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.
Key West bans large cruise ships from docking to protect coral reefs
On election day, residents of Key West, Florida, voted to impose new restrictions on cruise ships docking in the city — a move that’s expected to give a much-needed respite to fragile marine habitats in the area. The island’s residents voted on three ballot initiatives, including one Read More...
Agrihood: This community combines suburban living with farming
Tsawassen, Vancouver has been a farming community for generations, but when suburban housing developments started cropping up, the Century Group development company was torn on how to best use the 500 acres of land it owned in the area. They came to the conclusion to use the land for an innovative Read More...
Can VR help lawmakers understand the hidden effects of climate change?
While the massive wildfires and apocalyptic skies hovering over California this year were an obvious sign of the climate crisis, there are more subtle yet dangerous effects of the climate crisis that many people don’t see or understand. To awaken people to the more abstract effects of climate Read More...
This company rapidly builds modular homes for the homeless
While building more permanent supportive housing is key to solving the Bay Area’s homelessness crisis, such development projects typically require a long permitting process. This means that it can take years for people experiencing homelessness to find a lasting solution. California-based Read More...
3D-printed buildings are reaching new heights in Germany
Earlier this month, we shared a story out of Belgium where a construction called Kamp C revealed the first 3D-printed two-story home. Although it is thought to be the biggest 3D-printed structure in the world right now, it won’t hold that title for long as architects in Germany are currently Read More...
Tiny owl rescued from the Rockefeller Christmas tree
This year’s holiday season is anything but ordinary, and even the classic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree faced an unusually troubled start to the season. The 75-foot Norway spruce was en route to the Big Apple when workers discovered a tiny owl living in its branches. Fortunately, the Read More...
Bask in nature’s mystique with this brilliant photo gallery
There is hardly anything more calming and satisfying than looking at galleries of incredible nature photography—well, other than going out into nature and seeing the real thing for yourself. With that in mind, the European Environment Agency recently held it's annual ‘Rediscover Nature’ photo Read More...
Follow these 7 tips to become an expert thrift shopper
Thrift shopping is a stylish and effective way to reduce the impact that fashion has on the planet. It’s also trendy at the moment, which means there’s a whole array of different thrift shops and websites offering second-hand clothing for you to explore. Before you go hunting for second-hand Read More...
Researchers create the first global map of bee species
There are over 20,000 species of bees around the globe, but information on the location and population health of different species is sparse. In an effort to bolster bee conservation, biologists have created the first modern map of all the bee species around the world. Michael Orr, the study's Read More...
Farm Bureau and environmental groups form an unlikely alliance
Large scale agriculture has traditionally been at odds with organic and regenerative farming practices with the American Farm Bureau Federation as a powerful lobbyist against climate change legislation. In a fortunate turn of events, the group recently announced an unexpected alliance to reduce Read More...