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.
Citrus solutions: Using orange peels to recycle precious metals
We recently wrote about bacteria being used to extract precious metals from e-waste. Now, organic compounds are once again coming to the rescue to recycle valuable materials. Researchers at the Nanyang Technological University are using orange peels to extract precious metals from spent Read More...
Device mimics photosynthesis to convert sunlight and CO2 into clean fuel
Producing clean fuels that have a minimal carbon footprint is an arduous task as current techniques also create by-products in the process, making it difficult and expensive to filter them out. That may no longer be the case soon thanks to a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge who Read More...
You can now get plant-based burgers shipped to your home
As the pandemic keeps more people at home, food companies have started embracing direct-to-consumer sales. Two of the latest companies to join the trend are Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which means you can now get plant-based burgers shipped to your home. Of course, it would be a waste of Read More...
The Dow Jones just dropped its oldest member: Exxon Mobil
In another sign that times “are a-changing’, the Dow Jones has dropped Exxon Mobil from its influential index. Why does this matter? Well, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is the classic blue-chip stock index. Exxon Mobil is an iconic blue-chip stock and the longest-tenured member of the Read More...
Thought Leader Series: On Climate Doom
It seems like these days the headlines just go from bad to worse. Whether it’s melting glacial sheets, apocalyptic fires, or police violence, it’s pretty easy to feel like giving up on the world by mid-morning. When it comes to the climate crisis, this bombardment of negative news, combined Read More...
How black paint can drastically reduce bird deaths at wind farms
Politicians who lobby against the renewable energy industry often use the death toll of birds at wind farms as a way to argue against wind energy. But apparently, there’s a simple solution to reduce the number of deaths that happen at the blades of wind turbines: black paint. According to a Read More...
Forget plastic: Here are some greener ways to freeze food
While Ziploc bags and plastic wrap can be useful for sealing up food that’s going into the freezer, there are better alternatives—ones that are better for both you and the environment. The problem with these simple plastic solutions is that they can leach chemicals (bisphenols A and S). On Read More...
Smithsonian National Zoo celebrates birth of panda cub against the odds
It’s been a big month for animal conservation. After celebrating the birth of endangered zebras and an elephant baby boom in Kenya, we are excited to announce that the giant panda Mei Xiang has given birth to a cub at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The cub was born in the evening on August Read More...
Refill station in NYC laundromat offers waste-free cleaning products
As we’ve seen with Nivea’s recent initiative to test a refill station in Germany, the reuse movement is steadily getting more attention as a solution that can reduce our overwhelming amount of plastic waste. A similar initiative that’s taking roots in New York City is yet another positive Read More...
What life is actually like at NYC’s hotels-turned-temporary shelters
With the coronavirus pandemic leaving hotels without guests, a few hotels in New York City’s Upper West Side have welcomed homeless residents temporarily. It is a great initiative, but it recently attracted negative press after the New York Post reported that “crime and chaos” had overtaken Read More...