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.
Urban trees can save lives by reducing air pollution and temperature
A new study from The Nature Conservancy finds that an investment in tree planting of just US $4 per resident in some of the world’s largest cities could improve the health of tens of millions of people by reducing air pollution and cooling city streets. Released at the American Public Health Read More...
The amazing benefits of grass-fed beef
I have been fascinated by the permanence and healing power of grassland for 15 years now. If we respect the great original wisdom of the prairies, I’m convinced we can heal the wounds inflicted on the American landscape by industrial agriculture. But in America, the question is always does it Read More...
Look to California to meet Paris climate goals
California’s bipartisan leadership on the environment stretches from the towering influence of John Muir, to tailpipe standards that provided a model for the federal Clean Air Act, to today’s efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions and expand renewable energy. That leadership is especially Read More...
China to cap coal at 55 percent of total power output by 2020
China has begun moving away from coal. The country is leading worldwide renewable energy investments. Now it has announced in its new five-year plan for the power industry that coal-fired power will be capped at 55% of total power output by Read More...
COP22 host Morocco launches action plan to fight devastating climate change
“Last December we had temperatures of 25C. Normally it is 1 or 2C at that time of year,” says Mohammed Ibrahimi, a farmer with one hectare of apple trees in Boumia, a village near Midelt in Morocco. “These trees need at least 1,200 hours of near-freezing temperatures in the winter to help Read More...
Prosperity in sustainability
President John F. Kennedy inspired Americans to great undertakings by setting bold goals: to go the moon, to overcome racial discrimination, to make peace with the Soviet Union. “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man Read More...
World's largest oil firms launch green fund to cut climate impact fossil fuels
Ten of the world’s biggest oil companies have come together to announce a $1bn fund for cutting climate change impact from oil and gas. The fund is part of the Paris climate change agreement and will focus on reducing leaks of natural gas while looking into technology that will effectively Read More...
Adidas introduces running shoes made from recycled ocean plastic
Adidas is setting a good example about what can be done with plastic waste found swirling in the ocean. Along with environmental organization Parley for the Oceans, the company has created running shoes made from the ocean’s recycled plastic that will go on sale within the month. Adidas produced Read More...
Can 3D printing solve problems of poverty and plastic waste in slums?
When Sidhant Pai visited a local rubbish dump in his home city of Pune, India, he was struck by the size and intensity of the operation. Large black crows swooping overhead, roaming pigs, overwhelming odours and groups of waste pickers collecting plastic bottles in large white sacks. There are an Read More...
Carbon-eating bacteria can help in the fight against climate change
A few years ago, scientists discovered a bacterium that breaks down cellulose—a tough organic compound found in plants—into usable biofuels without added enzymes. Now scientists have made another discovery about this bacterium: It can take up and metabolize carbon dioxide (CO2) as well. That Read More...