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.
Vancouver mayor calls on residents to take climate pledge
Vancouverites may love the city’s green image, but are residents doing their part to actually live green lifestyles? Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson wants citizens to pledge to do just that with a new climate action pledge released Thursday, days before the mayor flies to Paris for the 2015 Read More...
Putting a tax on meat will help tackle climate change, study shows
We already knew the livestock sector accounts for about 15% of global greenhouse emissions. Eating less meat has therefore been known to be an effective way to tackle climate change. But how do you get people to eat less meat? A leading think-tank in the UK has suggested that a meat tax is likely Read More...
Washington project ensures forest stores carbon for decades
Half a small forest still standing near Mount Rainier faced clear-cutting before an effort in Washington state saved the decades-old trees and allowed Microsoft to help finance the project to offset its carbon footprint. The effort by two environmental groups keeps 520 acres of Douglas fir and Read More...
World Bank sets out plan to bolster Africa against climate change
The World Bank aims to drive more funding into efforts to help African countries withstand climate change impacts and boost their clean energy production through a $16 billion plan revealed on Read More...
Climate Council chief optimistic of global deal at Paris talks
Australian Climate Council chief Tim Flannery says he is optimistic world leaders will reach a global agreement on climate change during talks in Paris next week. The council will release a report today outlining the growth of renewable energy in the past six years. Professor Flannery said the Read More...
Time to act on natural capital is now, says Prince Charles
Prince Charles has lamented the "economic invisibility of nature" and called on business leaders to act now to save the world's natural capital. In a video message to a global gathering in Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales warned of a failure to "run the global bank that we call our planet in a Read More...
Recycling in Kenya turns rubbish into cash
Used plastic is being given a new lease of life in Kenya. It is melted and then used to make poles for construction and road signs. The concept is still new in Kenya - and expensive given the manufacturing costs - but the poles are slowly changing the landscape. Kenya's female water tank masons are Read More...
The tremendous success of agroecology in Africa
It is essential that we get off the chemical treadmill that the modern industrial urban-centric food and agriculture system is based on. It is essential in terms of our health, the environment and sustainability and not least in terms of food security and supporting rural economies and smallholder Read More...
New database lists building materials based on environmental and health impact
Let's say a company would want to build a new office and has a wish to limit its impact on the environment. What building materials would it need to use? That's a hard question, because there is currently a lack of knowledge about the environmental and health impact of different materials. This is Read More...
Scientists worldwide are working on ways to cut methane from cows
Cows have a rather impressive digestion system. They spend about 8 hours a day eating, and their four stomachs can break down food that many other mammals can't. A problem is that they are rather gassy. Emissions from a burping grown dairy cow can amount to about 260 to 650 grams of methane per Read More...