Therapy dog lends a helping paw to firefighters fighting CA blazes
As the pandemic and wildfires sweep through California, we are more grateful than ever for the first responders and medical staff who put their lives on the line every day to ensure the safety of their fellow citizens. For many firefighters, a lack of resources and stigma around mental health help Read More...
Study: Access to green space helps boost a child's IQ
Green open spaces in neighborhoods give children a place to play, but these pockets of nature could do more than just give kids a place to explore. New research shows children living near green spaces have higher IQs than children living in less green areas. The study from Hasselt University in Read More...
Africa to be officially declared free of wild polio
Just twenty-five years ago, thousands of children in Africa were left paralyzed due to the poliovirus. Now, Africa is to be declared free from wild polio by the independent body, the Africa Regional Certification Commission. Polio is a virus that spreads from person to person, usually through Read More...
First Canadian to legally consume psilocybin shares his experience
Earlier this month, we wrote about a landmark approval from the Canadian government to allow four terminally ill cancer patients to use psilocybin to treat end-of-life distress. In a follow up to that story, one of those four patients, Thomas Hartle, received his first psilocybin-assisted Read More...
Grocery startup stocks up Bay Area street fridges with free food
Cheetah is a wholesale grocery delivery startup, but their new side project involves putting street fridges full of food out in the open in San Jose and Oakland, California. The fridges are decorated with paintings of produce and are part of the company’s #FoodGiving Campaign to provide free food Read More...
How the world’s biggest battery could help solve blackouts in California
California aims to run its grid entirely on fossil-fuel-free energy by 2045 and has been closing down dirty power plants and ramping up renewables at a steady clip. But while fuels can supply a steady stream of energy, the sun and wind are intermittent. That’s where the Gateway Energy storage Read More...
Major hedge fund dumps oil companies for lobbying against climate action
That oil, gas, and mining companies extract resources while damaging the environment is already bad enough, but what is absolutely unacceptable is that some of these companies lobby against climate action. That’s why a Nordic hedge fund worth more than $90bn (£68.6bn) has dumped its stocks in Read More...
This tiny space rock holds clues about the planet’s evolution
Back in 2012, a team of Japanese and Belgian researchers in Antarctica found a golf ball-sized space rock resting in the snow. Now, NASA astronauts have had a chance to study a piece of that meteorite, Asuka 12236, and they say it may hold new clues about the development of life. Inside the Read More...
California fires: How you can help fire victims and firefighters
Wildfire season has descended on Northern California with a vengeance, sparked by lightning, heat, and high winds. With more than half a million acres burned and evacuations in full progress across the Bay Area, many people have begun wondering how they can help. Here are a few options. American Read More...
August 25, 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. Resilience is key to surviving hard situations. What helps you build resilience? Today we Read More...