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.
Republican senior statesmen are pushing for a carbon tax
Not all Republicans are skeptics of climate change. In fact, a group of Republic senior statesmen are pushing for a carbon tax to combat the effects of climate change. They want to put in place a gradually increasing carbon tax, with dividends being returned to the people, as well as border Read More...
In Paris you can pee to grow flowers
Nocturnal peeing is a problem. It leaves an unpleasant stench that is surprisingly costly and labor intensive to clean up. For example: Paris scrubs 1,800 square miles of pavement every day. So, cities are working hard to find a fix: Amsterdam has retractable toilets that rise from the ground. Read More...
And here's a guide to reducing your plastics consumption
And what about plastics? At the rate in which we create and consume plastics, soon there will be more pieces of plastic in the ocean than there are fish. So what can you do? First: You should try to avoid plastic packaging. If you truly can’t, make sure the packaging is a straightforward polymer Read More...
You can reprint this paper 80 times without using a drop of ink
While the production of lab-grown leather can eliminate a major issue within the fashion industry, researchers from around the world have come up with a solution to an even greater environmental problem: Paper waste. According to the Paperless Project, the average office worker goes through 10,000 Read More...
Growing leather to protect animals and save the environment
The global economy runs on production and consumption, creating a relentless demand for the world’s most precious resources. It’s an unsustainable system, one that, without care, will lead to a complete depletion of the earth’s natural resources. That’s why innovative solutions are needed Read More...
Is America's most common pesticide responsible for killing our bees?
The most widely used class of insecticides in the world is facing a slow death. Called neonicotinoids, or neonics, these bug killers have long been used to coat seeds or treat millions of acres of farmland in the US. Research showing that they sicken or kill bees and other pollinators has already Read More...
Scientists hope wetland carbon storage experiment is everyone's cup of tea
Australian scientists have launched a project to bury tens of thousands of teabags in wetlands around the world. They are hoping others will sacrifice a few cups of tea and join in to discover how efficient different wetlands are at capturing and storing carbon dioxide. Lipton green tea and red tea Read More...
Deutsche Bank is pulling the plug on future coal investments
A report released in December 2016 said the total value of fossil fuel divestments had doubled to $5 trillion. That number is only set to rise with Deutsche Bank announcing that it will no longer invest in coal as part of its commitments under the Paris Agreement to tackle global warming. The Read More...
Marine ecosystems show resilience to climate disturbance
Climate-driven disturbances are having profound impacts on coastal ecosystems, with many crucial habitat-forming species in sharp decline. However, among these degraded biomes, examples of resilience are emerging. Writing in BioScience, Jennifer O'Leary, a California Sea Grant Marine Biologist Read More...
The eco guide to responsible travel
I love an untapped resource (as opposed to a very overstressed one). The responsible travel movement is perfect. It takes the huge global travel industry (1.2 billion people holidaying abroad in 2015) and shapes it into a force for good, rather than one that trashes local host communities, Read More...