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.
Farmers are the new climate warriors
Environmental advocates have all but given up on their long-cherished goal of a federally-mandated cap-and-trade program to rein in carbon emissions, given the present state of gridlock on Capitol Hill. But amid protracted hemming and hawing over how such a system would stack up against carbon Read More...
Doubling global renewable energy saves more than 4 million lives per year
Doubling the global share of renewable energy could dramatically decrease worldwide energy pollution, and save up to 4 million lives per year by 2030. According to a new brief published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), The True Cost of Fossil Fuels: Saving on the Externalities Read More...
How carbon farming can reverse climate change
Are there agricultural practices that might offer more potential than the ones commonly discussed in the “carbon farming” conversation? In a companion post, I wrote about what the science tells us about cover cropping and reduced tillage, two practices getting a lot of attention in what Read More...
Turning coffee grounds into sustainable road construction material
Researchers of the Swinburne University in Melbourne have found a way to turn coffee grounds into a sustainable material that can be used to pave roads. The research team has calculated that with the coffee grounds from all the cafes in the city, 3 miles of roads per year could be build. The Read More...
Young forests suck up huge amounts carbon and play great role in mitigating climate change
Forests that regrow after fires, logging operations, or other disturbances can sequester huge amounts of carbon dioxide and they play an unexpectedly valuable role in mitigating climate change. This is the conclusion of a study by 60 scientists from across the globe. It is the first time Read More...
Climate policy a vote winner for most Australians in elections
Strong climate change policy is a vote-changing matter for a majority of Australians, a new poll shows, establishing the issue as an important battleground one week into the election campaign. According to the ReachTEL survey of 2400 people, conducted for a coalition of environmental groups, 64 per Read More...
Healthcare discounts discourage logging to save the rainforest in Indonesia
A charity in Indonesia provides healthcare discounts to villagers who refrain from logging the rainforest in Borneo. Illegal logging is hugely damaging to the local endangered wildlife, including 10 percent of the world’s orangutan Read More...
Ethiopian farmers show climate change example and make a desert bloom again
Climate change will increase droughts in many parts of the world posing challenges for food production. Ethiopia is in the middle of the worst drought in 50 years. It’s also home to a successful experiment to make the land more resilient to drought. If we are going to adapt to our changing Read More...
The firms planning on making less and recycling more
More and more firms are completely rethinking how products are made; redesigning them to make them more durable, easier to dismantle, repair and reuse. Fundamentally changing the way we organise our current economic model is no easy task, but European governments and some of the continent's largest Read More...
First Nation wins historic victory over mammoth coal export terminal in North America
In a landmark victory for the climate movement, Pacific Northwest communities, and tribal members, the U.S. has denied federal permits for the largest proposed coal export terminal in North America. "This is big—for our climate, for clean air and water, for our future," declared Mary Anne Hitt, Read More...