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.
Young forests suck up huge amounts carbon and play great role in mitigating climate change
Forests that regrow after fires, logging operations, or other disturbances can sequester huge amounts of carbon dioxide and they play an unexpectedly valuable role in mitigating climate change. This is the conclusion of a study by 60 scientists from across the globe. It is the first time Read More...
Climate policy a vote winner for most Australians in elections
Strong climate change policy is a vote-changing matter for a majority of Australians, a new poll shows, establishing the issue as an important battleground one week into the election campaign. According to the ReachTEL survey of 2400 people, conducted for a coalition of environmental groups, 64 per Read More...
Healthcare discounts discourage logging to save the rainforest in Indonesia
A charity in Indonesia provides healthcare discounts to villagers who refrain from logging the rainforest in Borneo. Illegal logging is hugely damaging to the local endangered wildlife, including 10 percent of the world’s orangutan Read More...
Ethiopian farmers show climate change example and make a desert bloom again
Climate change will increase droughts in many parts of the world posing challenges for food production. Ethiopia is in the middle of the worst drought in 50 years. It’s also home to a successful experiment to make the land more resilient to drought. If we are going to adapt to our changing Read More...
The firms planning on making less and recycling more
More and more firms are completely rethinking how products are made; redesigning them to make them more durable, easier to dismantle, repair and reuse. Fundamentally changing the way we organise our current economic model is no easy task, but European governments and some of the continent's largest Read More...
First Nation wins historic victory over mammoth coal export terminal in North America
In a landmark victory for the climate movement, Pacific Northwest communities, and tribal members, the U.S. has denied federal permits for the largest proposed coal export terminal in North America. "This is big—for our climate, for clean air and water, for our future," declared Mary Anne Hitt, Read More...
Hillary Clinton plans to have a 'Climate Map Room' In The White House
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used to have a Map Room in the White House to manage World War II. If she’s elected president, Hillary Clinton intends to equip the White House with a similar “situation room” just for climate change. Clinton plans to use a technologically sophisticated Read More...
Gardeners flock to bees' defense and push to dump pesticide
Thousands of gardeners, wagons in tow, lined up at the State Fair grandstand this weekend for the Friends School plant sale as they jockeyed for position at the official start of Minnesota’s annual spring planting frenzy. They were also standing at the forefront of what has been a swift and Read More...
A birthday gift for David Attenborough – how about the Great Barrier Reef?
The patron saint of quality television is 90 years old today. When his Great Barrier Reef series was broadcast at the start of the year, it was reported that this was likely to be his last series, or at least his last made on location. But it’s difficult to believe David Attenborough Read More...
India to fight climate change with dwarf cows that rarely break wind
India is discovering a miracle cow: The Vechur. It’s the smallest bovine in the world, standing less than three feet tall. But Indian scientists now believe it could have a big future in global dairy production, after a study of its unusual ability to withstand extreme heat and drought Read More...