The EU steps up its efforts to protect and restore the world’s forests
Deforestation is responsible for 11 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, half of which are the result of internationally traded agriculture products. On its own, the EU accounts for as much as 36 percent of all global imports of crop and livestock products associated with Read More...
How food-spattered plastic waste could soon heat homes in the UK
When plastic waste is spattered with scraps of food, recycling it becomes impossible. But that could soon change after a group of scientists in the UK have discovered a way to use dirty plastic waste to produce hydrogen, which can heat homes and fuel cars without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Read More...
Researchers say they have found a way to make parts of Mars habitable once more
If you’re like most of us here at the Optimist Daily, then you probably think it’s wiser to spend money creating solutions down here on Earth rather than dedicating billions towards attempting to inhabit Mars. But before we can even think about settling on the big red planet, the question is: Read More...
Meet the indispensable female mathematicians that sent us to the moon
On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11, it’s too simple to just celebrate the men who got the chance to step on the moon. The fact of the matter is that without the work of female mathematicians, space travel would have never been possible. Long before NASA was created, groups of female Read More...
Want to go to space? Here’s what you need to know
Most of us would have never imagined traveling to outer space in our lives, but these days, it’s looking ever more possible for the average Joe to go into orbit—or at least, an average Joe with bags of money. This month, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic announced it is going public and is Read More...
An electric Ford truck just showed it can tow over a million pounds
If we want to spur a transition to electric vehicles en masse, then the rabid pickup truck lovers of the world will need to be convinced about the power of EVs. Ford is on a mission to do just that. In an impressive demonstration of torque, Ford recently had an electric F-150 prototype tow 10 Read More...
Giant UK hospitality business to stop handing out wasteful receipts to its customers
Every year, British retailers hand out 11.2 billion receipts -- that’s 7300 tons of paper -- at a cost of nearly $40 million. Most of these receipts end up in the landfill because they cannot be recycled as a result of them being printed on shiny paper and containing other substances. In a bid Read More...
Kenya unveils Africa’s largest wind farm
With an eye on sustainable development, Kenya announced at the end of last year that it plans to move the country to 100 percent green energy by 2020. Now the nation has officially launched Africa’s largest wind power farm in a bid to boost electricity generating capacity and bring the country Read More...
Oregon passes law that will allow school kids to take mental health absence days
When Oregon students go back to school this year, they'll be able to take mental health days without risking an unexcused absence as the result of a new law that was proposed by a group of high schoolers. The students behind the measure say it’s meant to change the stigma around mental health Read More...
Creating the Apollo lunar module changed the way we work down on Earth
Something absolutely crazy about Apollo lunar module was that it couldn’t be flight-tested before use. The first time each lunar module got a shakedown flight was the moment it was being used in space. It also meant that the astronauts flying the lunar module could only ever learn to fly it using Read More...