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.
You can help NASA by snapping photos of trees
NASA would like you to take a picture of a tree, please. The space agency’s ICESat-2 satellite estimates the height of trees from space, and NASA has created a new tool for citizen scientists that can help check those measurements from the ground. All it takes is a smartphone, the app, an Read More...
To save the Earth, science says we must keep half of all land in a natural state
To stabilize the climate and spare the planet from the consequences of runaway climate change, we must let nature play a bigger role in our conservation plans. According to a comprehensive new study, countries should double their protected zone to 30 percent of Earth’s land area, and add 20 Read More...
Nepalese army collects two tons of trash from Mt Everest in less than a week
Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world's highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending climbers have paid little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind. Fortunately, collective action once again proved its value. In a coordinated Read More...
Here’s why giant trash monsters are popping up in front of Nestle’s headquarters
There are lots of ways you can voice your disapproval of a company’s wasteful ways. You can write the company letters, lament them on social media, boycott their products—or you can put a 15-foot-tall monster made out of garbage in front of their headquarters. That’s exactly what Greenpeace Read More...
This nonprofit wants to save the oceans with “blue bonds” for coastal nations
Not all coastal nations feel inclined to spend money and time protecting the bodies of water that sit beside them, especially when there are other big issues to address such as improving infrastructure. That’s why global non-profit The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has announced a $1.6 billion plan to Read More...
New York City passes new law to curb food waste and feed the hungry
Although we’ve placed this fact in stories before, it remains a shock every time we type it: in America, an estimated 40 percent of all food ends up in the waste bin on an annual basis, according to the National Resources Defense Council. In New York City, this statistic is particularly alarming Read More...
The critically endangered kākāpō is making an incredible comeback
Meet the kākāpō, the nocturnal, flightless parrot known for its charismatic nature and owl-like face. It’s also known for being the world’s fattest parrot. A few hundred years ago the chubby parrot was one of New Zealand’s most common birds, but now there are only 147 adult kākāpō left Read More...
Light pollution is wreaking biological havoc. Self-driving cars can change that
When it comes to self-driving cars, the conversation usually revolves around a few central points, including more safety, less traffic, and more freedom for people with disabilities. But there’s one potential outcome of autonomous driving that’s often overlooked: less light pollution. According Read More...
A new WWF program is persuading poachers to save the snow leopard in Russia
When American researcher Rodney Jackson of the Snow Leopard Conservancy donated 20 motion-activated camera traps to his Russian colleagues, the hope was that they would be able to snap some photos of endangered snow leopards and learn more about them. After two years, however, not a single leopard Read More...
A new mandate in Boston could lead to more protected bike lanes across America
In many European cities, bicycles are king. Bicyclists have their own lanes, they have the right of way, and the city tries to do everything they can do to support bicycle-riding. In America, it’s a much different story, with cars dominating the roads and respect for bike lanes being Read More...