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.
Planting more trees could dramatically help in fight against climate change
In order to achieve stabilization of global temperatures as called for by the international climate goals, we need to reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. And while turning away from fossil fuels to clean energy sources is an essential step, a recent study suggests that the best Read More...
Satisfying the Ache for Home
Whole Community Approaches to Accommodation by Amelia Buckley Homelessness has been on the rise in many major cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco, where homelessness rose in the last year by 12 and 17 percent respectively. But even for those who have a home, it’s often not that Read More...
The National Trust of Great Britain has pulled its funds from fossil fuels
As Europe’s largest conservation group, The National Trust of the UK is a powerful organization with loads of wealth. The organization holds up to £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in assets, with a large chunk dedicated towards fossil fuel companies including BP, Shell, and Total. In the past, the Read More...
Meet the ‘night minister’ who helps those who need it most in San Francisco
For decades, the Tenderloin has been known as San Francisco’s primary harbor of destitution. More than 4,000 people sleep unsheltered around the area, far more than anywhere else in the city. It’s common to encounter open-air narcotic exchanges, human feces on the sidewalk, and desperate Read More...
Leonardo DiCaprio co-founds new environmental initiative Earth Alliance
Leonardo DiCaprio has recently stepped up his climate activism game by partnering with billionaire investors and philanthropists to create a new non-profit with the main target of battling climate change. Called the Earth Alliance, the organization is essentially joining the resources of the Read More...
Scientists in Zurich are turning light and air into carbon-neutral fuel
Until our transportation systems run entirely on battery-powered engines or hydrogen fuel, cleaner ways of producing fuel are absolutely necessary. In Zurich, scientists have developed a solar plant that produces synthetic fuels that release as much carbon dioxide during their combustion as Read More...
How cities are finally dealing with the emissions that come with consumption
Climate optimists argue that it is possible to reduce our production emissions without substantially changing our lifestyles. (Electric cars are just as good!) But what if those lifestyles — in which consumption is perpetually rising — are driving increases in production emissions elsewhere? Read More...
Oregon is now leading the nation when it comes to affordable housing
When it comes to affordable housing, no state is tackling the issue as aggressively as Oregon. This past week, the Beaver State passed a law that will effectively enact a state-wide ban on single-family zoning, which has come under scrutiny as housing costs have soared and housing shortages have Read More...
The world’s most inspirational climate activists have finally met each other
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Greta Thunberg are two of the most visible climate campaigners in the world, spearheading a movement that is forcing those in power to address the climate crisis. And although they both have a very similar agenda, they are also as different as two campaigners can get. Read More...
Mini urban forests are about to make Paris even more beautiful
Earth is home to approximately 3 trillion trees, but most of them are far from urban centers where they’re most needed to cool down pavement and air temperatures. Paris has a plan to change that. The city just announced that it will be planting a series of urban forests as a way to combat Read More...