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.
Denmark considers beef tax to fight global warming
Taxes drive behavior. Cigarettes and alcohol are taxed to discourage their consumption. The Danish Council of Ethics, which reports to the Danish parliament, is recommending that Denmark introduces a beef tax to fight global warming. Globally, food production accounts for up to 29 percent of Read More...
Plant-based packaging extends shelf life of food, reduces waste
A research organization in the European Union has developed bioplastic packaging that extends the shelf life of food and has a sensor that notifies retailers and consumers of when the food inside is really no longer fit to eat. About a third of all food produced on the planet is wasted. This isn't Read More...
Researchers Aim to Put Carbon Dioxide Back to Work
“The big challenge is, how do we go from milligrams to megatons?” said Dick T. Co, a Northwestern University professor and managing director of the Solar Fuels Institute, a group that encourages collaboration among researchers in the field. “How do we make a dent in our energy portfolio when Read More...
Kenya burns world's biggest ivory stockpile worth $150 million, wants global ban
Kenya has burned 105 tons of ivory from 8,000 elephants and 300 rhinos, the biggest ever stockpile burn, in a bid to send a message to poachers and ivory traders. President Uhuru Kenyatta said that Kenya will call for a global ban on ivory sales at an international wildlife summit in South Read More...
Michigan utility company closes 7 coal-fired power plants, shifts to solar
The Michigan utility company Consumers Energy recently finished the process of shutting down 7 regional coal-fired power plants, and, at the same time, beginning operations at a new community solar energy project in the area. The new 3 megawatt (MW) solar energy project is located on a 17-acre site Read More...
India adds 7.1 GW renewable energy capacity, beats target
The renewable energy sector in India registered impressive growth in the financial year 2015–16, which ended March 31st, 2016. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently reported that India added 6,937 MW of grid-connected renewable energy capacity during FY2015–16. This is one and a Read More...
Two German states hit 100% renewable electricity
The German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein generated more renewable power in 2015 than households and businesses in each state consumed. Germany has 16 federal states, three of which are city-states, leaving 13 area states known as Flächenländer. Renewable energy Read More...
Solar farms offer biodiversity boost, study finds
Industry-backed study finds fields with solar arrays increase plant and bird diversity and have greater numbers of butterflies and bumblebees Solar farms can significantly improve local biodiversity, delivering benefits to wildlife and potentially even surrounding crops, according to a new Read More...
What one milk carton says about sustainability messaging around the world
You might not realise it when you walk along the aisles of your local supermarket, but you are surrounded by marketing messages. These differ in every country. Buying milk in the UK? You’ll probably see messages about climate change and the environment. Go to China and the packaging is more Read More...
San Diego Republican mayor pushes plan to run on 100% renewable energy
As presidential nominees Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, respectively, call climate change a “religion” or a “bullshit … total hoax” dreamed up by China, it is deeply unfashionable for any Republican to take the issue seriously, let alone push for radical reforms to remedy it. Kevin Faulconer, Read More...