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.
Could farming rhinos save them from extinction?
Rhino horn is worth more than gold or heroin by weight, so poachers often kill the animals and cut off their horns. It's illegal to sell the horn on the international market, but John Hume, a rhino farmer in South Africa, argues that if it were legal, poachers would breed rhinos rather than kill Read More...
This Southern California city is planting thousands of trees to cool itself down
Temperatures have soared in the Southern California city of Long Beach in recent years, and the average temperatures are expected to keep increasing. This heating trend is partially due to global warming, and partially due to the city’s urban heat islands, which tend to have a lot of cement and Read More...
Chile just created 10 million acres of protected parkland
Two American philanthropists have completed the world’s largest donation of privately held land when they handed over more than one million acres to the Chilean government. The Chilean government added nine million acres of their own to create five new and three expanded national parks. In total, Read More...
Why triggering an avalanche can save lives
Avalanches can reach speeds up to 130 km/hour, and kill more than 150 people worldwide each year. But could causing an avalanche save your life? These researchers think so, which is why they are producing towers that can start an avalanche on command. If you want to see the avalanche towers in Read More...
A major retailer is making the UK’s favourite beverage plastic-free
Teabags account for a whopping 96 percent of the 165 million cups of tea drunk every day in the UK. Anti-plastic campaigners have been appealing to customers to use loose tea or “greener” options such as Japanese-style “pyramids” made of 100 percent compostable corn starch, but these are Read More...
Volunteers have completely transformed this beach after 119 Sundays of cleaning
Just a few years ago, Versova Beach on the coast of Mumbai was blanketed in plastic. Instead of sand, all you could see was a multi-colored plastic rug carpeting the whole coastline. Now, thanks to volunteers who have worked for the past 119 Sundays, the sand can be seen again. 12,000 tons of Read More...
These bold ideas aim to make plastic waste a thing of the past
When the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched its New Plastics Economy initiative two years ago, it made a dark, headline-grabbing prediction. It said if nothing is done to arrest the rate at which plastic is entering the oceans, those oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050. But the Read More...
This giant tower is the world’s biggest air purifier
China’s latest attempt to mitigate some of its air pollution is an experimental air purification tower standing 100 meters high in the city of Xian. In preliminary tests, researchers found that the giant tower can improve air quality over an area some 10 square kilometres in size. The smog tower Read More...
These unmanned electric vessels will set sail in Europe this summer
Dutch manufacturers have created what’s being called the “Tesla of the canals,” a fully electric, emission-free container barge that will operate from the ports of Antwerp, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam starting this summer. The barges are designed to operate without a crew, although the vessels Read More...
Plastic waste: network of water refill points aims to tackle problem
Consumers will be encouraged to refill their water bottles free of charge in tens of thousands of shops, cafes, businesses and water fountains in England under plans announced by the water industry. The national scheme aims to fight the growing scourge of waste created by single-use plastic by Read More...