Environment
Need some good news about the environment? The Optimist Daily is your go-to herald of positive environmental news, highlighting eco-friendly solutions and scientific progress around climate action, circularity, conservation, and more. Learn about everything eco in our Environment section.
Urban mining: how Europe is turning e-waste and concrete into circular gold
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Buried somewhere in your drawer, that outdated smartphone may be worth more than you think. Not because it's vintage, but because it holds slivers of lithium, cobalt, and rare earth metals… the very stuff Europe desperately needs. Urban mining, the Read More...
What trees can teach us about volcanoes: a new view from space
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The next time a volcano begins to stir, the first signs might come not from smoke or rumbling earth, but from the trees nearby. According to a new NASA-Smithsonian study, trees growing near volcanoes become visibly greener as underground magma releases carbon Read More...
A new way to stack bricks could help clean Bangladesh’s air
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In the cool, dry winters of Bangladesh, the country’s 8,000-plus brick kilns roar to life. Coal-fed and open-air, they bake nearly 30 million bricks annually, filling the skies with thick black smoke in the process. But a new study has found that a few Read More...
The tortilla that doesn’t need a fridge will help Mexico’s most vulnerable
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a brightly lit lab at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), food scientist Raquel Gomez peers through a microscope at microorganisms doing some heavy lifting: enriching tortillas with probiotics and preserving them for weeks without a Read More...
A jelly with a scent of hope: how a nanoparticle gel could help save coral reefs
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When the ocean gets too warm, coral reefs bleach, weaken, and sometimes die. And right now, they’re in serious trouble. Over 80 percent of the world’s reef area has experienced heat stress since early 2023, leading to what researchers are calling the Read More...
Breda becomes EU’s first National Park City, setting a hopeful path for greener urban living
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The Dutch city of Breda, with its cobblestone streets and centuries-old canals, has just added another charming distinction to its name: it is now the first National Park City in the European Union. Designated in May by the National Park City Foundation, Read More...
How DNA in the air could help track life on Earth
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In the lush forests of northern Belize, surrounded by hibiscus blooms, kingfishers overhead, and the busy trails of leaf-cutter ants below, biodiversity scientist Elizabeth Clare reflects on a question as profound as it is urgent: how do we measure all of Read More...
The surprising power of penguin poop: how guano-made clouds may help cool the planet
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In the chilly heart of Antarctica, a bunch of tuxedoed waddlers may be doing more for the planet than most of us in puffer coats. A new study has found that penguins, already champions of charm, are also unlikely champions of the climate—thanks to their Read More...
Why using your dishwasher is the laziest way to help the planet
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Doing your part for the environment often feels like more work — biking instead of driving, composting scraps, giving up fast fashion. But what if we told you that one of the easiest ways to go green... is to do less? Enter: the dishwasher. Yes, that Read More...
Brontë country designated as one of England’s largest national nature reserves
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The windswept moors that inspired the Brontë sisters’ most iconic novels are getting a new chapter — this time as one of England’s largest national nature reserves. Officially named the Bradford Pennine Gateway, the newly designated 1,274-hectare site Read More...