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.
Taking a flight out of France in the future? Expect an ecotax starting 2020
Travelers looking to take a flight out of France will be charged an extra little fee starting in 2020. The good news—for the environmentalists— is that the fee is an “ecotax” to help combat the negative effects that the aviation industry has on the climate. The tax will vary depending on Read More...
Immigrants need our help. Here’s what you can do
America has long been called the Land of Opportunity, and with such an honorable name, it shouldn’t be a surprise that families from less developed countries migrate to the US in search of better opportunities. But unfortunately in the US, the climate surrounding immigrants is hostile, and the Read More...
This Dutch city has installed bee-friendly gardens atop all its bus stops
The Dutch city of Utrecht is not only a Mecca for cyclists, as we wrote about on Monday. As it turns out, it’s also a haven for bees. What the city has done is transform their bus stops into bee stops, with 316 bus stops around the city now having a green roof full of flowers. The tops of the Read More...
The first of Denmark's 48 ultra-fast charging stations is a beauty
At traditional gas stations, the “smells of gas fumes and car exhaust are the norm.” They are places where you get in and out, with no appreciation for the immediate surroundings. But this doesn’t have to be the case at electric charging stations. In Denmark, a new ultra-fast charging Read More...
In the near future, you might be eating burgers made of captured CO2
In the UK, captured carbon is starting to be used to create bubbles that make beer fizzy. Now that we have a way to drink CO2, a Finland-based company has come up with a way to eat it too. Yes, we’re sure that the last sentence was a bit strange to read (it is 2019 you know), but bear with us a Read More...
This man is on a mission to create silent, natural oases around the globe
Silence is at an all-time premium in this day and age. In fact, ninety percent of children are expected never to experience natural silence in their lives, and 97 percent of Americans are exposed regularly to highway and air traffic noise. It is so pervasive that many hardly notice it anymore, but Read More...
Why big cities actually have the potential to save the environment
People tend to picture cities, particularly in the developing world, as urban wastelands belching out pollution, breeding sickness, promoting endless consumption and driving population increases. But cities also have a huge potential for getting us out of the very environmental mess they’ve Read More...
Air New Zealand to remove a considerable amount of plastic from its flights
Apart from the overwhelming carbon footprint of airplanes, there is also a mind-boggling amount of plastic waste that the aviation industry is sending to landfills. In a move to make its flights more sustainable, the flag carrier airline of New Zealand has recently introduced a series of Read More...
Local police department installs ‘chat benches’ to help elderly tackle loneliness
Loneliness and social isolation are growing public-health concerns for people of all ages, but the elderly are usually the ones who suffer the most from these conditions. As a means of tackling loneliness and isolation in an English town, local police forces have begun designating specific Read More...
Other than birds, you shouldn’t be feeding wild animals
Whether it’s a birdfeeder on an apartment terrace or a corn feeder for backyard deer, many people enjoy attracting wildlife with the offer of food. But experts say doing so can have dangerous consequences for both animals and humans. According to a wildlife biologist for the Pennsylvania State Read More...