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 map lets you trace the path of any waterway across the US
River Runner, a new map developed by data analyst Sam Learner, lets you trace the origins of water throughout the entire United States. Users can click on any location or enter any address and the map will show them where the water in that area is likely to flow to. If, for instance, you click Read More...
Maldives is building a floating city to adapt to climate change
With more than 80 percent of the country’s land area lying less than one meter above sea level, Maldives is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The archipelago, hosting 25 low-lying atolls in the Indian Ocean, is also the lowest-lying nation in the world — which means that Read More...
Want to go green but feel overwhelmed? There's an app for that
We all want to live more sustainably, but with all the avenues for reducing waste and emissions, it's not always easy to know where to start. New platform BrightAction is here to help you navigate through the mountain of information that is linked to leading a sustainable life and will make Read More...
Big oil continues to take hits as green energy activists join ExxonMobil board
We recently wrote about how a monumental court ruling has ordered Shell to cut emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Later that very same day, another climate victory occurred as shareholders voted to elect two green energy activists to the ExxonMobil board. The shift took place thanks to an Read More...
These sleek autonomous sailboats help scientists understand climate change
Monitoring the health of our oceans is key for understanding how climate change affects our planet — which, in turn, is crucial for devising comprehensive action plans to help us mitigate this growing challenge. In a bid to support our efforts of tackling global warming, California-based Read More...
Reintroduction of wolves reduces vehicle deer collisions in Michigan
Anyone who has gone on a road trip is familiar with the sight of roadkill on the side of the highway, but in some areas, this problem is more pronounced than others. For example, deer were being killed regularly along the roads in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but that all changed when the state Read More...
This homegrown hive will help Irish black bee populations bounce back
According to the National Biodiversity Center, over 30 percent of Irish bee species are facing extinction, and more than half of the country’s bees have experienced a significant decline since 1980. Why are Irish bee populations taking a dive? On top of habitat loss and climate change, native Read More...
Not so fast: Scientists find Galápagos tortoise previously thought extinct
Good news from the Galápagos Islands! Conservationists have confirmed that a giant tortoise found on the archipelago belongs to a species scientists thought went extinct more than 100 years ago. The female tortoise was discovered during a 2019 expedition to Fernandina Island. To prove the link, Read More...
The Big Cat Sanctuary welcomes birth of rare black jaguar cub
In exciting news for conservationists and cat lovers alike, The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England has welcomed a new rare black female jaguar cub. Born on April 6, the cub has a rare black coloration gene that only occurs in 10 percent of the wild jaguar population. The cub was born to Read More...
This zoo exhibit is spreading the word on palm oil sustainability
Zoos offer an opportunity for everyone to witness the magic of wild animals, but unfortunately, many of the animals we see at the zoo are highly threatened in their natural habitats. One zoo trying to enhance the environmental reach of its programs is the Denver Zoo, which uses its adorable sloths Read More...