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.
Animal cruelty could result in five-year jail sentence under new law
People who abuse animals in England will now face up to five years in prison under a tough new crackdown. The environment secretary, Michael Gove, said the tenfold increase from the present six-month sentence was needed to combat Read More...
Brazil backtracks on plan to open up Amazon forest to mining
Amazon conservation groups have hailed a victory as the Brazilian government announced a U-turn on plans to open up swaths of the world’s biggest forest to mining corporations. President Michel Temer had sparked outrage in August when he announced a decree to abolish the Renca reserve, an area Read More...
This new material is made from 100 percent recycled landfill waste
A designer has found a way to turn landfill waste into “Plasma Rock”—an innovative material that can be used to create eco-friendly consumer goods. The durable rock is the result of plasma gasification—a process that heats landfill materials at extremely high temperatures. The rock is Read More...
Scottish scientists are developing a technique to recover phosphorous from sewage
With the planet’s reserves of phosphorus running low, Scottish researchers are working on a new technique to recover this vital element from sewage. Phosphorus, which is a key ingredient in the fertilizers that grow our food, can’t be plucked out of the air and has to be mined in a handful of Read More...
Portuguese children to crowdfund European climate change case
Portuguese schoolchildren from the area struck by the country’s worst forest fires are seeking crowdfunding to sue 47 European countries, alleging that the states’ failure to tackle climate change threatens their right to Read More...
San Francisco and Oakland sue fossil fuel companies over sea level rise
The cities of San Francisco and Oakland expect to be paying a hefty chunk of change in the coming decades to offset the effects of climate change. According to papers filed this week in State Superior Court, San Francisco expects to be paying out about $5 billion for climate change mitigation this Read More...
Bold conservation ideas go from concept to reality on this new collaboration platform
There are plenty of ideas about how to conserve species that are nearing extinction. However, little is done to implement those ideas. Part of the problem is that it's extremely difficult to find people and resources to partner with outside the world of conservationists. That’s why one frustrated Read More...
Could this fungus help solve the world's plastic problem?
The world has a plastic problem. Not only is plastic being dumped into landfills and oceans at an alarming rate, but all this plastic can take up to a millennium to degrade. A group of scientists in Pakistan believes they may have found a possible solution in a soil fungus that rapidly devours Read More...
China's 'sponge cities' aim to re-use 70 percent of rainwater
Asian cities are struggling to accommodate rapid urban migration, and development is encroaching on flood-prone areas. Recent flooding in Mumbai was blamed in part on unregulated development of wetlands, while hastily built urban areas are being affected by flooding across India, Nepal, and Read More...
The U.S. should go Dutch to avoid building another Houston
Want to design a city to maximize flood damage? Start on very flat land — any kind of slope will help water flow out of Read More...