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.
Germany saw a big drop in carbon emissions in 2018
As the biggest economy in all of Europe, Germany is also a major emitter of greenhouse gasses. This past year, however, Germany released 38 million tons of carbon dioxide less than it had the previous years, signifying a 4.2 percent drop in total emission. The reason for this drop is not as Read More...
Norway sets record as it sells more electric vehicles than gas and diesel ones
The EV revolution is blossoming and Norway is here to prove it. In a symbolic first, electric cars outsold fossil fuel-powered ones in the Scandinavian country last month. The country set a record in March when 58.4 percent of new cars sold in the country were battery-powered. To achieve such Read More...
A photographer caught a rare glimpse of a “golden” zebra in Tanzania
People who make the journey through Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park are already very fortunate if they spot a pack of zebras from nearby. That's’ why photographer Sergio Pitamitz couldn’t believe his luck when he came across one of the rarest creatures in the animal kingdom: a “golden” Read More...
Can New York City's congestion pricing plan alleviate traffic?
Talk to any New Yorker and they will tell you how bad traffic is in the city. Recently, policymakers decided to address the problem by introducing a bill that would charge vehicles over $10 to drive in the busiest parts of Manhattan. But to ensure that their congestion pricing plan is effective, Read More...
A Dutch inventor has created a ‘cow toilet’ to reduce emissions from urine
By now you’ve probably heard about cow farts and the massive amounts of methane they squeeze into the atmosphere, but did you know cow urine also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions? As it turns out, urine can produce large amounts of nitrous oxide after spilling onto the ground, soaking into Read More...
A battery-swapping scheme is electrifying rickshaws in India
In India, where fewer than four million cars are sold annually, auto rickshaws (called tuk-tuks in other Asian countries) are one of the dominant modes of transportation. As India attempts to clean up the country’s troublesome air pollution, some manufacturers are now, for the first time, Read More...
Burger King is now offering Whoppers made from meatless patties
There used to be a great stigma surrounding plant-based burgers, but now it seems those days are long gone after fast food giant Burger King announced plans to offer vegetarian Whoppers made using meatless patties from Impossible Foods. At 59 locations in and around St. Louis, customers will be Read More...
Judge restores drilling ban in Arctic
Recent decisions to reverse bans on offshore drilling in vast parts of the Arctic Ocean and dozens of canyons in the Atlantic Ocean, were received by a US District Court Judge with ‘not so fast’. Last Friday, Judge Sharon Gleason decided to throw out the recent executive order that overturned Read More...
The EU has banned one of agriculture’s most-used pesticides to save the bees
Although you may not be a big fan of bugs, it’s bad news for everyone that insect populations are rapidly dwindling around the world. Insects are the foundation of nature’s ecosystems, and without them, we would run the risk of a ‘catastrophic collapse’ of those ecosystems. Still, if we Read More...
New scheme pays Greek fishermen to clean up plastic debris from the sea
Bans on single-use plastics will surely prove to be important for protecting our oceans from further pollution, but the reality is there’s still a huge need to remove the plastic that currently sits in our waterways if we want to save oceans from further damage. This means everyone will have to Read More...