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.
New law makes it near impossible to drill for oil on public lands in California
California’s ban on the sale of fur (see Monday’s story) wasn’t the only bill to be signed into law on Saturday. As it turns out, California Gov. Gavin Newsom also signed a law designed to counter White House plans to increase oil and gas production on protected land. The measure bars any Read More...
What forests’ natural fire cycles can teach us about wildfire prevention
For residents in California, Greece, and Portugal, destructive wildfires have become the new normal. Exacerbated by climate change, these fires claimed more than 135 lives in California alone in 2017 and 2018. But we can learn a thing or two from these fires. In fact, looking back to nature’s own Read More...
Can iceberg-producing submarines change how we think about climate solutions?
In the mission against climate change, innovative futuristic designs are surfacing from some of the world’s brightest minds. One of these ideas was shared with us this week by an Optimist reader and appeared at an international design competition: iceberg producing submarines. The project, Read More...
Bison in the Great Northern Plains are reveling in a 20,000-acre habitat expansion
Once numbering in the tens of millions, bison populations in North America dwindled to only 325 by 1884. Fortunately, forward-thinking conservationists managed to protect those remaining animals and bring them back up to the 20,000 we see roaming today. And the best thing is that number is expected Read More...
The sale of fur products will be illegal in California in 2023
California just became the first state in American to institute a statewide ban on animal fur products. Effective January 2023, the new law, which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday, prohibits the sale and manufacture of new fur products. The ban will not apply to used fur products, fur Read More...
Newly proposed marine sanctuary would protect migrating Pacific humpback whales
Beach-goers in California and Oregon from April to December can often see migrating humpback whales along the coastline as they make their yearly migration to warmer waters in Mexico. A new proposal for a national marine sanctuary along the west coast of the U.S. would help protect these whales Read More...
KLM is attempting to reinvent the airplane. More airlines need to be like KLM
The oldest airline in the world, KLM, turned 100 years old last week. Rather than celebrate its past, however, the Dutch airline doubled-down on its commitment to making the airline industry cleaner and smarter. The airline is already known for using biofuel as a greener alternative to Read More...
How to be a conscious consumer, even on a budget
Sociologist Joseph Cohen once said, “America is a place where the luxuries are cheap and the necessities are expensive.” While we might feel like our lives are overrun with cheap goods, it can be difficult to shop more sustainably when it feels like the greener options eat away at your Read More...
30 major cities around the world are seeing their emissions plummet
When the Paris Agreement was signed four years ago, a major focus was on the role that cities would play in cutting emissions. After all, urbanization means more people are living in cities than in rural areas, and that trend will only continue in the coming years. And while progress has been a bit Read More...
Money talks: what's yours saying about the environment?
So you bring your own bag to the grocery store, you carpool to work and are cutting down on your meat consumption. Looking for something more to shrink your personal carbon footprint? Changing the way you manage your money can actually help make your lifestyle more sustainable. Here are eight ways Read More...