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.
Whale made with 10,000 lbs. of plastic waste emerges from canal
Plastic waste is a huge problem -- every minute, a garbage truck's worth of plastics ends up in our oceans, contaminating marine ecosystems, clogging up coastlines and very likely ending up in what becomes our Read More...
This sixth-grade inventor built a robot to hunt ocean plastic
One of the finalists in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, Anna Du’s robot is designed to use infrared light to help us understand just how badly our oceans are being ruined with Read More...
Urban trees store almost as much carbon per acre as rainforests
Cities are hardly perceived to be forests. However, many cities have more trees than people. British researchers looked at the London’s urban jungle and calculated that trees in the city store as much carbon per hectare as tropical rainforests. That makes planting trees in cities a major Read More...
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s climate plan is the only one that matches scientific consensus
In a major upset, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 28-year-old Latina democratic socialist from the Bronx, beat out the longtime US representative Joe Crowley in the New York primaries. In the overwhelmingly Democratic district, she is practically certain to win a seat in Congress during the general Read More...
Dutch parliament to set target of 95 percent CO2 reduction by 2050
The Dutch parliament will approve a law requiring the Netherlands to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 95 percent by 2050, compared with the level in 1990, lawmakers representing 75 percent of the seats in the Dutch Lower House said on Read More...
Could seaweed solve Indonesia's plastic crisis?
Indonesia produces more marine plastic pollution than any other country except China. This is perhaps unsurprising: the world’s biggest archipelago is also it's fourth most populous. Limited income and cash flow mean that poorer communities rely on cheap single-use plastics like bags, water Read More...
Regenerating nature: Pakistan’s billion tree tsunami
Northwestern Pakistan borders Afghanistan and for decades this region has been the scene of rebellion and armed resistance mixed with huge refugee camps. Three years ago, the local government started a “Billion Tree Tsunami” to fight deforestation and regenerate natural resources. The change Read More...
Antarctica rises and that’s good news for climate change
Most news from Antarctica is about rapid ice loss and record-setting icebergs breaking loose, feeding into a vicious cycle that speeds up global warming. On average, Antarctica is losing more than 175 billion tons of ice each year since 2012, including a chunk the size of Delaware last year. But Read More...
Mumbai bans plastic bags and bottles
Mumbai has the become the largest Indian city to ban single-use plastics, with residents caught using plastic bags, cups or bottles to face penalties of up to 25,000 rupees (£276) and three months in Read More...
Taiwan researchers introduce diaper recycling innovation
Every day millions of diapers end up in landfills where it can take 400 years for them to decompose. Even biodegradable diapers can take up to 50 years to decompose. Burning diapers is no alternative as that produces toxic substances. Now, researchers in Taiwan have developed a new technique to Read More...