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 new delivery platform uses reusable containers to cut plastic waste
Food and packaging containers together account for almost 45 percent of landfill materials in the US. A large part of that waste comes from takeout orders, where single-use plastic packaging has been normalized. A new delivery service in New York City, called DeliverZero, wants to change that by Read More...
New chemical process turns biomass into fuel in a cheap, efficient way
While biofuels are a great renewable energy source with a promising potential to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, producing them is no easy feat. This is in large part due to the fact that converting biomass into liquid fuels is quite an energy-intensive process. Fortunately, scientists at Read More...
Listening to salmon could make farmed fishing less wasteful
Farmed salmon make up somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of all the salmon humans eat. Those salmon need to be fed, but it can be tricky for growers to understand when to feed them and how much food to provide. After all, salmon do not behave like dogs, who will simply saunter over to their supper Read More...
These dogs put their noses to the ground to help protect wildlife
Dogs are well-known for their ability to sniff out explosives, drugs, and even cancer, but a team of scientists is putting our four-legged friends to work on a new task in Montana and beyond: researching wildlife. Ecologist Megan Parker is one of the scientists trying to gain a more detailed Read More...
Self-navigating aquatic robot removes garbage from local waterways
In addition to improving the aesthetic feel of a city, removing litter from local waterways can prevent plastic waste and other types of debris from ending up in the ocean, where waste is a lot more difficult to retrieve. With that in mind, Hong Kong-based startup Open Ocean Engineering has Read More...
Indian startup turns black carbon into eco-friendly tiles
Carbon dioxide is often seen as public enemy #1 in the battle against climate change, but there are more dangerous substances for the environment. For instance, there is a substance called black carbon that is found in air pollution that absorbs one million times more energy from the sun than Read More...
Scientists discover new species of blue whale in the west Indian Ocean
2020 was a busy year for scientists, with some 503 new animal species being discovered. Now it seems the New Year is following up right where 2020 left off as scientists have announced the discovery of a new species of the blue whale. Each species of whale can be identified by its unique song, so Read More...
Pandemic shutdowns have given researchers vital insights on air pollution
We’ve talked a lot about how the pandemic shutdowns have boosted environmental health in many regions. Specifically, the pandemic has taught us volumes about air quality and pollution. The opportunity for a global experiment afforded to us by the pandemic shed light on what strategies are most Read More...
Design firm turns old airport runway into beautiful park in Shanghai
Back in 2011, the Longhua Airport in Shanghai was closed and left abandoned. Now, more than a decade later, architecture studio Sasaki has finished transforming the runway of the former airport into an expansive linear park. The Xuhui riverfront area once hosted the airport, but hasn’t Read More...
New River Gorge, West Virginia becomes America’s newest national park
As a part of the Covid-19 relief bill that was passed on Dec. 27, lawmakers have created the first national park in the state of West Virginia. New River Gorge, which is located in Fayetteville, has officially changed from a national river to a national park, becoming the nation’s 63rd national Read More...