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.
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...
This lab-fermented chocolate solves the industry’s child labor problems
About 20 years ago, chocolate companies have pledged to phase out child labor on cocoa plantations. Fast forward to today, the issue remains widespread across the industry, especially in West Africa, where 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown. Progress has also been slow in cutting Read More...
How to care for your trees year-round
If you’re lucky enough to have trees in your backyard, you might be wondering, do I need to do anything to care for these plants? Just as you change your garden care from season to season, arborists recommend taking different steps to keep trees healthy throughout the year. Here are a few tips on Read More...
You will soon be able to feed your cat lab-grown mouse-meat snacks
Most of the food that we feed or pet cats and dogs is meat-based which, as you can imagine, has its negative impacts on the environment. In fact, producing meat for our cats and dogs has a footprint of about 64 million tons of carbon emissions — that’s more than a quarter of the environmental Read More...
How an 11-year-old from Illinois helped create a bill to protect pollinators
After learning that bees in her neighborhood were being wiped out by mosquito pesticides, 11-year-old Illinois resident Scarlett Harper didn’t hesitate to take action by launching a campaign to save them. Not afraid of bees or asking lawmakers to support a bill protecting the vital pollinators, Read More...
These recycled swimming pools are made from old shipping containers
Earlier this summer, we shared a story about the “Airbnb of pools,” but what if that rented pool was also made out of a recycled shipping container? This is the vision of Modpools. Conceptualized by Paul Rathnam, Modpools turns old shipping containers into convenient, sustainable, and efficient 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...
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...
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...