This sleek, pollutant-free electric vehicle purifies the air as it drives
From futuristic bus shelters to algae-filled curtains, designers around the world have found endlessly creative ways to improve air quality in cities. Now, a team from Heatherwick Studio has designed a sustainable solution that takes tackling air pollution to a whole new level: an autonomous car Read More...
This cycling jacket has an airbag that inflates in case of an accident
While bike helmets are great at protecting your head from injuries, the other parts of your body are still exposed in the event of an impact. Enter the Cirrus airbag jacket, which auto-inflates in the case of an accident to protect the torso. Designed by Paris-based startup Urban Circus, the Read More...
These algae curtains combat air pollution in urban environments
Here at The Optimist Daily, we're highly interested in the expansion of algae as an eco-friendly component of a variety of products that protect the environment and reinforce the value of sustainable, eco-conscious living. Algae has been used to make biodegradable sequins and more sustainable Read More...
How flight tracking is protecting eagles near South Africa’s wind turbines
South Africa’s blustery ridges are great for wind energy generation, but these prime renewable regions are also home to the country’s Verreaux's eagles, and protecting these eagles while generating clean power is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. To help reduce bird fatalities, Dr. Megan Read More...
What if all packaging could be replaced with popcorn?
Last week we wrote about a takeout container made from edible, compostable material. Another sustainable container hitting the market comes from researchers at the University of Göttingen in Germany and uses an unusual base material: popcorn. Next time you eat popcorn, you might notice how Read More...
This company turns discarded balloons into ethical vegan sneakers
The fashion industry is known to have wasteful and environmentally unfriendly practices, but new start-ups who enter the fashion world, as well as many established brands, are aiming to make up for the environmental missteps of the past by embracing ethics and sustainability through innovative Read More...
This edible packaging cuts plastic waste out of takeout food
Concerned about the plastic footprint of your takeaway meals? Worry not, soon you’ll be able to eat the containers your food comes in! At least that’s the vision of design studio Forest and Whale which created Reuse — a container designed for takeaway packaging that can be eaten or composted Read More...
Maldives is building a floating city to adapt to climate change
With more than 80 percent of the country’s land area lying less than one meter above sea level, Maldives is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The archipelago, hosting 25 low-lying atolls in the Indian Ocean, is also the lowest-lying nation in the world — which means that Read More...
Robotic prosthetics with tactical feedback can help amputees feel again
We have previously written about prosthetic legs that can adjust to different terrains and prosthetic hands that can be mind-controlled—but now, new developments have reached a novel level of efficiency for prosthetics and neural implants. A study published in the journal Science writes about Read More...
Onondaga Nation’s fire station brings sustainability and community together
As you probably have noticed by now, here at The Optimist Daily, we are major advocates of sustainable architecture as well as community-building, and we are elated whenever we come across an initiative that combines both. The most recent example that we’ve uncovered involves eco-friendly Read More...