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.
The Amazon rainforest might be home to more animals than previously thought, Stanford scientists show
By tapping the expertise of indigenous hunters, researchers found that conventional surveying techniques underestimate animal populations and miss species in the remote Amazon. Producing an accurate count is important for planning conservation efforts. Wikimedia Commons The lowland tapir is a Read More...
Reducing carbon emissions through ‘climate-smart’ farming
‘Climate-smart’ soil management in agriculture could play an important role in climate change reduction. Much of the earth’s carbon is locked in soil, and by using certain irrigation and fertilizer methods, this storage function can be maximized. Climate-smart farming holds a best-scenario Read More...
Edible cutlery company wants us to eat our way out of plastic pollution
Plastic waste covers our oceans and landfill. The past 70 years of plastic waste have resulted in pollution so ubiquitous scientists say it’s a marker of a new geological epoch, the manmade Anthropocene. Plastic cutlery is a contributor to this enormous problem – estimates suggest the Read More...
Forget bubble wrap, the future of packaging is marine algae
Buying goods online has made shopping incredibly convenient, but it’s also created one of the biggest pollution problems of our time: Packaging. Each day millions of packages filled with bubble wrap and other plastic protection are shipped out everyday only to be thrown away upon arrival, so a Read More...
Youth sue US government over climate change
A lawsuit filed by a group of youth against the US government over climate change can go forward, as a judge ruling in Oregon dismissed motions of the federal government and oil companies. Nonprofit ‘Our Children’s Trust has filed petitions and lawsuits in every US state, alleging the Read More...
Number of tigers in the wild rises for first time in over 100 years
For the first time in more than a century, the number of tigers in the wild has risen, with some 3,890 counted in the latest global census. The tally marks a turnaround from the last worldwide estimate in 2010, when the number of tigers in the wild hit an all-time low of about 3,200, according to Read More...
Myanmar can flourish by sowing seeds of agricultural prosperity
On 30 March, Htin Kyaw, a long-time adviser and ally of Aung San Suu Kyi – whose National League for Democracy party achieved a historic victory in recent elections – became the first elected civilian to hold office in Myanmar since the army took over in 1962. The NLD won the democratic Read More...
Now this is recycling: Watch SpaceX land a rocket on a rocking barge
Space rockets were the ultimate disposable, millions of dollars worth of expensive hardware just tossed away like a piece of Kleenex after doing their job. And as every TreeHugger knows, we pay the price for that convenience, both in the cost of the disposable and the embodied energy of the Read More...
Texas and California have too much renewable energy
Solar and wind power is coming online at rates unforeseen only a few years ago. That’s a good thing if your goal is to decarbonize the energy sector. But if you’re a utility or independent power producer and you make your money off selling electricity, it can be not such a good thing. In places Read More...
World Bank to spend 28% of investments on climate change projects
The World Bank has made a “fundamental shift” in its role of alleviating global poverty, by refocusing its financing efforts towards tackling climate change, the group said on Thursday. The world’s biggest provider of public finance to developing countries said it would spend 28% of its Read More...