Publix is buying excess food from farmers and donating it to food banks
The coronavirus has been especially hard for farmers around the country. With schools, restaurants, and other institutions closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, farmers have been forced to dump milk and waste fresh produce. Fortunately, there are organizations around like supermarket chain Publix Read More...
Paris is turning its motorist-friendly streets into post-lockdown cycleways
To minimize social contact and maximize daily physical activity, many cities around the world have been giving over road space to cyclists and pedestrians during the pandemic. While the idea is to give people the sort of generous space generally allotted to motorists, it’s also giving cities a Read More...
Can't stop, won't stop: Climate strikers shift their activism online
What images defined 2019? For those of us at The Optimist Daily, it was the sight of people streaming into the streets protesting boldly for climate action. But this year looks very different— especially for climate activists. With shelter-in-place orders in effect, climate strikers have had to Read More...
Skip the bureaucracy: This charity gives coronavirus research grants fast
It takes a really long time to get a grant for scientific research. Official advice from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the largest source of grants for scientific research in the US, recommends that grant planning begin nine months in advance of the deadline for the grant. Time Read More...
Thailand is counting record numbers of rare sea turtle nests
If there’s one winner from the whole coronavirus pandemic, it might have to be the turtles. Earlier this month, we published a story where endangered hawksbill sea turtles hatched undisturbed on empty Brazilian beaches. Then, just days ago, we reported on leatherback turtles in Florida, which Read More...
These solar windows rival rooftop panels in terms of efficiency
Windows capable of harvesting energy from the sun have been on the horizon for a number of years, but they've yet to help cut down a building's energy costs. A new development from Australian researchers may change that. What the researchers have created are semi-transparent solar cells made of Read More...
Drones are accelerating the speed of coronavirus testing in Ghana
Testing for coronavirus has been a struggle in Ghana. Apparently, health officials in the cities of Accra and Kumasi would wait for hours or even days for delivery trucks to visit rural medical facilities, collect batches of test samples, and then deliver them for analysis. The delivery time is now Read More...
The ultimate guide to making a quarantine garden—even without much space
Throughout both World Wars, the US government encouraged its citizens to “sow the seeds of victory” and plant War Gardens to assist in the fighting effort. Every day folks were expected to convert every idle plot of land they could muster into gardens to grow crops, which freed up resources for Read More...
Marine life rebounded during the world wars. The same is happening now
During both world wars, the global demand for fish and seafood plummeted, forcing fishing fleets to stay at the docks while fish stocks rebounded. Now it seems a similar effect is coming into play as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The closure of restaurants and hotels, the main buyers of Read More...
Germany crushes solar power record thanks to smog-free skies
As Europe halts daily life in the fight against coronavirus, the skies above have become as crisp and clean as ever. And not only does that allow for a fresh breath of air, but it also allows solar panels to produce maximum power. In Germany, solar panels produced record amounts of electricity, Read More...