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.
A biotech company is using emissions to produce a palm oil substitute
Lipids and omega-3s serve as the foundation for many foods and fuel, but the problem is that they are typically produced in ways that are damaging to the planet. For instance, omega-3 fatty acids are usually sourced from farmed fish, which are commonly fed smaller, wild-caught fish. This is Read More...
Over 90,000 turtles born in rare Brazilian hatching event
It’s been a big year for turtles, with the pandemic allowing turtles to hatch on beaches that are free of humans. This week, however, a remarkable hatching event took place on the Purus River in Brazil as a reported 90,000 giant South American river turtles were born. Wildlife Conservation Read More...
This futuristic footbridge in Paris is an ode to sustainable urban design
Known for their tendency to blend architecture, technology, and nature in a most compelling way, Vincent Callebaut Architectures have recently revealed their latest sustainable design — a green footbridge that aims to make Paris a more liveable and sustainable place to live. Called ‘the Green Read More...
Positive destruction: How elephants are rewilding this national park
Sometimes destruction can be a good thing. To demonstrate our point, let’s take a look inside the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a herd of around 580 African elephants have entered from neighboring land, tearing through trees and knocking down bushes Read More...
This app tracks the carbon footprint of your purchases in real time
We all strive to live more sustainable lives, but tracking where you can make the most impactful changes isn’t always easy. Fortunately, a new app is here to manage your personal carbon footprint in real-time. The app, called Joro, starts off with baseline questions about your diet, Read More...
The largest wildlife bridge in America has just opened in San Antonio
In recent months, we’ve shared a couple of stories about highway crossings for wildlife in the US. The first came in October when it was announced that a giant wildlife bridge would be built in the Los Angeles area to help mountain lions and other native animals cross over the US 101 freeway. Read More...
Optimist View Special Feature: Uplifting Stories by Ione Butler
“If you want to improve your mood, a great place to start is by shifting the narrative.” - Ione Butler, Author Uplifting Stories As we all hunker down to await the end of this pandemic, connecting with our usual holiday cheer is tough. Quarantine fatigue is getting us down, but the Read More...
Report: Global emissions dropped 7 percent in 2020
Now that 2020 is finally coming to a close, we are now able to see just how impactful imposed lockdowns and restrictions were on global carbon emissions this year. According to the Global Carbon Project, the pandemic saw emissions cut by an estimated 2.4 billion metric tons, which is a 7 percent Read More...
Scientists find 20 new species in the dense forests of the Bolivian Andes
Our planet’s catalog of wildlife has just gotten more interesting thanks to an expedition into the cloud forests of the Bolivian Andes. Scientists exploring the Zongo Valley, located near the Bolivian capital of La Paz, have unveiled 20 new species and rediscovered several ones that had not been Read More...
These gas pump stickers aim to make drivers more eco-conscious
In a bid to help its residents shift away from internal-combustion engines and towards cleaner modes of transportation, Cambridge, Massachusetts, will be using gas pumps across the city as a means to do this. Now how exactly can gas stations, the existence of which is in itself a threat to our Read More...