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.
See how algae could change our world
Charles Greene is a climate scientist who looks at the impact of climate on marine ecosystems. He's a Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at Cornell University and member of the Marine Algae Industrialization Consortium (MAGIC) which has a grant from the Department of Energy to look Read More...
McDonald’s will end use of plastic straws at thousands of locations
McDonald’s plans to stop using plastic straws in all of its 1,361 restaurants in the UK and Ireland by the end of 2019. It will start testing non-plastic alternatives in select locations in the United States, Belgium, France, Sweden, Norway, and Australia later this year, as well as test only Read More...
Why the wasp family is in need of rebranding
While we tolerate bees on the notion that they pollinate flowers and produce honey, we tend to disregard wasps as evil insects whose only task is to ruin your picnic. The truth, however, is that without wasps, the planet would be pest-ridden to biblical proportions. Still, have a hatred for wasps? Read More...
How two young entrepreneurs are tackling the plastic problem with swimwear
Brother-sister duo from Colgate University pitched a novel idea in 2015 to Jessica Alba, Jennifer Hyman, Neil Blumenthal, and MC Hammer, panelists at an entrepreneurship program: swimwear made out of recycled plastic bottles. They didn’t know much about the technology then to convert old, used Read More...
The biggest brands are finally teaming up to start a recycling revolution
Of course, it looks great for a company if they’ve found a way to recycle their waste, but what is even better is if all companies can learn from advancements in recycling technology and implement them on a grand scale. That’s why the Closed Loop Fund and Recycling Partnership was made, which Read More...
Study shows plastic waste can be converted into energy and fuels
Plastic waste is flooding our landfills and leaking into the oceans, with potentially disastrous effects. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that if current production and waste management trends continue, by 2050 there could be more plastic than fishes in the Read More...
This Dutch town installed red streetlights to stop annoying bats
Traditional streetlights disturb bats. That’s why a town in the Netherlands has become the first in the world to install red LED streetlights in order to stop hindering bats. Researchers found out that bats are bothered by traditional white or yellow lights, but red lights have no effect on bats Read More...
Meet the Chinese philanthropists who are pledging big money to end climate change
Xing dong! Xing dong! Xing dong!” (Mandarin for “Action! Action! Action!”) is one refrain wafting on the Hawaiian breeze. The other is “Collaborate! Collaborate! Collaborate!” Laurance S. Rockefeller, the American philanthropist and conservationist, would have been intrigued by the Read More...
Beekeepers file complaint against Bayer after glyphosate was discovered in honey
Beekeepers in France aren’t happy with Bayer. Agence France Presse reported (AFP) a beekeeping cooperative in the northern part of the country filed a legal complaint against the chemical giant after the controversial herbicide glyphosate was found in honey. The complaint was filed the Read More...
Better use of forests, and land can deliver 30 percent of climate solutions
As part of the Global Climate Action Summit, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), together with a broad coalition of partners, on Monday issued the 30X30 Forests, Food and Land Challenge: calling on businesses, states, city and local governments, and global citizens to take action for better forest and Read More...