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 foundation turns discarded oyster shells into new marine habitat
In 2008, Galveston Bay lost more than 50 percent of its oyster habitat to Hurricane Ike. Seeking solutions to this crisis, The Galveston Bay Foundation partnered with a local restaurant to turn discarded oyster shells into restored habitats for marine life. The program is supported by Read More...
Farmers devise plan to reintroduce the white-tailed eagle to Norfolk
After the successful reintroduction of the majestic white-tailed eagle in Scotland and on the Isle of Wright, efforts have now begun to reintroduce Britain’s biggest raptor to Norfolk in an unprecedented rewilding project led by farmers. While the previous reintroduction efforts were conducted Read More...
Artificial intelligence tool helps easily detect ocean plastic from the air
While preventing the flow of plastic waste into the ocean is key to safeguarding the health of our marine environments, it’s also essential that we clean up the mess that’s already there. Of course, detecting ocean pollution is not an easy undertaking — but a new useful tool is here to Read More...
Elon Musk announces $100m competition for carbon removal technologies
Carbon capture technologies have proven their potential to help accelerate the transition towards a post-carbon future. But one of the main problems preventing the solution’s widespread implementation is that the tech is still relatively expensive and unproven at scale. In a bid to foster Read More...
Unused parking lots in Paris are becoming underground mushroom farms
Car ownership has been steadily declining in Paris for years, leaving the city with a new problem: thousands of square meters of unused underground parking space. In an effort to repurpose this space, the city began running competitions to find innovative uses for the space. This is how three major Read More...
Kenyan woman recycles plastic waste into bricks stronger than concrete
Kenya uses 600,000 tons of plastic bottles annually, of which only 9 percent is recycled while the rest ends up in landfills and polluting the environment. A Nairobi-based, impact-driven entrepreneur is putting that plastic waste to much better use. Meet Nzambi Matee, a 29-year-old entrepreneur Read More...
Startup gives ex-cons a second chance while upcycling construction waste
One year ago, industrial commercial designer Sasha Plotitsa launched Formr, a startup that repurposes waste while transforming the lives of formerly incarcerated people, so that both have a second chance. Plotitsa’s father was a contractor, so he spent a lot of time on job sites while he was Read More...
Conservationist wants to bring the dawn chorus back to life with tree frogs
Following widespread bird declines in recent years, the dawn chorus has gotten a lot quieter in UK’s woodlands. Now, one of the country’s most famous ‘rewilders’ wants to bring it back to life in a rather unusual way — breeding and releasing noisy tree frogs. Though common in other Read More...
Find everything you need to support pollinators in your yard right here
We all want to support pollinators, but the best way to do this varies based on where you live. If you live in the US, Xerces Society is a great resource for finding the most impactful pollinator protection tools at your disposal. The organization's Pollinator Conservation Resource Center is Read More...
Zero-carbon flying: Rolls-Royce tests 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuels
As the aviation industry seeks to transition towards a post-carbon future, airplane manufactures are working in high gear to find greener alternatives to dirty jet fuel. One of the latest feats in this endeavor comes from Rolls-Royce engineers, who have begun testing the viability of using 100 Read More...