Was the Decade a Dud?

Sure, we took some hard knocks this past decade. But as we draw the curtains on the 2000s, we take a look back at the unifying moments, the innovative gizmos, and some of the discoveries that have enhanced our lives. Sometimes these things and moments were fleeting, and some led to crippling confusion or procrastination. Other times, they gave our lives meaning and hope.

It's the Information Age. Just like the beginning of the 20th century with its huge gains in industry, the first years of the 21st century were peppered with scientific and technological breakthroughs. They've marked the dawn of a new global awareness and a new set of responsibilities as we see the impact our lives have on the planet. What do the next 10 years have in store? It's hard to say, but we must embrace the challenge of healing ourselves and our world.

As for the last decade, what follows are what we consider some of the most significant and positive events and innovations of the aughts.

What did we miss? What were your favorite moments and things of the past decade? Tell us in the comments below.

My, how time flies ...

UNITY

Tragedy and Milestones That Brought Us Together

Who will ever forget the incredible footage of the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson standing before the world's cameras, tears streaming down their cheeks as they celebrated the fruition of a once-impossible dream? Whether you voted for or against Barack Obama, and nevermind his performance — no one can deny the power of the moment when America elected its first African-American president. Something big had changed, and everyone knew it. The hopeless cynicism that hung so heavily over the future quickly shifted into a national euphoria.

It wasn’t the first time we’d experienced such a powerful, visceral sense of unity in the decade. After such catastrophic tragedies as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Asian tsunami, Americans proved that underneath the grudges and judgments and strong opinions, we have a deeply rooted instinct of brotherhood. Here’s to us using it in happier times ahead.

We're All Connected

The Internet and e-mail may have been the pre-millennial tools of modern, mass digital communication, but social networking owes its birthday to 2004, the year both MySpace and Facebook were born. They started out simple: Facebook connecting Harvard students and MySpace following in eUniverse and Friendster’s wakes. Facebook now boasts 350 million users, overtaking MySpace in 2009. Then there’s Twitter, a service garnered the attention of 19 percent of Internet users this past year. That’s a lot of thumbs discreetly tapping keys under desks at school (and work). Lest you write it off as trite, however, remember the importance of Twitter as a breaking news source. Through the network, Iranians spread the word of protests aimed at contesting the country's questionable election outcome during the summer of 2009. Communities grow, information moves, and long lost friends and lovers unite.

Welcome to the Blogosphere

A spin on the term "weblog," which was born in 1997, blogs have proliferated to the point of Web dominance — changing the way we inform, entertain and gather online. The blogosphere has opened up a new door for self-expression where users once felt isolated and alone. While print media was mostly a one-way street with experts talking at consumer of knowledge, blogs are brief, interactive thought bites that can be devoured almost as instantly as they're opened. There’s a community for everyone out there, a site or space or blog to suit any interest or need. Much like reality TV, critics swore up and down that blogging wouldn't last long as a digital phenomenon. Boy, were they wrong. Today, the search engine Technorati covers more than 112,000,000 different blogs — and that number just keeps growing. Speaking of search engines, let's not forget that the past decade saw the rise of Google and the ease of finding what we wanted, when we wanted it.

GADGETS

Kindle Me This

A hard sell at first for Baby Boomers and Gen-Xers, the Millennials are embracing those little paperless e-books. Amazon's Kindle is the number one seller, now offering 360,000 titles (trailed by Sony's PRS-500, the Bookeen's Cybook digital readers and Barnes & Nobles' Nook). As libraries face continual budget cuts and the inter-library loan programs are closed, e-books are certain to become household items over the next decade. Meanwhile, the ease of digital and instant downloading has made it possible for people in remote areas to continue sharpening their minds with good literature, whether they're soldiers in the Middle East or Afghanistan, or scientists stationed in polar outposts. Added bonus: Their intrinsically paper-saving ways are good for our forests.

DVR Daze

Remember life before TiVo? Since March 1999, generation after generation of modified digital video recorders (DVRs) have expedited our TV consumption and set us free from advertising enslavement. It’s hard to imagine not fast-forwarding through opening credits, accessing instant replay, or recording daytime trash while at work — all without the hindrances of now archaic VHS tapes. In 2007, the FCC ruled that consumers could purchase set-top units from third-party retailers rather than be forced to buy the obsolete models monopolized by their cable servers. This has brought back the once-banned commercial-blocking features that cable networks forbade servers to include in their units. As we fast forward to 2010, advertisers will be more creative in reaching audiences. Shout out to Matthew Weiner for Mad Men, the only show we tune into weekly just for the ads.

