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.
Plastic waste could soon be used to pave the roads you drive on
Last year China stopped accepting much of the world’s recyclable waste. Since then, many countries have been faced with the challenge of how to deal with their own trash. In Australia, however, recycling company Close the Loop has figured out a way to divert that trash from landfills and the Read More...
More legal rights could mean less deadly algae for Lake Erie
Laws focused on natural spaces often hone in on protecting what humans can gain from the natural resource, rather than protecting the space itself. However, “Rights of Nature” laws, which give natural spaces protection as legal entities, are beginning to crop up in an effort to change the Read More...
How fast fashion hurts the planet, and what you can do about it
If we could trace the ecological and social impact of our clothes, most of us would stop shopping altogether. The global fashion industry, specifically high volume producers of low-quality garments, such as Forever 21, H&M, Fashion Nova, and Zara, employ workers at sub-poverty wages. The Read More...
This Italian region will pay you €25,000 to move there
The president of Molise, an underpopulated region in southern Italy, has a lucrative offer for you. According to the Guardian, if you move to Molise, you will be offered €700 per month for three years to live in one of its villages. That’s €25,000 in three years’ time. There are a few Read More...
Here’s what the hyperloop systems of the future might look like in urban areas
We've seen a lot of technical exploration around how a hyperloop system might one-day fling humans and goods across the Earth at the speed of sound inside low-vacuum tubes but not much about the structural elements that would hold everything in place. That’s why startup HyperloopTT has teamed up Read More...
People consume less meat and bottled drinks over growing environmental concerns
It’s no secret that public awareness about plastic pollution and global warming has been on the rise recently, but have people actually started embracing the green cause and doing their bit about these dire challenges? Well, data analytics firm Kantar may have recently found the answer. The Read More...
Scientists just discovered the world’s most powerful electric eel in the Amazon
As a testament to the incredible biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest, scientists have discovered two entirely new species of electric eel in the Amazon basin—with one of them capable of delivering a record-breaking electrical jolt. For centuries, it was believed that a single species existed Read More...
What do cities look like when they are built for people, not cars?
It turns out cities focused on people, rather than vehicles, are cleaner, quieter, have more public space, and even help you live longer. One city in Spain is showing the rest of the world how this might be done. Barcelona is revolutionizing city planning by taking areas equal to nine city Read More...
How to control the flood of information during a natural disaster
In a 21st century crisis, information is dissipated in mass through social media channels. But when the communication stakes are high, such as relaying evacuation notices, bridge collapses, and road closures, how do we decipher what is accurate in the virtual flood of information? Shannon Bowen, a Read More...
LA recently hired its first-ever forest officer. More cities are set to follow
How do you keep cities cool as the world gets hotter? It’s sort of a no-brainer: Less concrete, more jungle. In a recent study, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers showed that tree cover can cool down a city block by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit, a difference that could Read More...