December 17, 2020
Today we're talking about a village in India that plants 111 trees every time a girl is born and how elephant destruction is actually helping conservation in Africa. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
Every time a girl is born in this Indian village, 111 trees are planted
When the former leader of the small village of Piplantri in Rajasthan, India, lost his daughter when she was very young, he wanted to come up with something that would cherish the life of each girl child to be born. That’s when he thought up the idea of creating an initiative in which 111 trees Read More...
Feeling stuck? Try this reflection series to break free
Being cooped up in our homes all day can make us feel physically stuck, but getting trapped in old habits or feeling personally stagnated can leave us feeling emotionally stuck as well. If you’re itching to break free of old routines and get a fresh start, try this reflection series from Mindful Read More...
A biotech company is using emissions to produce a palm oil substitute
Lipids and omega-3s serve as the foundation for many foods and fuel, but the problem is that they are typically produced in ways that are damaging to the planet. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids are usually sourced from farmed fish, which are commonly fed smaller, wild-caught fish. This is Read More...
This futuristic footbridge in Paris is an ode to sustainable urban design
Known for their tendency to blend architecture, technology, and nature in a most compelling way, Vincent Callebaut Architectures have recently revealed their latest sustainable design — a green footbridge that aims to make Paris a more liveable and sustainable place to live. Called ‘the Green Read More...
Over 90,000 turtles born in rare Brazilian hatching event
It’s been a big year for turtles, with the pandemic allowing turtles to hatch on beaches that are free of humans. This week, however, a remarkable hatching event took place on the Purus River in Brazil as a reported 90,000 giant South American river turtles were born. Wildlife Conservation Read More...
Filter designed for the ISS will provide clean drinking water on Earth
From LED lights to digital cameras to GPS, innovations designed for the purpose of space exploration have long benefitted life here on Earth. Now a company that designed a water-purification system for the International Space Station (ISS) aims to use that technology to help solve the global water Read More...
Positive destruction: How elephants are rewilding this national park
Sometimes destruction can be a good thing. To demonstrate our point, let’s take a look inside the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a herd of around 580 African elephants have entered from neighboring land, tearing through trees and knocking down bushes Read More...
This app tracks the carbon footprint of your purchases in real time
We all strive to live more sustainable lives, but tracking where you can make the most impactful changes isn’t always easy. Fortunately, a new app is here to manage your personal carbon footprint in real-time. The app, called Joro, starts off with baseline questions about your diet, Read More...
This new material could help store renewable energy for months at a time
As renewable energy generation continues to grow at an exponential rate, it is essential that we find technologies that can efficiently store that energy until it’s needed. A new material identified by scientists at Lancaster University could offer exactly that. Known as a metal-organic Read More...