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.
This community in California is enacting a ban on new gas stations
California’s fires are getting worse with each year, due in large part to the irresponsible exploitation of fossil fuels. Big Oil dependence has become a Big Problem that is incredibly difficult to solve because it has been designed into how communities function. Most cities aren’t walkable and Read More...
Volvo will soon use fossil-free steel to make its electric trucks
Earlier this year, Volvo pledged to go all-electric by 2030, while making its entire business operations (including its supply chain) climate-neutral by 2050 — all in a bid to do its part in the fight against the climate crisis. To that end, the carmaker has recently made a deal with Swedish Read More...
Retrofitting demonstrates the profitability of green industry
Research has shown that it is possible for our world to be sustainable and profitable, but transitioning away from the fossil fuel industry requires the transfer of job skills. In England, this shift is already taking place with the growth of the green home retrofitting industry. The Manchester Read More...
New tidal energy design harvests double the energy from ocean waves
Tidal energy could soon hit record conversion efficiency thanks to a new development from scientists at Australia’s RMIT. The engineers have developed a novel design for a convertor that they claim operates with far greater efficiency than current systems. They hope the breakthrough could pave Read More...
Remote Northern Ireland island aims to become carbon neutral by 2030
A UK island has just committed to becoming carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Lying six miles off the coast of Northern Ireland, Rathlin Island has only been connected to the electricity grid since 2007. About 150 people live on the island and they want to produce their own wind and wave Read More...
California’s new energy codes push an all-electric housing future
As more cities embrace natural gas-free futures, the US’ most populous state is giving the concept of all-electric homes a big legislative push. California has approved new energy codes that will incentivize electric appliances and efficient heating and cooling systems. Approved by the Read More...
Four strategies to make solar panels even more sustainable
Solar energy is a renewable source with fairly high reliability and scalability, but even the best solutions have some drawbacks. In the case of solar, the panels themselves are emissions-intensive to produce and require mined silicon, glass, and aluminum. As we continue to improve the Read More...
IKEA to sell renewable energy directly to customers
IKEA has made efforts to transition to a greener business model with disassembly and moving instructions for furniture, forest protection, and buy-back programs. They even published a zero-waste cookbook! Now, the Swedish company is looking to expand its environmental reach even further with the Read More...
Four ways to address the new IPCC report on an individual level
Even for those of us perpetually concerned with the disastrous effects of a changing climate, the most recent IPCC report was tough to swallow. The reality is that even with our strictest existing climate measures, we are still going to experience devastating impacts from the emissions we’ve Read More...
Gold-covered weather station raises awareness about the climate crisis
In recent decades, meteorological stations across the Alps have recorded a declining amount of snowy days — a phenomenon that goes hand in hand with growing rates of glaciers melting in the region. In an effort to raise awareness about global warming and the existential threat it poses, artist Read More...