July 20, 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 discuss what Portugal can teach us about looking beyond GDP to determine a Read More...
A giant AI network will soon track global emissions in real time
Despite the monumental consequences they hold for the future of our planet, greenhouse gas emissions are still not well tracked in most countries. In a bid to monitor and curb emissions, a new alliance of climate research groups called the Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-Time Atmospheric Carbon Read More...
Ikea’s classic Swedish meatball now has a plant-based version
Each year, Ikea sells more than a billion meatballs at its in-store restaurants. But the furniture company is now hoping to convince more customers to choose a plant-based version instead. In August, it will launch a new “plant ball” in European stores. US stores are set to follow in Read More...
How sliding scale pay systems make wellness circles more inclusive
While exercise and wellness are critical parts of a healthy lifestyle, fitness classes that cost upwards of $30 a pop make activities like yoga, pilates, and kickboxing inaccessible for many people who live on a tight budget. For Black Americans, who make on average 13.5 percent less than white Read More...
Germany is offering generous subsidies to lure people to switch to EVs
If you’re looking to buy an electric vehicle in Germany, you’re in luck! Government subsidies aimed at boosting an electric kickstart to the auto industry means leasing the best-selling five-door Renault Zoe EV is now essentially free. Individuals and families who put off buying a new Read More...
Want to protect your brain from air pollution? Eat fish prepared this way
If you live in a city, chances are you are exposed to air pollution every day. The good news is a new study has found an impactful way to protect our brains from external threats like pollution: eating broiled or baked fish. According to the study, which was published in the medical journal of Read More...
KFC wants to use 3D printing to produce “eco-friendly chicken”
As part of its vision for the ‘restaurant of the future’, KFC is working alongside a Russian 3D Bioprinting firm to create chicken meat, which will allegedly taste and feel like the real thing but with minimal negative impact on the environment. The idea of crafting the ‘meat of the Read More...
Algae is helping this brewery in Australia cut carbon emissions
The process of fermenting beer releases a whole lot of carbon dioxide (CO2). In fact, it takes a tree about two days to absorb the CO2 released from producing just one six-pack of beer. By adding algae to the beer production process, a brewery called Young Henrys in Australia hopes to dramatically Read More...
Incredible: Scientists 3D print a heart pump that beats on its own
The possibilities of 3D printing seem to have no bound after scientists at the University of Minnesota managed to 3D print a human heart pump capable of beating on its own. The pump is just 1.5 centimeters long, but the researchers believe the tiny organoid could have a huge impact on efforts Read More...
This 100% energy self-sufficient boat transforms seawater into hydrogen fuel
Somewhere in the vast ocean, a little boat covered in solar panels is doing something extraordinary: making its own hydrogen fuel from the seawater underneath it. Built as a proof of concept, the boat hopes to make a case for hydrogen as a clean-energy alternative to fossil fuels. Though it has Read More...