How recycled bottles could help restore Louisiana’s degraded coastline
The southern coast of Louisiana has lost areas of coastline equivalent to the size of Delaware as beaches and marshes erode away into the sea. Some environmentalists have a novel solution in the form of New Orleans’ party culture. Tulane students Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz saw the Read More...
Soap is a big water polluter. This probiotic version does the opposite
We use soap to clean our dishes, clothing, and even ourselves, but this same soap that we use to clean isn’t so great for rivers and oceans. Especially in countries where many people still use rivers for washing purposes, soap can directly contaminate ecosystems and pollute water that communities Read More...
Staggering school start times improves students' sleep quality
Prioritizing a healthy sleep schedule is important for people of all ages, but sleep is especially important for children and adolescents whose minds and bodies are still in development. So, why is it that lack of sleep is so common among this age group? The biological changes to sleep cycles Read More...
Toads on the road: Street closure offers amphibians safe passage in Estonia
A busy road in the Estonian capital of Tallinn will be closed for the month of April not for construction, but for frogs and toads. Each spring, the area around the road becomes a popular breeding ground for toads and frogs, so the city has closed the road to protect these vulnerable species as Read More...
Denver to donate bison to Tribal land as form of reparations
After being slaughtered to near extinction by colonists in the 1800s, American bison are slowly making a comeback thanks to conservation efforts. The latest conservation project comes from Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) and aims to not only restore bison populations but also offer reparations to Read More...
3 definitions that will help you define what “self-care” means for you
Personal wellness advocates often discuss the importance of “self-care,” but what exactly does self-care mean? The concept has been too often misused and commodified by the beauty and nutrition industries, so today we offer some alternative definitions of self-care that can help you narrow in Read More...
Want to save the coral reefs? There's an app for that.
Coral reefs are one of nature’s most amazing spectacles. Coral not only brings vibrance to underwater landscapes but also provides a home for more than a quarter of the world’s marine animals. Unfortunately, rising temperatures are putting corals under stress, expelling the algae that lend them Read More...
This superbug has a big appetite...for sewage
Scientists at the Urban Utilities water management plant in Queensland, Australia have grown a superbug from scratch. Its superpower? A remarkably large appetite for sewage. The bacteria, called anammox bugs, were devised as a response to the rapidly growing population. Plant Manager Peter Read More...
April 16, 2021
Today's episode dives into how Native American communities are providing a renewable energy transition blueprint for the rest of the US and 4 small things you can do to be a more conscious consumer. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
April 16, 2021
Today's episode dives into how Native American communities are providing a renewable energy transition blueprint for the rest of the US and 4 small things you can do to be a more conscious consumer. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...