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.
Celebrate Fantastic Fungi Day with a home movie screening and director’s Q&A
Today is Fantastic Fungi Day! These impressive organisms work to recycle and decompose material in our ecosystems to make room for new growth. They connect to one another through extensive networks and some even provide amazing health and nutrition benefits to humans. At a time when humanity Read More...
Santa Monica’s new civil building will produce more energy than it uses
The City of Santa Monica will soon welcome a new civic building that will not only bring the various municipal departments scattered throughout the city under one roof but will also fulfill the Living Building Challenge — making it the largest civic building of its kind to meet the world’s Read More...
The beautiful perspective to be had from viewing images of empty cities
From the agoras of ancient Greece to Times Square in New York City, public plazas remain magnets to society, places to which we gravitate for pleasure and solace, to take our collective temperature, celebrate, protest. It’s no wonder, then, that the present emptiness that looms over these Read More...
Sunday was World Water Day. These tips will save water in your daily life
This past Sunday was World Water Day. The day was founded by the United Nations in 1993 to celebrate the important role water plays in human and ecosystem health. In honor of this day, we bring you a variety of ways we can all save water for ourselves and for those who do not have easy access to Read More...
Scientists discover two rare new species of sharks with chainsaw-like snouts
If you like teeth, underwater predators, and strange things, then we have some good news for you: Researchers have identified two new rare species of six-gilled sawsharks in the waters off Eastern Africa. What makes these unusual sharks particularly extraordinary is the fact that they have six Read More...
Successful conservation efforts offer glimmer of hope for the African black rhino
Wildlife in Africa is celebrating an important win as the numbers of African back rhinos in the wild have risen by several hundred, which is a rare boost for a species driven to near extinction by poaching. While challenges remain to protect these majestic creatures, the small increase – an Read More...
How to make a spring garden that is resilient to climate change
With springtime in the air and the days getting longer, you may well be daydreaming about your garden or flower bed and the quiet weekend hours you hope to spend there in the weeks to come. But knowing what to plant as temperatures climb and precipitation patterns change around the world can be a Read More...
Climate activism continues to thrive despite the pandemic
Building on the success of last September’s worldwide climate strikes, which saw 8 million people take to the streets to demand action, climate activists hoped to make a big splash this April for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. But then came the coronavirus, which has put a dent into those Read More...
One benefit of COVID-19: reduced global carbon emissions
Finding the silver lining in the dark cloud of COVID-19 can be difficult, but one particular upside to the situation could be found in our skies themselves. Greenhouse gas emissions have decreased significantly and could hit their lowest level of the decade. Due to reduced industry activity Read More...
A wild tapir gave birth in Brazil for the first time in more than a century
The Atlantic Forest, which once covered more than a million square kilometers along the eastern coast of Brazil and Argentina, has been steadily sliced and diced by loggers, plantation owners, and economic development. Trees now cover just 7% to 15% of the forest’s former area, mostly in Read More...