Conservation
Nature relies on a rich diversity of organisms to keep it in balance. Conservation plays a key role in ensuring that environmental equilibrium is preserved. Learn about the solutions spearheading our efforts to promote biodiversity, safeguard vital ecosystems, and protect endangered species.
2022's most optimistic climate stories
These days, it’s easy to sink into feelings of climate anxiety and eco-grief. However, this past year brought us a number of good climate stories that encourage us not to lose hope! Renewables are expected to produce more energy than coal in the United States. Hydropower, wind, and solar Read More...
California county sees greatest number of monarch butterflies in 20 years
Over this holiday season, there’s a glimmer of optimism in San Luis Obispo County. It takes the shape of a famous orange-and-black striped butterfly that lives in towering eucalyptus and Monterey cypress trees all along the coast. According to preliminary statistics shared by local volunteer Read More...
Local community in Gabon succeeds in saving ancestral forest from logging
About a year and a half ago, a community in northeastern Gabon embarked on a first-of-its-kind initiative to request the declassification of a logging concession area. As part of the effort, the villagers sought to instead reclassify it as a protected area to safeguard its ecological and heritage Read More...
Australia adds 127 reptiles to global treaty against wildlife trade
Australia added a total of 127 reptiles to a global treaty put in place to shield animals from the illegal wildlife trade. The inclusion of these 127 animals (one of the biggest listings in the treaty’s history) will grant these scaly creatures, who have long been targeted by bad actors in the Read More...
England is turning 99,000 hectares of land into nature recovery projects
In recent years, an increasing number of influential scientists have suggested that we reserve half of our planet for protecting nature to make Earth more liveable. In England, a huge conservation project aims to contribute to that goal by turning 99,000 hectares of land into nature reserves. The Read More...
Humpback whales may sing their beautiful songs to "see"
Have you ever been so fortunate as to have heard the long and complex song of a humpback whale? Marine biologists have long thought that these hauntingly beautiful songs, which are only sung by male whales, function like mating calls. However, it turns out that the whales may break out into song Read More...
$1 billion to be invested in cleaning up Great Lakes
The US Great Lakes are treasured and iconic wonders of North America's natural splendor. Countless families and individuals flock there for fun and thousands of species of animals, fish, insects, and birds call those waters home. Being important waterways, they also hold major economic importance Read More...
Italian fisherman uses underwater sculptures to stop trawling
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Italian fisherman Paolo Fanciulli had been fishing the waters of the Maremma coastline for almost 40 years. These sea habitats near Tuscany, and Fanciulli’s livelihood, came under threat, however, in the form of illegal trawling, dragging huge nets through Read More...
Canada outlines plan to ban single-use plastic
Canada has now become a world leader in environmental policy. On Monday, it laid out its final plans and regulations on how it intends to ban single-use plastics. Federal health minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the country recycles “only 8 percent of the plastic [Canada] throws away” and Read More...
World’s most endangered wolf gives birth at Rhode Island zoo
A Rhode Island zoo recently announced the rare birth of an endangered red wolf, bringing new hope for the species’ survival. The red wolf is the world’s most endangered canid, which is why the birth of the pup, on May 5th, is such a remarkable conservation moment. Only about 15-20 red wolves Read More...