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.
Lab-grown chicken to go on sale for the first time after safety approval
When it comes to the meat industry, the numbers are grim for farmed animals. An estimated 130 million chickens and 4 million pigs are slaughtered every day for meat. By weight, 60 percent of the mammals on earth are livestock, 36 percent are humans and only 4 percent are wild. The slaughtering of Read More...
‘World’s loneliest elephant’ arrives at Cambodian wildlife sanctuary
Remember Kaavan, the so-called “world’s loneliest elephant?” We wrote about him back in September when the elephant finally received medical approval to travel and leave the Marghazar zoo in Pakistan where he has been living alone for years under abysmal conditions. Now, just a few months Read More...
One of UK’s most elusive plants rediscovered after more than a century
After more than a century in hiding, one of the UK’s rarest plants has been discovered growing on the banks of a farmland pond in Norfolk, East Anglia, England. The pink-flowered plant, known as grass-poly, “came back from the dead” after recent restoration of the farmland involved removing Read More...
14 nations come together to launch plan to safeguard our oceans
In 2018, a panel of world leaders was established with the goal of creating a plan to achieve a ‘sustainable ocean economy’ in which our precious oceans are guarded against exploitation. The panel featured a mix of 14 developed and developing nations from around the world, including Norway, Read More...
Reintroduction of native bison is bringing “lost crops” back to life
Many native crops across the US that were once integral to the diets of Indigenous communities disappeared when bison herds were nearly hunted to the brink of extinction by Europeans. Without the herds there to help their seeds, these crops all but vanished. Fortunately, as bison herds are Read More...
Hungary becomes the latest country to ban mink and fox fur farming
In November, we published a story about the permanent closing of the world’s biggest auction house for real animal fur. Today, we have more bad news for the fur trading industry (and good news for animals) after the country of Hungary placed a new ban on fur farming. Under the ban, the farming Read More...
Patagonia is now selling used clothing right beside the new stuff
Outdoor clothing brand Patagonia has long promoted the idea of purchasing secondhand clothing whenever you can. Through the company’s Worn Wear program, customers have been able to shop for used items or sell their old goods for cash on a separate website from patagonia.com. This past Black Read More...
English moorland sees first beaver dam after more than 400 years
A beaver reintroduction project in Exmoor, West England, has recently bore its first fruits: a group of beavers that were introduced not long ago have built the first dam in the area in more than 400 years. The semi-aquatic rodents were released into the wild in Somerset earlier this year as part Read More...
AI is helping beachgoers and sharks live in harmony on the CA coast
Warmer waters off the California coast are encouraging more great white sharks to visit the shores, leaving marine biologists scrambling to understand the shifting behavior and protect both sharks and beachgoers. To help solve the dilemma, Douglas J. McCauley, marine biology professor and Read More...
AI mapping tool shows cities exactly where they need to plant more trees
From boosting air quality to providing shade, there are many benefits that come with planting trees in urban neighborhoods. The only problem is that in many cities, trees are not equitably distributed amongst neighborhoods. To help ensure a more equal spread of the greens in cities, Google has Read More...