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Species saved? - Seven eggs from the world's last northern white rhinos were successfully fertilized. Which means the species might survive extinction.

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Same-sex marriage became legal in Taiwan - Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriages.

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Sustainable plastic - A scientist in Mexico created a biodegradable plastic from the juice of a cactus.

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No more stray dogs - The Netherlands has become the first country in the world without stray dogs.

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Tackling the gender pay gap - Iceland became the first country in the world to legally enforce equal pay.

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Hope for HIV cure - A man in London became the second person in the world to be cleared from the HIV virus, following a stem cell treatment. 

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The "Terminator" of child marriage -

Malawi's paramount chief, Theresa Kachindamoto, annulled over 2,500 child marriages and sent all children back to school.

(Photo: Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Larvalbot - A robot is restoring the damaged areas of the Great Barrier of Reef by delivering coral babies.

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The solution for landfills? - Scientists discovered a mushroom that feeds on plastic. 

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Baby African elephants trade ban - Baby African elephants will no longer be taken from the wild and sold to zoos. 

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Cruelty-free holograms - Circus Roncalli in Germany started using hologram projections instead of real animals in their shows.

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Saving a life in Worcester, UK - In March, 4,855 people waited in the rain for hours to see if they were compatible stem cell donors for with a five-year-old boy battling cancer.

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Canadian animal law - The country passed a law that makes it illegal for whales, dolphins, and porpoises to be bred or held in captivity.

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Supermarket reduces plastic usage - A chain supermarket in Thailand has swapped plastic packaging for banana leaves.

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Sea turtles are booming - The sea turtle population has increased by a whooping 980% since the Endangered Species Act regulations were enforced.

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New pet store law in California - Pet stores in California can now only sell rescue cats, dogs, and rabbits. 

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Life savers - Blood donors in Sweden get a text when their blood saves a life.

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111 trees for every girl born - Piplantri, a village in India, celebrates each time a girl is born by planting 111 trees.

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World's first insect vaccine - Finnish scientists have developed a vaccine that helps fight against a deadly bacterial disease in bees.

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Cuddle club - A San Francisico organization is bringing together senior citizens and senior dogs. 

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Less burping and farting - Researchers found that feeding cows with a specific type of seaweed reduces greenhouse gas emission drastically.

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Blood magic - Scientists managed to convert type A blood into universal donor blood, type O.

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Dogs can detect cancer - A study found that dog's evolved sense of smell can detect cancer in blood.

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Historical legal victory - The Waorani, an indigenous tribe from Ecuador, won a legal battle that protects the Amazon rain forest from oil drilling.

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Dutch green roofs - Hundreds of bus stops in the Netherlands have been covered in plants. The green roofs are supposed to aid the preservation of bees.

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Indian man plants a forest - Jadav Payeng, known as the Forest Man of India, spent over 30 years planting a tree everyday to save his island. The forest is now bigger than New York City's Central Park.

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Blind women detect cancer - Blind and visually impaired women in Colombia have been trained to detect breast cancer using their fingertips.

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Bee corridor - A seven-mile-long "bee corridor" of flowers is being planted in London, UK, to help boost bee numbers.

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Elephant sweaters - In 2017, villagers in India knitted giant sweaters by hand to protect rescue elephants from the cold. This has been all over social media in 2019, to raise awareness about global warming.

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Humpback whale populations recover since whaling was banned - The population has grown from 440 in 1958 to around 25,000 today.

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YouTube bans hate speech - The online platform implemented a ban on white supremacist content and other hateful material.

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Food waste recycling - South Korea went from a 2% recycling rate to a whopping 95% in food waste recycling. All thanks to smart bins and biodegradable bags.

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Palm oil ban - Peru passed a ban on palm oil deforestation. The National Wildlife Federation called it a "momentous win for wildlife and sustainable agriculture."

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Green earth - NASA has reported that our planet is greener now than it was 20 years ago. This is due mostly to reforestation efforts from China and India.

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For the first time since Charles Darwin saw them in 1835 - Galapagos iguanas have been reintroduced to Santiago Island after 200 years.

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You can pay to ride Rome's metro with plastic bottles - The initiative is called +Ricicli +Viaggi (recycle and travel). For every bottle you put in the machine, you get a €0.05 credit.

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UK's carbon dioxide emissions fell for the sixth year in a row - The UK has now the lowest CO2 emissions since 1888.

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Green power alternatives - Renewable energy now accounts for a third of global power capacity.

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African Development Bank (AfDB) electricity project - The AfDB is supporting projects to bring electricity to millions of people across the continent.

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Recycling helps children get an education - Parents in Lagos, Nigeria, can pay part of  their children's tuition fees with plastic bottles.

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Norway chooses ecosystem over billions - Norway decided not to drill for oil in the Lofoten Islands, to preserve the local ecosystem.

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Fortnite creator saves forests - Tim Sweeney has bought hundreds of acres of forest land in North Carolina, US, in order to preserve it. 

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South Korea tackles loneliness and dementia - The government has started organizing daytime dance parties for senior citizens.

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Ducks instead of pesticides - Rice farmers started using ducks instead of pesticides. The animals feed on insects and protect the fields.

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First woman to win the Abel Prize -

American Karen Uhlenbeck won one of mathematics most prestigious awards—the Abel Prize.

Photo: Wikimedia / GFDL

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Netherlands' artificial islands -

The Dutch built five artificial islands to preserve flora and fauna. 

See also: The most remarkable environmental pictures of the year.

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