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.
Los Angeles County votes to phase out oil extraction
The Los Angeles County board of supervisors unanimously voted to prohibit new oil wells and evaluate existing ones, taking a big step towards ending oil extraction in the US’ largest county. Currently, oil wells cannot be shuttered in the county until companies recoup the costs of drilling. Read More...
Ojai school rebuilds from Thomas Fire using resilient architecture
The Thomas Fire was one of the most destructive in California history and burned a total of 281,000 acres. Among the over 1,000 structures burned by the blaze was the Upper Campus of the Ojai Valley School. In one night, the fire blazed through most of the 195-acre campus. Architect Frederick Read More...
Fusion energy could soon be commercially available thanks to MIT scientists
As shown by the most recent IPCC report, moving away from fossil fuels as fast as possible is key to preventing catastrophic consequences from climate change. According to scientists, fusion power has a huge potential to transition the world towards a cleaner and safer energy future, but so far it Read More...
In a world-first, England will require all new homes to have EV chargers
With people’s garages increasingly housing electric cars rather than gas-powered ones, there is also a growing need for adequate charging infrastructure for these vehicles. Well aware of that, the British government has decided to introduce legislation that will require all new homes and offices Read More...
Researchers propose using passenger car emissions in agriculture
The average passenger emits about five US tons of CO2 and 5,547 gallons of waste water each year, while urban farmers use almost five pounds of CO2 and six gallons of water to grow two pounds of produce. Researchers from Texas A&M University believe these two systems could be combined to Read More...
Man-made cloudy skies may be the climate change solution we need
A team based from the University of Washington, the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), and the Pacific Northwest National Library are developing a climate solution inspired by an unexpected source: toxic emissions generated by ships traveling across the ocean. These bright white clouds that ships Read More...
Alternative transportation is included in the rent at this car-free community
We first wrote about the plans to establish Culdesac Tempe, the US’ first community built on a zero-driving model, back in 2019. Now, the $170 million residential development located just outside Phoenix, Arizona, is getting ready to welcome its first residents in July 2022. When construction is Read More...
MooLoo mitigates the climate impact of cattle with potty training
Farming cattle is known to be a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions due to their methane-releasing belches and farts. On top of that, their urine and feces combine to produce ammonia, which is converted into nitrous oxide by microbes in the soil. To mitigate some of the climate impacts Read More...
Indigenous resistance has prevented a shocking amount of emissions
Indigenous communities have been at the forefront of many climate action and conservation initiatives. While some, like protesting and blocking the Dakota Access Pipeline, are well known, others, like stopping the Mountain Valley Gas Pipeline and installing renewable energy grids on Tribal lands, Read More...
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...