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.
These 11 cities are showing the world what it means to fight climate change
While governments are struggling with carbon emissions strategies and international treaties, the fight against climate change is led by cities. Here are 11 cities around the world that are showcasing what can be done against global Read More...
Banks can stop deforestation and some are already doing so
Forests do wonders for the Earth, absorbing and storing harmful greenhouse gas that would otherwise end up in the atmosphere. Yet, deforestation is rampant in many places. Four leading financial institutions are now planning to divest from industries that cut down forests. That should be a call to Read More...
This waste basket knows when you are cheating on recycling
Technology can help stimulate the right behavior. This waste basket lets you monitor the state of your thrash from your phone and compete with others on a recycling leaderboard. The makers of the Qube, which is seeking €240,000 on Kickstarter, explain that the device has several compartments, a Read More...
Calling on lentils and chickpeas to improve the world’s soils
Planting more lentils, chickpeas, and other pulses will improve the health of the world's soils. And that’s important because soil erosion has reached critical levels, threatening to worsen hunger and poverty levels, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Pulses transfer Read More...
Enjoy this breathtaking slideshow of San Francisco’s foggy climate
The title says it all. Have a wonderful Read More...
Progress climate change efforts depends on industry, innovation; not government
Does climate policy matter? That’s a question that arises when a new president-elect in the U.S. has vowed that his country would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change. In this deep historical analysis, the Breakthrough Institute concludes that politicians have a minor impact on Read More...
U.S. cities and states lead on climate change
The wind turbines that rise out of the cornfields here reminded me on a recent drive of one postelection truth, even in the red state of Iowa. As President-elect Donald J. Trump considers whether to break the United States commitment to the Paris climate accord, the rise of clean energy across the Read More...
Why land rights for indigenous peoples could be the answer to climate change
I’ve spent a lot of time with indigenous peoples in remote places. So when I argue that the best way – or at least the cheapest way – to stop climate change is to grant land rights to indigenous communities, you might suspect I’m not coming from an entirely objective Read More...
More people bicycling than driving in Copenhagen now
Those of us who try to keep abreast of urban planning and clean transportation news are familiar with the benefits of bicycling in terms of pure air, livability, quieter streets and homes, space and resource efficiency, a stable climate, and public life. We’re also aware that some places are Read More...
Can fig trees regrow lost rainforests?
“By themselves the figs could build a forest,” ecologist EJH Corner wrote almost a century ago. Now a fascinating book, Gods, Wasps, and Stranglers: the secret history and redemptive future of fig trees (titled Ladders to Heaven in the UK), delves anew into this tropical species’ Read More...