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.
12 Creative ways to reduce your food waste at home
Many people are embarking on more cooking adventures during the pandemic, but if you’re becoming a well-seasoned home chef, you might also notice your food waste is increasing. The production of wasted food alone is equivalent to 37 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions. Cutting Read More...
Rival Dutch cities create tile-removing competition to expand green space
In the Netherlands, an age-old rivalry exists between the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This rivalry can turn ugly, especially when the city’s voetbal (soccer) teams play each other. Recently, however, the rivalry has been channeled in order to spur excitement about a new initiative Read More...
How well-placed wetlands could dramatically cut nitrogen pollution
Nitrogen runoff from agriculture is a major problem, polluting our waterways and causing algae blooms that damage aquatic ecosystems. Wetlands offer a powerful buffer to nitrogen runoff as they serve as a natural filter to nutrient-polluted water, but we need to restore more wetlands in order to Read More...
More and more Native American tribes are buying back their ancestral land
When the Klamath Tribes of southern Oregon purchased a 1,705-acre patchwork of meadows, wetlands, and timberland that had once belonged to them this past summer, it represented the latest example of Native American tribes taking back their homelands via the real estate market. The loss of Native Read More...
NYC’s High Line park to inspire similar urban renewal project in London
Recently, we shared a story about the expansion of New York’s High Line park, which has been a symbol of urban renewal after it successfully transformed an abandoned railway track into a lively green area — making it one of the city’s main tourist attractions. Now the High Line’s designer, Read More...
Senators introduce bill to ban fracking in California
While California is known for its progressive reputation on environmental issues, oil continues to be produced in the state using destructive methods such as fracking and acid well stimulation. To put an end to these environmentally-damaging practices, California state senators have introduced a Read More...
Rare Amazon cactus blooms for the first time at botanic garden in the UK
A rare cactus from the Amazon rainforest that has attracted interest from around the world has flowered for the first time in a British garden. After keeping a night watch for several days, botanists at Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden finally got to witness the moonflower cactus, also Read More...
Optimist View: Taking Ownership & Choosing A Better Future
“All that you touch you Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.” - Octavia E. Butler BY KRISTY JANSEN We humans have had and will continue to have a profound effect on this planet and the biosphere. It's no longer debatable and that’s Read More...
This shrub is a roadside pollution-absorbing ‘super plant’
In order to ease environmental problems such as air pollution, British scientists at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) have been researching and comparing the effectiveness of different types of shrubs when it comes to soaking up pollution. What they have discovered is that bushy, Read More...
Photo gallery: Europe’s most active volcano is in spectacular form
While fireworks may look nice, they don’t even compare to the natural extravagance of a volcanic eruption. Recently, the people of Sicily have been treated to an incredible show from Europe’s most active volcano: Mount Etna. The volcano has been spewing massive lava fountains and oozing Read More...