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.
MIT scientists have figured out how to make cement without emissions
The production of cement currently accounts for about 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, leading to calls for architects to stop using it. That’s a hard sell, considering cement is such useful material. Fortunately, researchers at MIT have demonstrated an experimental way of Read More...
Apple partners with Conservation International to restore degraded grasslands in Africa
Despite growing interest in the potential of forests and other ecosystems to help address global warming, conservation organizations are still struggling to find the money to fund these natural solutions to climate change. In a bid to ease these efforts, Apple has recently partnered up with Read More...
Kickstarter campaign repurposes plastic to spruce up chain link fences
Sead Pods is a new startup with a green vision for the chain-link fences of the world. What Sead (which stands for sustainable ecology adaptive design) has created is a hangable container made out of recycled plastic that is large enough to house one plant. When hung on fences, these pods give old Read More...
Coca-Cola reveals first bottle made from low-grade ocean plastic
Using breakthrough technology in plastic recycling methods, Coca Cola has revealed a new bottle made from previously low-quality marine waste plastic. The new bottle prototype is the first-ever plastic bottle made using marine plastic that has been successfully recycled from food and drink Read More...
Can hospitals function without using so much plastic?
At the Optimist Daily, we have highlighted time and time again how plastic is harmful to the environment. We’ve also reported on the bans being brought across the world on single-use plastics and how companies are mobilizing their supply chain to reduce the use and production of plastic. One Read More...
This washing machine cleans your clothes AND filters micro-plastic from the water
In the age of synthetic fabrics, 60% of our garments are made of oil-based fabrics which release microfibers when they’re washed. These microfibers make their way into our water systems, fish populations, and even our own bodies. Rethinking our shopping habits is one way to cut down on these Read More...
Britain’s push to take the plastic out of period products
Sanitary products are the fifth most common item found on Europe’s beaches, more widespread than single-use coffee cups, cutlery or straws. In fact, it’s estimated that 700,000 panty liners, 2.5m tampons, and 1.4m sanitary towels are flushed down the toilet every day in the UK alone. To stop Read More...
This biodegradable plastic alternative comes from a scaly sustainable source
Last month we shared a story about shellfish being used to manufacture compostable food packaging. This week, fish are swimming back into the packaging spotlight with a biodegradable plastic alternative made out of fish skin. MarinaTex, developed by the University of Sussex graduate student Lucy Read More...
The world’s first hybrid-electric powered cruise ship set sail this year
Cruiseships (sigh). The invention of these massive entertainment ships might have seemed like a nice idea, but they are a disaster of marine ecosystems. Considering, however, that they'll be in use for a long time to go, it's time to start finding ways to electrify them. One company that is Read More...
These algae-based clothes photosynthesize while you wear them
Talk about thinking outside the box, a designer by the name of Roya Aghighi has designed clothes from algae that turn carbon dioxide into oxygen via photosynthesis. Named Biogarmentry, the clothes are the proof of concept for a textile made with living, photosynthetic cells. To make the fabric Read More...