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tbh,if it isn't durable i won't buy it.I have a leather jacket that is 10 years old and it is the same as the first day.I would call that a sustainable piece of clothing.Fake leather will have cracks after a few years so you need to buy new furniture/clothing

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Note: this post originally had 112 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.