We're closer to 2050 than 2000

Hey fam,

July 2nd marked the midway point of the year, and the decade, and as the subject line says, we're now closer to 2050 than 2000.

Hard to believe!

As they say, "The days are long but the years are short".

The first half of 2025 was... a lot.

But let's take a moment to reflect on what's gone right, and do what we can to make the second half better.

Enjoy this big recap of some of the best stories of the year so far...

Here's a few highlights from each month so far this year!

🐻‍❄️♳🦌 January had an Arctic drilling lease sale fail when no company placed any bids, Thailand banning plastic waste imports, and 16 new wildlife crossings announced across 16 US states. 

🦬🍄‍🟫🏔️ February had 540 buffalo returning to their ancestral homeland, the invention of a 3D printed fungi battery that decomposes, and the Taranaki Maunga mountain in New Zealand unanimously recognized as a legal person. 

📚🪧📉 March had the 200,000th Little Free Library created, protests across every National Park site to protect our public lands, and the UK’s emissions falling to the lowest level since 1872. 

🧸💰🌊 April had the EU banning harmful PFAs chemicals in toys, Chevron forced to pay $750 million for illegal damages, and over 800 marine species discovered in a global search for unknown life. 

💸🧑‍🔬🌺 May had the US banning hidden “junk fees”, community scientists recording 3.3 million wildlife observations, and Hawaii adding a tourism fee to protect their natural resources.

And June's big recap:

🤝 The biggest Indigenous LandBack deal ever in California was completed, returning over 47,000 acres to the Yurok Tribe.

🦫 Beavers officially came back to their native home in Portugal after a 500 year absence. 

📸 The largest digital camera ever made started its mission to explain the universe by taking this photo of 10 million galaxies that would need a basketball court size screen to display in full detail.

👚 In a vote of 337 to 1, France adopted a bill that bans ultra fast fashion ads and fines the brands with the most waste.

🐳 A real princess from Tonga called for the recognition of whales as legal persons who can defend their rights in court. 

🔋 Vatican City became the 8th country to be fully powered by renewable energy. 

🌊 The High Seas Treaty inched closer as 50 out of the needed 60 countries ratified it.

🧑‍⚖️ 22 young people sued the US government for illegally boosting fossil fuels over clean energy which violates their constitutional rights.

🦿3 high schoolers invented a brain-powered prosthetic leg for their friend Aiden after he was struggling with his model. 

🪏🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒📖 And our community built a free gardening library, started a weekly Good Deeds Club, created a neighborhood Book Trailer, and made the future better in so many more ways...

Laurene Allen vs. a giant polluting plastics facility

A 62-year-old woman taught herself the science to bring down a monstrous polluting plastics factory and actually pulled it off.

Laurene Allen moved to a small New Hampshire town called Merrimack to raise her family, but soon after the drinking water had high levels of harmful forever chemicals called PFAs. 

Local authorities downplayed the situation with outdated information, but after just a bit of research Laurene knew they weren’t telling the full truth. So to protect her community, she started researching further in studies and reports, testifying at council meetings for safer drinking water, and organizing door to door surveys, finding above average health complications linked to PFAs exposure.

Authorities called her crazy for fear mongering, and neighbors didn’t understand, so she got the help of scientists to test the air, water, and soil to gather more proof. While the Saint-Gobain plant didn’t care and ramped up production further, Laurene was never going to give up. She organized protests, reached out to journalists, and convinced the EPA to hold a listening session.

And after 8 years of nonstop pressure, Laurene won the fight!

The plant shut down, her home was made safer for future generations, and she continues to clean up contaminations, winning the 2025 Goldman Environmental Prize for her relentless dedication.

Remember Laurene's story the next time you think you can't make a difference.

What else?

💸 The majority of people in the world support a carbon tax, having people who contribute the most emissions pay a bit extra for their damages.

🐬 Orcas were seen massaging each other with seaweed tools for the first time ever.

🎶 People are volunteering to play music to help soothe animals in shelters.

Spread this breath of fresh air🪴

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This newsletter was written by Jacob Simon. Over 1 million people are in our community across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, YouTube, and Bluesky. You can say hi on LinkedIn, or by emailing jacob@jacobsimonsays.com. See you next week for more :)