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.
Wisdom Supply Company makes back to school waste-free
Heading back to school this fall looks very different for most children, but what hasn’t changed is the heavy use of single-use plastic in school supplies. Binders, notebooks, dividers, and mechanical pencils that help students learn are all usually made with plastic that will pollute our world Read More...
This study gave homeless people $5,660 each. The results are beautiful
In 2018, a Vancouver-based charitable organization called Foundations for Social Change started a groundbreaking research project that gave cash payments of $7,500 CAD ($5,660 USD) to 50 homeless people. The idea was to check on recipients over the course of a year to see how they were faring. Read More...
Thought Leader Series: Jay Inslee on the power of optimistic climate action
The climate crisis is an increasingly present and visible threat to our world and few know this better than Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, who watched more than 600,000 acres burn in his state during just the beginning of the second-worst fire season on record. In this week’s Thought Read More...
The votes are in! Meet the big winner of this year’s Fat Bear Week
Last week, we told you about the most body-positive competition on the planet: Fat Bear Week. If you didn’t catch that story, Fat Bear Week is a competition dedicated to the brown bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska. These bears have been eating as much as they can before the upcoming winter Read More...
Ambitious reforestation project will plant 3 million trees in Uganda
Successful efforts of reforestation and wildlife conservation typically go hand in hand with involving local communities in the process. Not only does this tap into valuable local knowledge around the issue but it also enables local communities to sustain these efforts in the future. This is Read More...
This brand grows its carbon-negative packaging from mycelium
To further minimize its impact on the environment, French brand Amen is now shipping its candles in carbon-negative packing made from mycelium and agricultural waste. Amen is already known as a sustainable luxury brand. They use natural wax from vegetable oil to make candles rather than an animal Read More...
Levi’s is launching a marketplace for your old jeans
Have an old pair of Levi’s jeans lying around? It could fetch you up to $25 if you bring it back to one of the brand’s US stores. In an attempt to embrace the circular economy, Levi has launched a new program in which the company buys old Levi’s jeans, cleans them, and sells them in a new Read More...
Adidas and Stella McCartney to sell products made of fungus leather by 2021
Recently, we covered a study that documented the incredible potential of fungi to replace animal-derived leather with a more eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative. Now giant retailers are joining forces to bring this bio-material to scale by investing significant amounts of money in a Read More...
3D-printed decoy eggs are tracking down illegal wildlife traffickers
Kim Williams-Guillén became inspired to create decoy turtle eggs after watching a TV show called The Wire. In one episode, two police officers plant an audio device in a tennis ball to record a suspected drug dealer. Williams-Guillén had her "aha" moment while watching this, and was inspired to Read More...
Pilot program uses e-bikes to remove emissions from delivery in Brazil
The city of São Paulo in Brazil is full of hills, making it not the most bike-friendly city. That’s why when you order food there, it’s probably going to arrive via motorcycle, which is one of the main contributors to the city’s serious air pollution problem. A new pilot from iFood Read More...