I'll give an example of an unexpected improvement:

I volunteered at Audubon for a group that was trying to save wetlands, and by extension the wild salmon. At the time, we didn't have the science to actually mitigate wetlands. So all of our efforts were on conservation. (That didn't go very well.) Now we have more options. So we could, if we wanted to, increase habitat.

That's kinda cool.

Another example is a guy claiming that he has a way to restore grasslands (reverse desertification) by using ranching to simulate migratory herds. https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_worl...

If true, that's also kinda awesome.

Generally, the trends are pretty bleak, and awareness is a curse. So people like me need good news just to get out of bed every day.