We can be virtually certain that bad stuff will happen. This can take the form of wars, natural disasters, disease, crime or something else. But it can’t be overstated enough that there are typically two sides to a situation. For every grim statistic, man-made act of destruction or war, there is a counter example of community outreach, peace, hope in the way of promising new scientific discoveries and people coming together to accomplish a worthwhile goal. As we approach the end of the year, this article is about sorting through the developments of 2024. We’ll find the gritty and unpleasant events, for sure, but we’ll also find the good stuff—and there’s plenty of that as well.

On the fuel that supports our lives

Levels of carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase with new records set in 2023. According to Carbon Brief, as global energy demand reached another record high of 620 exajoules (EJ) in 2023, demand continued to increase for energy from coal—which grew by 1.6%, and from oil, which grew by 2.5% to reach a new high of 196 EJ. Emissions from the burning of fossil fuel, which includes industrial emissions and gas flaring, resulted in record global emissions. We are steadily nearing the ominous 1.5C limit in temperature set by the International Panel on Climate Change several years ago.

But here’s a bit of good news: the retirement of coal-fired power plants is accelerating. For example, roughly a quarter of coal-operated power plants are scheduled to close by 2029 in the United States, a country widely known as a significant contributor to world carbon emissions.  Renewable energy sources, on the other hand, are steadily gaining ground. This trend is not happening fast enough for some, but Europe’s electrical grid is very rapidly shifting to carbon-free sources. For the first time in history, wind and solar added more energy to the total world energy mix than any other fuel.

Also, certain technologies like enhanced geothermal are improving in terms of drilling techniques (deeper) and system design and locations, all of which means we may be able to generate clean energy much more efficiently with ongoing advances in this technology. Other encouraging developments: new initiatives following the latest climate conference (COP28) include developing a UN Plastic Treaty; recent work on the part of the United Nations’ International Court of Justice includes enforcing the legal and financial commitments of the wealthiest—and most polluting countries—to the global populations most affected by climate change.

On the curiosity and entrepreneurial drive of young people

Each year the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair awards over $9 million to students from around the world—from India to South America—for promising research and innovation. This year’s competition highlighted important scientific contributions, everything from technology that removes microplastics from drinking water to the development of important medical therapies, to the identification of causes of death among endangered marine life. These enterprising young people should give us all hope; notwithstanding their youth, they are keen to develop solutions the world needs.

Important developments in medicine and technology

Clearly, a lot has been in the news about AI—both positive and negative. We’ve heard plenty about how AI can be misused in the hands of bad actors but consider how AI can be used beneficially for the public good. Google DeepMind’s tool, AlphaFold, predicts 3D shapes of proteins and has lately been used to simulate interactions between DNA, RNA, proteins and other molecules, all of which is key to designing new medical therapies. Since the DNA-editing medical therapeutic known as CRISPR was developed roughly 15 years ago, potential applications have been largely absent—until recently. This technology is lately being used in treatments that eliminate some of the many symptoms of sickle cell disease, ranging from blindness and high blood pressure to debilitating nerve and organ damage.

Two new supercomputers have come online this year. Europe’s first version of an exascale computer, known as Jupiter, can perform roughly one quintillion computations per second. Jupiter is poised to run highly detailed simulations of the Earth’s climate, among other projects. Although the United States already has one supercomputer known as Frontier in operation, two more—Aurora and El Capitan—are primed to come online to facilitate the mapping of neural circuits and the brain, giving us new insights into how complex human systems function.

Serving people in need

Many of Ukraine’s cities have been significantly damaged by the ongoing war waged by Russia since February 2022. An Australian startup has been motivated to help the many displaced and homeless victims of the war by manufacturing bricks from the rubble of destroyed homes. With what has been called a “mobile brick factory”, Mobile Crisis Construction (MCC) mixes rubble with cement and a clay-like soil to produce bricks without the need for a high-heat kiln. The mini brick factory, which is mounted inside a shipping container, runs on minimal energy and produces LEGO-like interlocking bricks, which can be fortified with rebar to build structurally stable homes. The project is still in the early phases, but MCC believes that with the capacity to make 8,000 bricks a day, it can make 10 small homes every three days in disaster zones.

Life is riddled with both dark and light moments. The year 2024 has seen war in multiple parts of the globe, extreme natural disasters, suffering, poverty and needless loss of life. Here’s the question: Will we focus on the negative and allow it to set the course for our own lives—or do we consider a more positive, life-affirming alternative in which we help those in need and do what we can to make the world better? You decide.