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.
EU's biggest oil producer votes to end all new oil and gas exploration
Denmark is currently the biggest oil producer in the European Union. That’s why it’s a big deal that the Danish government voted last week to bring an immediate end to all new oil and gas exploration in the Danish North Sea. The move is part of a plan to phase out fossil fuel extraction by Read More...
Getting rid of your old mattress? Here’s how to recycle it
If your pandemic home upgrades included getting a long-overdue new mattress, you might be asking yourself: what do I do with the old one? Unfortunately, mattresses are bulky and difficult to donate, making it tough to find a sustainable solution for their end of life. The good news is there are Read More...
New Guinea singing dogs not extinct in the wild, as previously thought
For years, zoologists have assumed that the New Guinea singing dog is extinct in the wild. That assumption has been proven wrong after an analysis of the DNA of three wild dogs living 14,000 feet high on the island matched the DNA of captive New Guinea singing dogs. If you aren’t familiar with Read More...
This green building can be completely dismantled and repurposed
When building the new Braunstein Brewery taphouse in Køge, Denmark, designers did something a little unusual. They put as much thought into taking the structure down as building it in the first place. The innovative design allows the building to be completely disassembled into reusable pieces at Read More...
Hawaii’s Hanauma Bay is teeming with life thanks to the lockdown
15 minutes from Waikiki lies the stunningly beautiful body of water known as Hanauma Bay. It was formed within a volcanic crater and has long been home to a colorful array of marine life. Since Hawaii’s tourism heyday in the 1980s, thousands of tourists have been visiting Hanauma Bay every day, Read More...
Hyundai announces EV only production platform
Hyundai, the world’s fifth-largest auto group, has announced a major move forward in the transition to all-electric vehicles. The South Korean car company will launch an electric vehicle-only platform in 2021 with its own battery technology to cut production time and costs for these greener Read More...
Indigenous leader from Ecuador saves 500,000 acres from oil extraction
Dating back to 1989, the Goldman Environmental Prize is an annual award recognizing grassroots activism across six geographical regions around the globe. Among this year’s prize winners is Nemonte Nequimo, an indigenous leader from the Ecuadorean Amazon who last year made headlines for her Read More...
New material can pull precious metals such as lithium from wastewater
Wastewater is often polluted with heavy metals such as copper that could actually be of use, but the problem is that we haven’t had a way to separate these metals from the other contaminants in the water. Today’s wastewater cleaning process simply pulls out everything from nutrients and Read More...
These hiking boots are made from ocean plastic and recycled rubber
Need some new hiking boots that will help keep your feet warm and supported in the winter months? If so, you should check out the Weekend Boot from Canadian footwear company Alice + Whittles. The Weekend Boot is a sturdy ankle boot that is entirely vegan, with no animal products used in the glue Read More...
Protect your lungs this winter with these 5 superfoods
When it comes to the coronavirus, adults with lung-related health issues such as asthma are at increased risk of severe illness from the virus. On top of that, a study presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress also found that Covid-19 can have a long-term effect on the Read More...