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.
Bacteria-based biofuel offers higher energy density than jet fuel
At a time when the need to replace fossil fuels is urgent, it is amazing to see the results of human innovation and creativity to meet the challenge. Researchers at Berkeley Lab are working on a new producer of biofuel that produces a material that boasts an energy density far higher than jet Read More...
6 Reef-safe sunscreens to protect you and marine life
This summer’s record-breaking temperatures have us all searching for the best activities to beat the heat. One of our recent articles touts the brain benefits of swimming, which is a great way to keep cool and physically fit. If you do opt to take a dip, it’s important to protect yourself from Read More...
India bans single-use plastics
India experiences worse-than-average plastic pollution with single-use plastic water bottles and containers finding their way into streets and important waterways. To rein in this pollution, the Indian government announced from the capital of New Delhi on Friday that it will be imposing a ban Read More...
Lake Tahoe town opts for environmentally friendly drone show this 4th
While it is a stunning tradition to launch fireworks every 4th of July for America’s Independence Day, we can’t deny it’s a bit of a risk these days. Climate-change-fueled drought in regions like the American west incurs the risk of wildfires with this tradition. One town in the Read More...
Germany gets ahead of winter with its huge heating tower
Germany has set to work on an enormous thermos to help heat its citizen’s homes this winter while stepping away from its reliance on Russia’s fossil fuel industry. Germany’s huge heat tower The thermos tower, which stands at almost 150 feet and can store an astounding 15 million gallons Read More...
7 tips to kickstart your Plastic Free July
The Plastic Free July initiative first began in 2011, and since then the campaign has grown so much that in 2017, the founder of the movement, Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, set up the Plastic Free Foundation Ltd. This foundation is an independent non-profit charity striving for a future that is free of Read More...
Here’s why you should wash your clothes with cold water
Washing your clothes with hot water may be an effective way to remove stains, but doing so with every laundry batch takes its toll on the environment. About 90 percent of a laundry machine's energy use goes towards heating up the water. As a result, home laundries in the US are responsible for Read More...
Artificial photosynthesis helps plants grow with no sunlight required
Plants use a special natural process called photosynthesis to grow, mature, flower, and produce fruit. Photosynthesis is the way in which plants absorb energy from sunlight and use it to make their own food out of carbon dioxide and water. For years, scientists have been investigating this Read More...
How to throw an eco-friendly wedding
Many couples who had planned their weddings for 2020 and 2021 were forced by Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions to postpone their celebrations til this year. Now, it’s wedding season again and love is in the air. But you know what else is in the air? Planet-warming co2 emissions, smog, and Read More...
Passive cooling techniques reduce AC strain by up to 80 percent
In the summer months, many of us are of two minds: we’re dying to keep it cool, but we’re also dying not to spend too much on electricity. Not only that, many of us don’t want to overload our town’s power grid during the summer, so we’re turned to AC alternatives. As it turns out, Read More...