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.
This billboard in Mexico purifies the air around it
In Monterrey, Mexico, a new billboard has popped up in the city. But unlike the countless other billboards advertising around the city, this billboard is actually having a positive impact on its immediate surroundings. That’s because the billboard is covered in an air-purifying resin that can eat Read More...
New foam-like material makes carbon capture more sustainable and efficient
Carbon capture has been touted as an essential tool for avoiding catastrophic climate change. Capable to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to potentially even reverse their buildup in the atmosphere, scientists are increasingly investigating methods of capturing the carbon dioxide that's Read More...
How to make this year’s holiday gifts more environmentally conscious
With all the wholesomeness and magic it brings, the holiday season is also putting significant strain on the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, American household waste increases 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day – equating to 1 million tons each Read More...
Los Angeles joins movement to eliminate late fees for overdue library books
When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot decided to eliminate library late fees from Chicago Public Libraries back in October, the impact was immediate. Within three weeks, the number of overdue books returned increased by 240 percent. People who couldn’t afford to pay late fees were encouraged to Read More...
This startup wants to turn your garage or backyard into a tiny housing unit
To solve LA’s massive shortage of housing, a new startup is helping people take advantage of the county’s 250,000 underused two-car garages (and its hundreds of thousands of backyards). The startup, United Dwelling, helps homeowners to build a new apartment or living space on their property for Read More...
Hawaii’s state bird no longer endangered thanks to rigorous conservation efforts
The population of the majestic Hawaiian Goose numbered 25,000 on the islands in 1778 when Captain Cook arrived, but soon those numbers were decimated by human-introduced animals like the mongoose until there were just 30 left in 1952. Known locally as the nēnē, the goose was listed as an Read More...
Instead of ignoring sea level rise, this Brooklyn development embraces it
If you walk down Metropolitan Avenue, a street that stretches across North Brooklyn, you’ll eventually reach a dead end: a chain-link fence blocks off access to the waterfront on the East River. But vacant land behind the fence could soon be transformed into a new park that brings green space to Read More...
This rare Brazilian bird has returned to the Amazon after 3 decade absence
For an environmentalist, few things are as satisfying as when carefully planned conservation works out as intended. In Brazil, a special bird called the Alagoas curassow is now back in the jungle after three decades of being preserved in a scientific-breeding facility in the state of Rio de Read More...
The Ocean Cleanup device has returned with its first load of plastic
After months of research, failures, and reconfigurations, and weeks spent at sea traveling to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and back, The Ocean Cleanup’s device—a 2,000 foot-long floating tube that skims the surface of the water to catch plastic trash—has returned to shore. And with it, Read More...
The ocean is taking center stage at this year’s UN climate summit
On the opening day of this year’s United Nations climate summit or COP25, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a gut punch: “We are knowingly destroying the very support systems keeping us alive.” One of those vital systems is the world’s oceans, which generate at least 50% Read More...