Don't Despair, The Forecast is Looking A Bit Brighter

You could say times appear to be tough. The earthquake in Haiti, the slumping global economy, unemployment rates going up, the lack of food and clean water throughout the world, a Hollywood-obsessed culture being fed a false reality - and the list can go on. But according to Oprah, even though things may be rough at the moment, there are 100 people, places, ideas and things we have to get excited about. Bright spots, she describes, in the horizon. We'll give you 10 of our favorites courtesy of Oprah.com. Check out the other 90 at: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/100-Things-That-Are-Getting-Better.



(1) Your chances of visiting the moon
Numerous astronauts and several animal species including a squirrel monkey named Gordo have made it up there, but the average earthling has been stuck on the sidelines until, well, soon: Richard Branson's latest venture, Virgin Galactic, aims to be the first to book civilian trips into space, for $200,000 a head, a price the company hopes will fall dramatically over time. Multiple competitors are tinkering with tourist spaceships, and the FAA has already released its set of space travel regulations.

(2) Poetry
Dear reader, you may feel a twinge of trepidation,
But poetry is key to modern conversation.
In classrooms, poet laureate Kay Ryan makes
A case for passing time with Bishop, Frost, and Blake.
Or Keats—Jane Campion's Bright Star garnered rave reviews
For conjuring the young Romantic's passion for his muse.
Great poets—Robert Graves and Ogden Nash, e.g.—
Inspired Leave Your Sleep, Natalie Merchant's CD.
Even Stephen King has found a poet's perch.
He channels Coleridge in the epic "The Bone Church."
Those Levi's ads, meanwhile, attract both praise and venom:
Blasphemy or genius, Walt Whitman pitching denim?

(3) Definition of the good life
It used to mean ostentatious designer bags, stock options, and second homes; now we're spending $11 billion annually on goods and services that champion self-improvement. Voluntourism and spending time with the family are up, and socially responsible investing—in communities and eco-friendly companies that don't profit from tobacco, oil, or sweatshop labor—is at an all-time high, totaling about $2.7 trillion. The good life just got better.

(4) Oak Street, New Orleans
Ransacked by looters during Katrina, historic Oak Street is back in action. Businesses like Ace Hardware, the Maple Leaf Bar, and the legendary Jacques-Imo's Café have reopened, and new ones are popping up: Blue Cypress Books, two yoga studios, and a day spa for pets (nothing says "We're back!" like a day spa for pets). A $5.4 million overhaul helped, as has the annual Po-Boy Preservation Festival.

(5) Wind power
Change is in the air: We now produce enough wind power to run seven million homes. The goal is to generate 20 percent of our power from wind by 2030, which would mean a 25 percent reduction in CO2 emissions.

(6) The news
In 1973, the year Rachel Maddow was born, only about 5 percent of TV newspeople were female. Now we're up to 42 percent, with those glam truth-tellers Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer leading the charge.

(7) Breast cancer survival rates
Keep kneading those breasts, ladies: A recent report from the American Cancer Society found that since 1990, breast cancer mortality rates have been steadily dropping—by 2 percent a year among women 50 and older, and by 3.2 percent a year among women younger than 50; we all have early detection, healthier lifestyle choices, and improved cancer treatments to thank.

(8) Prosthetics
A spring-loaded artificial knee called the XT9 means that above-the-knee amputees can now snowboard and rock climb; microprocessor-controlled prosthetics have sensors that anticipate your every step; and the bionic i-LIMB responds to muscle signals.

(9) EPA
A shot of much-needed vitality and resolve has come to the Environmental Protection Agency courtesy of Lisa Jackson, its first-ever African-American chief. In her crosshairs: greenhouse gases, hazardous waste sites, climate change, tailpipe emissions, protection of our waterways, clean air standards.

(10) You
You've just got this glow about you—some combination of wisdom and inner peace, plus a lovely self-awareness. You're not sweating the small stuff; you know what feels good, feels right, and you simply don't muck around with the rest. You're not a kid anymore, and we mean that as a high compliment. There's a new kind of lightness about you. And your hair has never looked better.