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.
Outstanding Foods launches PigOut Rinds, a meat-free pork rind snack
Dave Anderson, creator of the Beyond Burger is back, this time with meatless pork rinds. Distributed by Outstanding Foods, PigOut Rinds come as a sequel to the company’s successful PigOut Chips, a line of vegan bacon chips. The new product launched this week and the plant-based pork rinds are Read More...
A design firm in LA is creating bioplastics that absorb smog
Plastic pollution is one of the worst symptoms of our times. That’s why we’re not shy to publish stories that explore eco-friendly alternatives to the petroleum-based plastics we use every day. And while we have written about bioplastics that are compostable or that are made from waste streams Read More...
The film industry is starting to clean up its act—beyond award shows
It’s nice and all that, that award shows such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars are serving plant-based foods and forgoing plastic water bottles, but it's on the sets of films where the movie industry can actually make a big environmental impact. After all, producing a film is akin to a Read More...
This compostable packaging tells you if food has gone bad
“Best-by” labels can be somewhat deceiving at times. The label tells us when the product is still at its prime, but it doesn’t really inform the consumer if the products can still be safe to eat or not. This ambiguity on the label can in part contribute to the issue of food waste. Sure, we Read More...
How the Super Bowl tackled food waste this year
The Super Bowl is a day characterized by its food excess. It is the second-largest US food consumption day only surpassed by Thanksgiving with viewers spending on average $82 on food, decor and team apparel. Any spectator walking into the stadium can also witness the plethora of food options and Read More...
These living garments capture carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
As the textile industry faces increasing pressure to rethink its production practices amid the climate crisis, eco-innovators are coming up with ingenious ideas to help achieve that. From mushroom leather to algae T-shirts, the search is on for alternative materials with smaller carbon Read More...
Supermarket saves food from being wasted by reselling refused groceries
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 1.3 billion tons of food is thrown out or wasted every year across the world. This amounts to one-third of all food produced worldwide. In a bid to help solve this global problem, a supermarket in Berlin has come up with a local solution: Read More...
This nonprofit is helping the homeless reunite with their families
A nonprofit by the name of Miracle Messages is helping the homeless reconnect with their family and loved ones. The way it works is volunteers for Miracle Messages canvass the streets, approaching people to let them know about the service they offer. Then, a person can create a message in the form Read More...
Wombats are accidentally saving other animals from drought by digging waterholes
Alongside wildfires, the drought in Australia has claimed vast portions of land across the southeast of the country, making it extremely difficult for animals in the region to find water. But in these times of crisis, wombats have come out as accidental heroes, as the marsupials have been Read More...
This urban farm has revived an impoverished community in Dallas
Dallas may be one of the wealthiest cities in the world, but its wealth is unevenly distributed amongst its neighborhoods. In the Bonton community in South Dallas, 48 percent of residents suffer daily from the effects of urban poverty. Rates of incarceration and joblessness are highly Read More...