Smartphones to Do the Thinking For Us

Welcome to the future, baby. Tiny hand-held computers with phone capabilities, today's smartphones come complete with e-mail and Internet capabilities, cameras and personal organizers. From the Palm Treo to the RIM Blackberry in 2002, track balls, touch screens, flip-down keyboards — you name it, there's a convenience. The most recent, most hyped incarnation is, of course, Apple's iPhone. Upon its US release in the summer of 2007, retailers immediately sold out the $350 treasures; coveted units were selling on eBay for $1,000 a pop. Oh, and is there an app for that? In 2008, Apple opened The App Store which now offers 50,000 applications including Web browsers, music players, games and more. Less than a year later, the App Store boasted its one-billionth download. But Sergey Brin and Larry Page are set for a boxing match with Google's Droid. Will Steve Jobs get knocked out in 2010? There might be an app for that.

LIVING

Medical Advances

What an amazing decade for medicine and health care. HIV and AIDS are no longer a death sentence. We have a long way to go in the fight against cancer, but some — like cervical cancer — can be cured thanks to the HPV vaccine, and others like prostate and breast cancer can be detected early, and increasingly treated with success. We're on the cusp of many other medical breakthroughs thanks to new science and understanding of stem cells and genetic therapies. Scientists are also making great strides in their knowledge and treatment of vexing diseases like Alzheimer's, and many infectious illnesses around the world will be on the run if we continue delivering available medicines where they're needed most. H1N1? Looks like we may have dodged a bullet.

One of the biggest medical breakthroughs of the last decade was certainly the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. One particular strain of the virus can lead to cervical cancer — the fifth most deadly cancer for women with an estimated 430,000 new cases reported and 233,000 deaths caused by each year. Although the vaccine was developed as early as the mid 1980s, the FDA didn't approve it until 2006. Marketed by Merck under the name Gardasil, as of September 2009, there have been 26 million doses administered in the United States alone. A long-awaited and seeming miracle drug, the National Cancer Institute stated that, "Widespread vaccination has the potential to reduce cervical cancer deaths around the world by as much as two-thirds." We can only hope that the next decade will become host to yet more of these types of crucial developments.

Catalyst for Climate Consciousness

By now, few can argue that climate change isn't real and isn't man-made. Scientists tell us that if we don't get our act together and reduce our collective carbon footprint drastically by 2050, we will have passed the point of no return. The rapid spread of this new awareness about global warming goes to no single person. Indeed, it was the work of a large number of concerned and alarmed people from both the scientific community, the media and grassroots coalitions who brought the knowledge to the world on such a mass scale. However, a funny thing happened after the release of Al Gore's 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth: Caring about the environment became mainstream and urgent. The last few years have seen a domino effect. From massive events like the Live Earth to individual efforts like Colin Beavan's recent project and book, No Impact Man, we hope the masses continue to rise up to fight climate change before it's too late.

Health is Good

2005, '06 and '07 saw a rush of laws passed placing big taxes on tobacco products and banning smoking in enclosed spaces. While some states were beginning to hop on board in the late '90s, it wasn't until his past decade that substantial results started a ripple effect across the country. Advocates have ensured that 32 states now have laws banning smoking from workplaces and/or restaurants and/or bars — reminding us that it's possible not only to make our health a priority even out of the comforts of our homes, but also that speaking up and demanding change really can result in a powerful impact.

Now, health-minded citizens, activists and lawmakers have laid the groundwork for the next big battle in the public health realm. Starting Jan. 1, 2010, California will enforce a ban on those nasty, artery-clogging trans fats that restaurants sneak into our food. It surely goes without saying that with certain health risks reduced or eliminated in public spaces, quality of life and health improves and health care costs will adjust accordingly. Here's to a healthier decade ahead.

DON'T FORGET!

All's Well That Ends Well

We've made it through 10 years of natural disasters, plane hijackings, and substance abuse but overall, the 2000s were one helluva good time. Let's not forget what a decade it's been for athletics. Roger Federer and Tiger Woods made nerdy sports cool again, while Michael Phelps literally blew everyone out of the water. The Boston Red Sox reversed that curse and Brett Farve proved that longevity can be a good thing.

It was also a decade of discoveries. Reality TV opened up stardom to nobodies like Kelly Clarkson and Christian Siriano while Steve Jobs single-handedly revived the languishing Apple brand, made the iPod de rigeur and reinvented the way we consume music (while digital music changed the music industry itself). Scientists shocked us when they decided Pluto wasn't a planet and the brontosaurus, not really a dinosaur. Luckily, they rejoiced with the unearthing of the carnivorous Tawa hallae.

And despite a recession marked by corporate greed, empathy abounded. Warren Buffett gave away his entire fortune. The Bill & Melinda Gates and President Clinton's foundations poured their time, money and resources into Africa and developing countries. Bono revived the Live Aid concerts (and dubbed them Live 8) in conjunction with the G8 Summit to impact global change. And when trouble and evil arose, heroes like Sully landed planes and America's Most Wanted viewers rescued Elizabeth Smart.

Yup, the 00s definitely had their moments. Whether the good outweighs the bad is debatable but one things for sure, it's been eventful. Here's to you and yours in 2010 and happy New Year!

- Tonic's Caroline Walker, Kathryn Wilson, Ben Corbett and Steve Enders contributed to this story.