France bans extremely thin, unhealthy, models in advertising
All too often do we see fashion advertisements that use dangerously-thin models to show off new products. Not only can this lead to poor self-esteem among young people exposed to these images, but it also sets an unrealistic, unhealthy standard for how a body show look. To put a stop to these Read More...
Giving your partner a massage can boost your overall well-being
Receiving a massage is known to improve physical and mental well-being, but did you know that giving your partner a massage may be just as beneficial? In a new study, researchers found that both giving and receiving a massage leads to a reduction in stress as well as pain in each partner. Along Read More...
Cities across U.S. continue to commit to 100 percent renewable electricity
Hello Solar put together an interactive map documenting all of the cities in the US that have committed to moving to 100% renewable energy*. The map includes the timing on which the cities have committed to complete the transition and the population of each for context. (Note: since the site and Read More...
India's green car plan prioritizes electric vehicles over hybrids
India's most influential government think-tank has recommended lowering taxes and interest rates for loans on electric vehicles, while capping sales of conventional cars, signaling a dramatic shift in policy in one of the world's fastest growing auto markets. A draft of the 90-page blueprint, seen Read More...
The single best type of exercise for your brain, according to scientists
Want an all-natural way to lift your mood, improve your memory, and protect your brain against age-related cognitive decline? Get moving. A wealth of recent research, including two new studies published this spring, suggests that any type of exercise that raises your heart rate and gets you Read More...
Colombia government, ELN rebels to resume peace talks
Colombia's government and the country's last active rebel force, the ELN, will resume peace talks in just over a week, the lead state negotiator confirmed Saturday. The return to the table was meant to have happened last Wednesday but was put off because of an information-sharing meeting in Cuba Read More...
Meeting the guru
From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 Author of international bestsellers, including The Pilgrimage and The Alchemist. paulocoelhoblog.com I met Mick Brown at Frankfurt airport. He works as a journalist on The Daily Telegraph in London and had been sent to interview me during a stopover between Read More...
Back to nature
From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 For most of my life, I have enjoyed taking long walks by myself in the woods and fields. When I was a young girl, these walks might have lasted a couple of hours. We lived in the Berkshire foothills, so the woods were hilly and full of boulders. As I grew into Read More...
On the road
Books that Inspire From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 A Philosophy of Walking | Frédéric Gros |Verso Books The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche was a great, indefatigable walker, whose hikes were long and sometimes steep. Immanuel Kant’s daily walk, by contrast, was always very Read More...
Inspiration: Products
Products that Inspire From The Optimist Magazine Summer 2014 Super sunscreen When Holly Thaggards’ friend was diagnosed with melanoma eight years ago, she was surprised that someone so young and healthy could get skin cancer. And not much later, she learned that 90 percent of the signs of Read More...