February 23, 2021
Today we're sharing how Indonesia provided a blueprint for stopping deforestation and a fun de-tiling competition between Amsterdam and Rotterdam making the cities a little greener. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
Indonesia provides a roadmap for halting deforestation
Deforestation continues to be one of the biggest environmental crises facing our world but looking at countries with effective deforestation mitigation policies can help us map out what saving the earth’s forests looks like on a global scale. One country that serves as a case study for turning Read More...
12 Creative ways to reduce your food waste at home
Many people are embarking on more cooking adventures during the pandemic, but if you’re becoming a well-seasoned home chef, you might also notice your food waste is increasing. The production of wasted food alone is equivalent to 37 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting Read More...
Rival Dutch cities create tile-removing competition to expand green space
In the Netherlands, an age-old rivalry exists between the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This rivalry can turn ugly, especially when the city’s voetbal (soccer) teams play each other. Recently, however, the rivalry has been channeled in order to spur excitement about a new initiative Read More...
29-year-old cancer survivor to become youngest American to go to space
SpaceX is getting ready to send four civilians into orbit aboard its Crew Dragon capsule, and not a single professional astronaut will be on board (say what!?). The trip will happen courtesy of billionaire Jared Isaacman, who purchased the debut commercial astronaut rocket launch from Space X. Read More...
Reduce children’s pandemic stress with these parenting strategies
The pandemic has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health and unfortunately, children are not immune to the effects of isolation and stress no matter how much we may try to shield them from it. The good news is there are many strategies parents can employ to ease children’s pandemic stress and Read More...
IKEA unveils disassembly instructions to help extend the life of your furniture
Last year, IKEA announced its ambitious vision of becoming fully circular by 2030. This means that over the next two decades the furniture giant will design each one of its products to be reused, repaired, resold, or recycled. And the company has been serious about its goal. It has already Read More...
How well-placed wetlands could dramatically cut nitrogen pollution
Nitrogen runoff from agriculture is a major problem, polluting our waterways and causing algae blooms that damage aquatic ecosystems. Wetlands offer a powerful buffer to nitrogen runoff as they serve as a natural filter to nutrient-polluted water, but we need to restore more wetlands in order to Read More...
More and more Native American tribes are buying back their ancestral land
When the Klamath Tribes of southern Oregon purchased a 1,705-acre patchwork of meadows, wetlands, and timberland that had once belonged to them this past summer, it represented the latest example of Native American tribes taking back their homelands via the real estate market. The loss of Native Read More...
These micromobility vehicles are accessible to people with disabilities
The rapid expansion of micromobility services in recent years has provided residents of many urban areas with a convenient means to get around. The problem, however, is that the vast majority of these micromobility service providers have so far failed to cater to people with disabilities. Now that Read More...