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.
Soil isn’t sexy but we need to dig in and help conserve it
Soil, earth, mud, dirt; whatever word you choose, it is difficult to think of a less glamorous topic to campaign on. But a campaign is now vital. Soil is critical to much of our food. It also safeguards biodiversity, as a habitat for below-ground life that includes many thousands of types of Read More...
How the return of wolves revived Yellowstone's ecosystem
In 1995, Yellowstone National Park reintroduced a pack of 66 wolves following a 70-year absence from the park. The return of the wolves was an extraordinary success, helping to rejuvenate wildlife in the park from top to bottom. Here’s a fantastic video that shows how the reintroduction of one Read More...
No fracking, drilling or digging: it’s the only way to save life on Earth
Do they understand what they have signed? Plainly they do not. Governments such as ours, now ratifying the Paris agreement on climate change, haven’t the faintest idea what it means – either that or they have no intention of honouring it. For the first time we can see the numbers on which the Read More...
Build healthy soil through regenerative grazing
The Resilient Farm and Homestead (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013) is a comprehensive how-to manual that will help the reader select, design, develop, and manage land for self-reliance and regenerative agriculture, and presents a thriving model for productive, durable homesteads and farms in cold Read More...
Lots to lose: how cities around the world are eliminating car parks
With space for roughly 20,000 cars, the parking lot that surrounds the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, is recognised as the largest car park in the world. Spread across vast expanses of asphalt and multi-storey concrete structures, these parking spots take up about half the mall’s 5.2m Read More...
Peaceful warrior: Permaculture visionary Bill Mollison
Australian educator, author and co-inventor of Permaculture, Bruce Charles 'Bill' Mollison, died on the 24 September 2016 in Sisters Creek, Tasmania. He has been praised across the world for his visionary work, and left behind a global network of 'peaceful warriors' in over 100 countries working Read More...
Can vertical farming help save the planet?
The world’s population is set to skyrocket to 9.7 billion by 2015. That’s 2.5 billion more mouths to feed, which will not be possible if we keep growing food the way we do, especially with the threat that climate change poses. That’s why there’s never been a more important time for Read More...
It’s more than twice as long, but this is actually a good wall to build
Building walls is a favorite political topic these days. Here’s a 5,000-mile wall that’s actually worth building. It’s a wall of trees running through eleven countries along the southern frontier of the Sahara Desert providing a barrier against the advancing desert. The Great Green Wall is Read More...
Sweden fights consumerism by offering tax breaks for people repairing used goods
This is a brilliant initiative. Tax is an effective instrument to change behavior. What if it becomes cheaper to repair something than to buy something new? That’s what Sweden plans to achieve with a new law that halves the tax paid on repairs and increases taxes on unrepairable items. The new Read More...
Island nations' leading role in renewable energy
In November, government representatives all across the world meet again to implement the Paris Agreement on climate change. The centre of contention will now shift from political jockeying between nations, to the energy war between renewables and fossil fuel. While last year's COP21 was full of Read More...