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.
Meet Ellen, the Danish commuter ship that runs on electric power
Ferries still play an integral role in many people’s daily commutes. In cities like Seattle, San Francisco, and New York, ferries are iconic additions to local waterways. In the city of Fynshav in southern Denmark, one of the ferries which departs across the Baltic Sea is a little different: it's Read More...
Flowers are already sprouting amongst the ashes in Australia
Needless to say, the Australian wildfires have been painful to observe. More than 6.3 million hectares (63,000 sq km or 15.6 million acres) have been burned so far. To get a perspective of just how much that is, know that one hectare is roughly the size of a sports field. Although the wildfires Read More...
Half of the UK’s universities are now committed to divesting from fossil fuels
For years, we’ve seen environmental groups and students urge universities to divest from dirty fossil fuels. Finally, it seems those efforts are paying off. A total of seventy-eight of the UK’s 154 public universities have jumped onto the divestment bandwagon, either divesting or pledging to Read More...
BMW becomes first automaker to join responsible mining initiative
Materials such as cobalt and lithium are essential for producing electronic goods but often are produced in dangerous or illegal mines in conflict-riven countries. In a sign that the car industry is listening to mounting pressure to ensure that electric vehicle production does not come at the cost Read More...
Athletes at Tokyo 2020 will sleep on beds made from recycled cardboard
The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo represent the first edition of the games where a real effort is being made to reduce the environmental toll of hosting such a big event. For instance, all the winners’ medals are being made from metal extracted from recycled consumer electronics, including about Read More...
Airplanes dropped 2,200 kg of vegetables to feed wallabies during bushfires
The fires raging across Australia have had devastating ecological effects on the country and surrounding air including the estimated death of over half a billion animals. Among the affected are Australia’s signature wallabies. In an effort to help the remaining populations recover, the government Read More...
Witnessing a neighbor install solar panels can shift one’s climate change beliefs
The policies we need to fight climate change rely on support from the public. According to a new study, one way in which people become more supportive of such policies is if they witness their neighbors putting solar panels on their roofs. The study, which analyzed five years of survey data Read More...
African grey parrots are among the smartest AND kindest in the animal kingdom
Humans and a few other mammals stand out among animals by showing acts of kindness and altruism towards others in need, but a new study suggests that some birds may also make it to the list of selfless animals. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute have found that the African grey parrots Read More...
The tiny English city wants to show small cities that going car-free is possible
Until a few years ago, the small city of Ghent in Belgium struggled with traffic and smog in its city center. Then, in 2017, the city adopted a new traffic plan to limit non-essential cars from its center and used a tactical urbanism approach to make the change cheaply, adding planters and simple Read More...
Peru will plant 1 million trees to protect Machu Picchu’s historical sites
Peru’s Machu Picchu is one of the most important historical and archaeological sites in the world, but due to a changing climate, the site has been facing increased risks of mudslides due to heavy rainfall in the winter and forest fires during the summer. Now in an effort to rehabilitate and Read More...