Rotterdam becomes home to the world’s largest floating office
While Rotterdam is typically known for hosting Europe’s biggest port, the second largest Dutch city is also famous as a forerunning innovator in climate adaptability. This reputation is reflected by (among other things) a floating dairy farm located near the port, as well as by the more recently Read More...
SF Bay will launch US’ first hydrogen-powered commercial ferry this year
The US’ first hydrogen-powered commercial ferry is slated to begin operating in the San Francisco Bay by the end of the year. The Sea Change is a 70-foot, 75-passenger vessel built by All American Marine, and holds enough compressed hydrogen to travel 300 nautical miles at a cruising speed of Read More...
Watch and listen to millions of monarch butterflies take flight together
Every winter, monarch butterflies fly thousands of miles from the US and Canada where they breed, all the way down to the forests of central Mexico where they wait out the cold before heading back home in the spring. While this phenomenon by itself is one of the most impressive things in the Read More...
School-based intervention method improves teens’ mental health
There has been a phenomenal explosion of mental health services and communication around the importance of mental health care since the beginning of the global pandemic. There is not an age group on this planet that has not been adversely affected by the experience of quarantines, lockdowns, and Read More...
Harvard University will divest from fossil fuels
Back in 2019, we reported that a group of activists was working to reduce Harvard University’s investments in fossil fuels. Today, we are happy to report that the school has announced it will divest its nearly $42 billion endowment from fossil fuels. Announced by university president Lawrence Read More...
Collaborative project yields first high-resolution map of the world's coral reefs
Climate change is a huge threat to the world’s coral reefs, but targeted conservation efforts can help buy us time in saving these critical marine ecosystems. To help citizens, scientists, and policymakers better understand the world’s reefs, the Allen Coral Atlas has recently finished the Read More...
Orca is the world's biggest plant built to transform CO2 into rock
To meet the ever-looming and increasingly destructive challenge of climate change, we must curb our carbon emissions drastically. Now, 'Orca' is helping us reverse some of the emissions we've already created. It's the world’s largest plant designed to suck carbon dioxide out of the air and turn Read More...
Spending time with trees boosts children's cognitive development
Trees are nature’s air purifiers—they provide us with oxygen and absorb CO2, which makes them a key component of the global fight against climate change. However, they also have an influence over our individual health, both mentally and physically. A new study published in Nature Read More...
Restored Vermeer painting reveals a cupid hanging on the wall
Two months ago, we wrote about how researchers in the Netherlands used AI to restore Rembrandt’s masterpiece The Night’s Watch, enabling millions of visitors at Amsterdam’s Rijkmuseum to enjoy the painting as the author originally intended it. In a more recent development in the world of Read More...
September 13, 2021
We're gearing up for cooler days ahead with stories about a newly-discovered Arctic island and how a ski resort on Mt. Titlis is keep glaciers cool with giant blankets. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the Read More...