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.
Italian architect wants to build smart city in Mexico with 7.5 million plants
Italian architect Stefano Boeri has unveiled plans to create a forested smart city in Cancun, Mexico, that is designed to be a "pioneer" of more eco-efficient developments. Smart Forest City Cancun is intended to be built on a 557 hectare site near the Mexican city. According to the architect, Read More...
These billionaires just made the biggest climate change research donation ever
Lynda and Stewart Resnick are the owners of Wonderful Company, the largest single producers of almonds and pistachios in the world. That means that if anyone is worried about the consequences of what the climate crisis can be for agriculture, it’s them. After all, their business depends on a Read More...
NGOs and governments join forces to protect Central America’s largest forests
Mesoamerica’s five greatest forests are home to more than 7.5 percent of the planet’s biodiversity, such as the jaguar and the endangered Baird’s tapir. In an effort to ensure the protection of these lush wildlife habitats, NGOs, together with national governments and local communities, have Read More...
Here are 3 carbon capture programs you can support
Transforming the entire economy to get to net-zero emissions, something that scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, will require massive and complicated transformations of nearly every aspect of society. But if you want to act on climate change now as an Read More...
California wildfires prove there’s never been a better time for microgrids
Motivating people to switch to new technologies can be nearly impossible if old technologies work just fine. It’s much easier if people can see for themselves that those new technologies are a far better solution. This is certainly the case in California right now. For years the Optimist has Read More...
10 US cities will transform streets into vibrant murals under new initiative
You can reclaim the streets from cars and give them back to the people, but if those streets still look like plain-old asphalt roads, then people won’t feel as inclined to spend time there. In a bid to make cities more vibrant and pedestrian-friendly, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced this week Read More...
Salvaging wood from Baltimore’s abandoned homes creates jobs and cuts waste
Baltimore, like many post-industrial cities, confronts novel challenges. Once the sixth-largest city in the United States, Baltimore’s population has contracted by more than a third, resulting from a complex suite of factors, including job loss, economic decline, and discriminatory policies or Read More...
Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s to be fur free by 2021
Macy’s and its subsidiary, Bloomingdale's, have announced that they will remove any authentic fur products from their stores by 2021. Considering that Macy’s private brands are already fur-free, expanding the practice to all commerce was the next natural step for the company. The ban only Read More...
Here’s a guide to personalizing your waste reduction
We at the Optimist Daily are big on sharing solutions for waste and reductions in your own home. For today’s installment on low waste living, we challenge you to take a trip through your garbage (metaphorically or literally) to figure out what areas of your life are most wasteful. Following this Read More...
YouTubers launch fundraiser to plant 20 million trees to fight climate change
With a combined 650 million subscribers — nearly double the population of the United States — a coalition of YouTubers wants to tackle the climate crisis by raising $20 million to plant 20 million trees. The fundraising effort is being organized by Mr. Beast, or Jimmy Donaldson, a famous Read More...