By Mary O’KEEFE

We should be looking at possible high winds for New Year’s Day, today. The gusts are expected to be in the 15 mph to 25 mph range; however, there could be some thunderstorms that will include gusts up to 50 mph, but this would be isolated. 

Rain was expected to start overnight Tuesday and through Wednesday with the heaviest rain between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. today, Thursday. 

Rain will continue on and off until Friday morning, then a second storm comes in Friday night through Saturday, and linger with on and off rain through Monday, according to NOAA.

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We are saying goodbye to 2025 and my feeling is … thank God. I know a lot of years lately, including the pandemic years, have tested us but seriously – I don’t think I have ever dealt with more drama than during this year. There seems to be anxiety-riddled people all around us. 

Standing in line at the grocery store I hear people so angry because the person in front of all of us is having a difficult time with self-checkout even if this person – like me – was raised with having actual humans helping at checkout. So yes, sometimes the human-less checkout is a challenge. 

People seem to be upset at the gas station, at restaurants and at doctor offices. And the weird thing is that everything appears to be going well but if someone says the wrong thing … all h*ll breaks loose. It seems like everyone is on their “last nerve.” I know news media is constantly reminding us how crazy things are and how the future looks bleak. When the only place where people seem happy is at a protest I think we are in trouble. 

Now this might not be everyone’s take on 2025, and if it’s not yours then I am so happy for you, but for me … this will go down as the year of feeling like [thank you, Tennessee Williams] a cat on a hot tin roof. 

So this is my New Year’s Resolution: I am going to turn my back on the drama. I am going to look for the positive – not ignoring the negative – and at least find even a thin line of positive in every issue. I am going to work really hard to follow my philosophy of “There but for the grace of God go I” and understand that not everyone is out to get everyone else. 

Now, as I deal with the science of climate in this column (and there is no doubt there is an attack of all kinds on science from leaders outside of California) it may be a bit difficult to find the positive with humans and the climate, but I will try …. and by try I mean I called my environmental scientist daughter and asked her for good news. 

Let’s start with the National Public Radio (NPR) article, “Green sea turtles no longer endangered as global population rebounds.”

“Once endangered, the global green sea turtle population is rebounding, according to a new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),” according to NPR. (Just as an aside, how great is it that NPR is still going strong even though the federal government cut all financial support … donate if you can.)

The report involved collating 279 papers pertaining to sea turtle biogeography and genetics, geo-referencing 959 maps and 167 distinct genetic stocks creating a custom, interactive geographic information system for collecting edits and feedback and writing, and publishing a peer-reviewed article featuring 48 updated RMU (regional management unit) boundaries, according to IUCN. (RMU is a defined area used to manage populations of species.)

The NPR interview stated that there are 20,000 endangered species in the world and – happily – the green sea turtle is no longer one of them. 

The green sea turtles are coming back from the brink thanks to decades of conservation action from IUCN. 

“The species’ latest assessment was carried out in December 2024 and showed that the global population has increased since the 1970s, leading to its reclassification on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern,’” according to an article, “Green Sea Turtles No Longer Endangered Species in Major Conservation Win” in earth.org.

And there is a search engine that you may not have heard about: Ecosia, which was launched on Dec. 7, 2009. It is known as the tree-planting search engine and was founded by Christian Kroll. 

This search engine states “We dedicate 100% of our profits to the planet. That means you can plant trees, protect endangered animals and uplift communities around the world simply by browsing.” 

According to its website, ecosia.org, in the month of October it spent $1,194,204.96 on tree planting. You can visit the website and see where profits go from operational costs to taxes paid. 

The owners have also just deposited $1 million with a notary in Berlin, reserved solely to help create a new Climate Nobel Prize, according to its website. 

“Why? Because the climate crisis is accelerating and many of the ideas that could reshape our future do not yet have the global visibility needed for widespread, rapid adoption,” according to ecosia.org.

“The special thing about Ecosia is that the company uses part of its advertising revenue to plant trees. By using Ecosia, users therefore indirectly support environmental protection projects worldwide …. The Use of Ecosia is simple and uncomplicated. The search results are provided via Bing so that users can expect a similar quality to other search engines. At the same time, Ecosia helps to finance tree planting projects by displaying advertisements …. So if you have an environmentally friendly alternative to the major search engines and want to do something good at the same time, Ecosia is an interesting option. In addition to the positive impact on the environment, the search engine also [has] a transparent display of tree planting projects so that users can see exactly what their use of Ecosia is being used for,” according to Wolf of SEO.

If this search engine interests you I would advise you to do your own research. 

Keeping in mind concerns about data protection, a great article to review about Ecosia is an article  by Wolf of SEO at https://tinyurl.com/ywksf9ha.

Just a reminder – always research everything you read or hear. AI has a way of giving us information we want instead of information that is true, so it is always important to look at all sources, not just the ones AI may send you. 

And here are a couple more positive things about the climate and Earth’s inhabitants:

The High Seas Treaty has met the threshold required for it to officially enter into force. It will unlock new legal protections for marine biodiversity in international waters. 

Indigenous peoples were formally recognized at the UN level as leaders in the planet’s protection and stewardship.

U.S. salmon have returned to its traditional spawning grounds.

Brazil stated destruction in its portion of the Amazon forest fell 11% in the 12 months (to July). 

And according to the UN global deforestation was 38% lower from 2015-2025 compared to 1990 to 2000. 

So in 2026 let’s celebrate the little steams of light that break through the darkness of negativity.