This innovative plant proves that polystyrene isn't impossible to recycle after all
Did you know that styrene naturally occurs in foods like strawberries and cinnamon? It’s only when it’s combined with other chemicals to create packaging and foam insulation to protect fragile items in transit does it become polystyrene — that white, staticky, and virtually Read More...
Somerset House welcomes trees into its courtyard for the first time
London’s acclaimed Somerset House was designed based on the principles of the Enlightenment and has maintained that aesthetic ever since — until now. Traditionally, trees and anything with leaves was forbidden in the Somerset House courtyard based on the building’s founding principles. Read More...
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday in the US
Story Update: Since this story was written, the bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday has been signed into law. Tomorrow is Juneteenth, the holiday commemorating the official end of slavery in the United States, and this year, the holiday is closer than ever to becoming a federal holiday. Read More...
Scientists discover two cat-size squirrel species living in the Himalayas
Researchers from Australia have discovered two new species of the woolly flying squirrel, one of the world’s rarest mammals, in the Himalayan mountains. Scientists have known about the woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus) for a long time, which, at five pounds and three feet long, is one Read More...
Swedish study demonstrates lasting benefits of free school lunches
According to a team of Swedish scientists who decided to look into their country’s free lunch program, providing free and nutritious school lunches to students gives them benefits that last after they complete their academic endeavors. The study, which was published last month in the journal Read More...
June 17, 2021
Scientists develop self-healing concrete, and how North Carolina is transforming industrial spaces into centers of community today on the Update. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
June 17, 2021
Scientists develop self-healing concrete, and how North Carolina is transforming industrial spaces into centers of community today on the Update. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...
Rare orchids found growing in London rooftop garden
Until this week, the small-flowered tongue-orchid hadn’t been seen in the UK in over 30 years. That all changed when a colony of the small orchids was found on a London rooftop, a shock to its owners and naturalists. The collection of 15 delicate blooms was found in Nomura International's Read More...
Scientists discover 5 million years of climate change records in Kazakhstan
After making the precarious descent into the Charyn Canyon in Kazakhstan, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany discovered a practically unbroken record of climate change in an 80-meter-thick layer of sediment. This ancient slab of earth and rock provides Read More...
Oyasai all-natural crayons are made with vegetable waste
The modern environmental movement urges us to assess the environmental impact of everything in our lives, including day-to-day items like school supplies. In an attempt to reduce waste and introduce sustainability to children at a young age, Japanese company Mizuiro, Inc., has figured out a way Read More...