July 23, 2020
The Optimist Daily Update with Summers McKay & Kristy Jansen - Your weekday update from The Optimist Daily featuring discussions of our top positive news solutions from independent, reader-funded, journalists. Today we explore education solutions for a socially distanced back to school and four Read More...
Floating movie theaters: coming to a city near you
Recently, we shared a story about a successful floating cinema in Paris on the Seine. Now, cities across the US are adopting their own aquatic versions of the classic drive-in theater. With the help of Australian entertainment and event company, Beyond Cinema will be in 16 cities around the Read More...
These stickers help people with disabilities get a seat on public transit
“Please offer me a seat. Not all disabilities are visible,” reads a new sticker that’s available to buy online, intended for disabled people who struggle to find seating on public transit. The idea is the brainchild of Catherine Callahan, who volunteers with Bay Area Rapid Transit, the Read More...
We taught school outdoors in the past. Could we do it again?
The question of whether or not to send children back to classrooms this fall in the US looms large, and a growing number of parents are calling for kids to go back to school but not be back in school. Thousands of people have signed a petition for an open streets initiative to facilitate outdoor Read More...
Greta Thunberg wins €1m prize, then donates it all to climate action
Although Greta Thunberg has long been at the center of the youth climate movement, she has always tried to divert attention away from her and bring it towards climate action. But it’s not just media attention Thunberg has been receiving. Recently, the 17-year-old environmental activist was Read More...
Highschoolers create coloring book to teach children about the pandemic
Explaining the pandemic to children is no simple task, but four high school students are educating children about coronavirus and raising money for charity with a coloring book that gives kids critical information without overwhelming them. Lauryn Hong, Ella Matlock, Sofia Migliazza and Erin Read More...
Apple pledges to become carbon-neutral by 2030
As the titans of the tech industry have come under increasing public scrutiny for their massive carbon footprints, lately we’ve seen an increasing number of such companies step up their commitments to tackle the climate crisis. Apple is the latest tech giant to make such a pledge, recently Read More...
Mayors want guaranteed income programs to help us recover from Covid-19
In early 2019, we published a story about Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs, who implemented a guaranteed income program in his city to help residents meet their basic needs. We have been closely following the program ever since, with the preliminary results from October showing that the 125 recipients Read More...
Pakistan meets UN goal on climate action, 10 years ahead of schedule
Pakistan is ranked as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations - a position that has pushed the country to implement an incredible number of green initiatives in recent years, all in a bid to make it more resilient in the face of climate change. Now, Pakistan has turned its green Read More...
When users play this virtual game, millions of real trees are planted
Since its launch in 2016, over half a billion people have used Ant Forest to convert lower-carbon activities such as using public transport into real trees. The game is helping China lead the way in re-greening the planet and is serving as a model for tree-planting schemes elsewhere. It's the Read More...