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 economy is growing, but carbon emissions aren’t. That’s a really big deal
While the world economy grew 3.1 percent last year, greenhouse gas emissions remained flat, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). That’s encouraging news. Especially, since it is the second year in a row that we witness the same phenomenon. Last year the IEA reported that in 2014, Read More...
Obama spares the Atlantic Coast from offshore drilling
In a surprise decision, the Obama administration has withdrawn its plan to permit oil and gas drilling off the southeast Atlantic coast. The Interior Department cited the military’s reservations about drilling near some of its largest installations, plummeting oil prices, and widespread local Read More...
Pigeons with backpacks have started monitoring air pollution in London
A team of sensor-equipped pigeons has taken to the skies over London in order to monitor the capital's notoriously high pollution levels. Pigeon Air Patrol, as the project is known, was created by Plume Labs, a startup currently crowdfunding the Plume sensor, a personal air quality Read More...
Return of the Bicycle Kingdom? How pavement cycling is transforming Taipei
A swarm of scooters forms at the head of a queue of traffic waiting for the lights to change. Visors down, engines revving, they jockey for position ahead of the cars, trucks and buses on a specially marked patch of tarmac reserved for cyclists in many parts of the world. The buzz rises to a Read More...
After 80 years of being banned, hemp takes root in American soil again
It has been eight decades since U.S. drug laws made growing hemp in American soil illegal. Today barely 1% of Americans are farming hemp. Before it was prohibited in 1937, that number was 30% and our hemp was considered among the best in the world. Hemp is finally beginning to make a comeback after Read More...
Accountants have found the value of the Earth: $134,000,000,000,000
The world would be a different place if nature had value. Imagine mining companies would have to pay the Earth for everything they would dig up. Now, environmental and sustainable business consultants want to change that by forcing corporate leaders to take stock of the economic impact of how they Read More...
The EPA will limit methane emissions from gas and oil facilities
As a result of the Paris Agreement, the U.S and Canada pledged to cut methane emissions from oil and gas by 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by 2025. Now they have taken their first big steps to fulfilling this pledge as both countries announced they will limit methane emissions from existing oil Read More...
Bacteria that can eat plastic
More than 220 million tons of plastic are produced each year, and despite greater emphasis on recycling programs, much of it gets dumped in landfills and oceans around the world. The U.S., for example, only recycles about 14 percent of the nearly 33 million tons of plastic containers and Read More...
How a Brexit would end British high animal welfare standards
As the EU referendum debate rages on, with conflicting facts and assertions flung both ways, it's worth taking a step back and thinking of the positive things we have achieved together in Europe. So often, they remain unseen and unacknowledged. Take the protection of animals. The EU now has some of Read More...
JPMorgan becomes the latest to divest from coal to combat climate change
The big banks of Wall Street follow where the money goes, and right now, its certainly not in coal. JPMorgan Chase became the latest big pack to pull back from coal, joining a growing list of financial institutions including Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. It’s part of a broader Read More...