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.
Farmers partner with NatureLife to protect endangered cranes in Cambodia
Cranes in Cambodia are increasingly threatened by climate change, habitat destruction, and saltwater intrusion, but one group of dedicated citizens is working to ensure their survival: local farmers. Farmers from Koh Chamkar village in southwest Cambodia are working with NatureLife Cambodia to Read More...
The EU proposes law that bans major products linked to deforestation
Last week, the European Commission proposed new legislation to ban the import of many key commodities if companies cannot definitively prove that their products aren’t linked to deforestation. Otherwise, these companies can expect to receive a hefty fine. The commodities under investigation Read More...
US allocates $6.6 million to Midwest Tribes for EV network
The US Department of Energy has approved $6.6 million in funding to create an electric vehicle charging network for Native American Tribes in the Midwest. Awarded to Native Sun Community Power Development and Standing Rock Renewable Energy Power Authority, the funding will be used to purchase Read More...
Could you build a net-zero city? This game lets you find out
More and more cities and countries are pledging to achieve net-zero emissions, but this task isn’t as easy as it seems. Some strategies, like installing renewable energy sources and electrifying public transport, are intuitive, but what about private households and emissions from landfills? To Read More...
How these 3 apps are tackling food waste in Canada
Anyone who works in the restaurant, catering, or supermarket industry will know that food waste is a gigantic problem. Too often, day-old baked goods and food items that have sat on the shelves beyond their expiry date are disposed of and end up in the trash. According to this 2019 report by the Read More...
How Beethoven-loving donkeys help keep this ancient city clean
Every day at dawn, a herd of hard-working donkeys emerges from their stables into the cobbled streets of the ancient Turkish city of Mardin to collect rubbish. Working alongside city workers, the cream-colored animals help carry bags of litter as they meander through the narrow alleyways of the Read More...
Royal Air Force completes world's first flight powered by synthetic fuel
Earlier this month, Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) set a Guinness World Record for completing the world’s first flight that was powered entirely by synthetic fuel. According to a government press release, senior test pilot Group Captain Peter Hackett took off from Cotswold Airport on the Read More...
Monarch butterflies return to California after historic low
As a result of global warming, habitat loss, and food scarcity, the wintering population of the orange and black Western monarch butterfly along California’s central coast declined considerably in 2020. Conservationists recorded about 2,000 individuals, a number that pales in comparison to the Read More...
Apple to make self-repair parts, tools, and manuals available to customers
Following growing pressure from right-to-repair advocates, Apple has announced that it will begin selling spare parts and tools to allow the general public to repair their devices at home. Under the new program, customers can buy parts and access manuals to repair their own iPhones and Mac Read More...
AI has helped design the chickpea of all chickpeas
AI has helped humans achieve a lot of things; from predicting seizures, to completing Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony. Its latest endeavor: designing the ultimate chickpea. Although these pulses are a thoroughly understood crop, the genome of most varieties is not well sequenced. An Read More...