Climate Action
What is Climate Action? Climate Action is humanity's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our planet's resilience against climate change. From adaptation to mitigation, at The Optimist Daily you will learn about the most recent positive news stories and solutions targeting climate change and other environmental issues.
How aspirin and crop resilience go hand in hand
Did you know that plants have been making aspirin for millions of years? And humans have been using it as far back as Neanderthal times for self-medication? The pain medication can be found in trees and sunflowers alike in an unprocessed form called salicylic acid, created in response to when a Read More...
UK scientists plan to use contraceptives to curb invasive gray squirrels
In the late 19th century, gray squirrels were introduced to the United Kingdom from the United States. Since then, the gray squirrel population has exploded in the UK to the detriment of the county’s woodlands. These squirrels strip the bark of trees to get at the sap beneath, and British forests Read More...
Largest number of fin whales seen feeding together in over 50 years
Fin whales are the second-largest in the world, growing up to 85 feet (26 m) long and 160,000 pounds (72.3 metric tons). In 1976, the numbers of these magnificent giants in the Antarctic were dangerously low, caused by human commercial hunting practices. This caused a ban on commercial whaling to Read More...
The time has almost come for vegan lab-grown salmon filets to hit the market
Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of buzz around meat alternatives—lab-grown meat alternatives that are— that will help those who don’t want to sacrifice the taste and “mouth feel” of real animal products ease into a more sustainable, eco-friendly, and a plant-based Read More...
CO2 emissions significantly reduced at the last Olympic Games
The Pandemic turned everyone’s world upside down, causing us all to adapt to new ways of life and society to find a new “normal.” While this experience came with its negatives, it also created an opportunity for numerous lessons to be learned and possibilities for change, especially when it Read More...
600 acres of neglected land to be transformed into climate-adaptive park
600 acres of neglected land in the state of Indiana is finally going to be transformed into Origin Park—a climate-adaptive park that had been in the works for several years and was supposed to be completed in 2021. Of course, due to unavoidable delays, the project didn’t break ground until Read More...
What you need to do to make your office more sustainable
Chances are it takes quite a lot of resources to keep your office running. Think about it. The office needs lighting and heat, the printer requires ink and paper, and may use disposable cups and other single-use plastics that can easily be thrown away instead of cleaning. With just a few changes, Read More...
Scientists clone first mice from freeze-dried skin cells
Even before Jurassic Park, many have fantasized about cloning endangered animals. Science fiction made this seem too simple, easily copying a complex creature from recovered DNA. Now, that fantastical process is not so far off. Researchers have cloned the world’s first mice from freeze-dried Read More...
New California law greatly curbs plastic waste
We have written a lot about plastic alternatives you can use and consumer-focused options for reducing plastic waste. Indeed, this is often the focus of efforts to reduce plastic waste. Not enough pressure is put on manufacturers to reduce how much plastic they produce. A new California law, Read More...
"Sand batteries" could solve the energy storage challenge
We’ve previously written about how water batteries could help address the energy storage challenge facing the green energy transition. In Finland, however, some scientists are working on a much dryer power storage facility — a ‘sand battery’. Solving the energy storage Read More...