Ole-Kristian Sivertsen: revitalizing deserts with nano clay
Climate change is drastically changing global weather patterns. Wet places are getting wetter, and dry places are getting drier. The human-caused degradation of dry land known as desertification is growing across farmlands, such as in California. The state is one of the country's largest producers Read More...
UN experts and analysts plan to reinvigorate the “Great Green Wall”
The African Great Green Wall is a titanic ambition to restore an 8,000 square kilometer expanse across the continent, from Djibouti in the East to Senegal in the West. In the face of increasing desertification from climate change, the initiative aims to restore 100 million hectares (386,000 square Read More...
Indian court rules in favor of “mother nature’s” rights
It’s hard to describe the growth of an environmental movement without an inappropriate natural disaster metaphor: a wave of legislation, laws spreading like wildfire, or a mighty wind of change. None of those feel quite right, but the wave — darn it — for nature’s rights is moving fast and Read More...
This Louisiana startup turns glass into sand and increases climate resiliency
There is seemingly no end to the variety and ingenuity scientists and researchers have when it comes to recycling. They have taken plastic waste and treated it to absorb CO2. They have taken human waste and turned it into viable renewable energy. Louisiana startup Glass Half Full is turning Read More...
US announces $3 billion electric vehicle battery production
We at The Optimist Daily are enormous electric vehicle fans, and we’re not the only ones. Demand for electric vehicles has risen so sharply around the world that manufacturers and supply chains are struggling to keep up. To help things along, state and federal governments are stepping up to Read More...
This “extreme” plant could be the beginning of climate-resistant crops
We tend to think of crops as delicate and temperamental, that they require a lot of care and particular conditions to grow in. While this is certainly true for, say, avocados, which require incredible amounts of water naturally found in tropical rainforests, some crops evolved to live and thrive in Read More...
Last month, wind and solar made up 18 percent of US energy
With the War in Ukraine and unfair demands from Russia for its gas, many western nations are feeling the need to switch to renewable energy now more so than ever. The good news is that nations are getting closer to 100 percent renewables and energy independence every day. Wind and solar have Read More...
Actor LeVar Burton will receive lifetime achievement award at new Children’s Emmys
It isn’t often enough that we publicly appreciate our teachers and educators. While he is mainly an actor, having performed in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Roots, LeVar Burton played the role of a reader and an educator for many years on Reading Rainbow. Now, he will receive a Lifetime Read More...
Can’t put down your phone? Try these three tips
Most of us use our phones and devices in some professionally or socially enriching way. During the Pandemic, video calls kept us in touch with our families and let us see newly born family members when we couldn’t be there in person. Smartphones have let us maintain long-distance relationships Read More...
Why alcohol's giving you restless nights
There’s nothing wrong with having a drink at the end of the day, maybe enjoying the occasional cocktail hour with friends. Evidence even shows that a little red wine with dinner can reduce your risk of type two diabetes. It’s when we drink too much that things get problematic. There’s the Read More...