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.
Florida rejects plan to drill oil well in ecologically sensitive Everglades
From rising sea levels to more frequent and powerful hurricanes, Florida is highly threatened by climate change. That’s why it makes a lot of sense that state environmental regulators have recently rejected a plan to drill for oil in the Everglades. The Florida Department of Environmental Read More...
So your compost has mold? What it means and what to do about it
So you’ve set up a functioning compost system in your backyard. First things first, congratulations! But how do you know if your compost is healthy and thriving? Mold and fungi are actually a sign of a functioning compost pile, but not all kinds of mold are good. Check out the list below to Read More...
5 Ways adults can reconnect with a love of scientific learning
Most of our childhood is spent exploring, learning, and absorbing new information, but once we leave formal education, this emphasis on cultivating new knowledge is largely lost to the world of work and adult responsibilities. Simultaneously, large portions of the adult population struggle to Read More...
Could ‘universal basic mobility’ end youth disconnection?
The concept of universal basic income (UBI) is being tested in cities around the world to explore how no-strings-attached payments can improve standards of living for vulnerable individuals. Now, some cities are looking beyond payments and embracing “universal basic mobility” as another Read More...
Campaign urges Hollywood to trade plastic for sustainable alternatives
Like the "Lights, Camera, Plastic?" campaign we wrote about recently, the Flip the Script on Plastics campaign wants Hollywood to join the fight against plastic pollution by urging popular television shows, movies, and media to stop showcasing single-use plastics and trade them in for more Read More...
Newly discovered beaked whale is named after Indigenous whale expert
Every deep-sea species discovery serves as a reminder of how much there is yet to be discovered in the depths of our oceans. These discoveries are especially resonant when the new species in question are giant mammals like whales. Now that’s exactly what scientists have recently identified with Read More...
Nova Scotia will be home to the first whale sanctuary in North America
The Maritime province of Nova Scotia, Canada, will soon be home to the first whale sanctuary in North America. The plans for the sanctuary, which is spearheaded by The Whale Sanctuary Project, commenced after Canada passed the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, which prevents Read More...
Descendents of native British bees found on Oxfordshire estate
An astonishing discovery has been made in the ancient British woodlands of Blenheim Palace. Bee conservationist Filipe Salbany recently found 50 colonies of bees which are believed to be the descendants of indigenous wild honeybees which used to forage the English countryside. Previously, Read More...
Earth's deepest earthquake finally explained
An earthquake recorded in the Bonin Islands off mainland Japan in 2015 caused a minor aftershock. No damage was done, and no one even noticed its occurrence. Little did residents know the deepest earthquake ever recorded had just happened below. For years after the event, scientists were left Read More...
How inflammation plays a role in our efforts to slow climate change
It really feels like climate change is getting more imminent by the day. With every other headline about how temperature levels are rising, animals are going extinct, and companies aren’t reaching their promised quotas, fear, stress, and anxiety over climate change can be extremely overwhelming Read More...