And Now The Good News

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News about the environment and the extinction of species always seems to be bad news. But recently there has been some good news.

In 2005, a study revealed that ozone concentrations have stopped declining over the Northern and Southern hemispheres, where the bulk of the world's population lives.  It appears that efforts to reduce ozone destroying chemicals are paying off.

There is also some good news in the re-appearance of birds and plants that were thought to be extinct.  The ivory billed woodpecker, once common in North America, was last officially sighted in the 1940's.  However, in February 2004, a man kayaking in the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas spotted one.  The sighting was later confirmed by two qualified observers.  The hope now is that a mating pair still exists.

Some plants once thought extinct have been reappearing.  For example the Judean Date Palm was believed to have disappeared in the first century A.D.  But some two thousand year old seeds, recovered in the 1970's during excavations of the cliff fortress of Masada in Israel, were planted in 2004, and one germinated.  Six weeks later it sprouted and continues to grow well.  The hope is the plant is female which could produce its characteristic dark honey like fruit in about five years.

So next time you're feeling pessimistic, keep your eyes open for good news, because apparently nature doesn't give up easily.