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.
Ozone on track to make full recovery
Remember the hole in the ozone layer? Well, it has officially stopped growing. Was it getting bigger? Yes, although not by much anymore. A UN study released this week reported that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is no longer getting bigger, and should start shrinking within the next 10 Read More...
Hyatt hotels will go green by 2020
On the heels of reports that food manufacturers are cleaning up supply chains to help combat global warming, Hyatt Hotels has recently announced plans to make hotels more efficient by 2020. Starting next year all new full-service hotels and renovations of Hyatt hotels will have to comply with Read More...
Six stepts to end global water scarcity
According to the United Nations, water scarcity is among the main problems to be faced by many societies this century. Although there is plenty of water on this planet, an increasing number of regions are chronically short of clean water—and that’s a frightening thought. But like always, smart Read More...
Earth has higher terrestrial plant capacity than previously believed
Our planet can grow more plant life than previous calculations have predicted—but with a little help from humans. Researchers re-analyzed data that calculated the theoretical biomass limit, but this time took into account human intervention. As it turns out few plants in the natural world Read More...
Air is safest to breathe in more than 20 years
Contrary to what many people may think, the air quality in cities across the US has been getting better for many years. Since 1990 mercury released from human sources is down 60 percent, benzene—a toxic greenhouse gas—is down 66 percent, and lead pollution which impacts brain development has Read More...
Wood based construction emits significantly less CO2 than concrete or steel
While it is of the utmost importance to keep our forests intact, it is of equal importance to take a hardline at curbing CO2 emissions. A new study published in the Journal of Sustainable Forestry has found that concrete and steel based construction requires more energy to build and emits 10X the Read More...
India cleans waterways to increase food production
80,000 waterways in India aren’t usable because of pollution. That pollution stands in the way of a very necessary increase of food production. That’s why the Indian government has just announced $1 billion in funding to help clean the country’s waterways by 2017. The initiative will clean Read More...
Smog-eating paint helps clean the air in polluted cities
Millions of people die every year prematurely because of the air pollution that suffocates many modern cities. Getting rid of the burning of fossil fuels to produce energy is the ultimate perfect solution to this problem. In the mean time there are clever innovations like a paint that breaks down Read More...
Germany tops list of most energy efficient countries
The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has been ranking the largest 16 economies in the world according to their energy efficiency. Germany leads the list and other European nations as well as Japan and even China and India beat the US. The ranking took into account national Read More...
Coal ban in China could bring clear skies in 2020
The pollution of China’s coal fired electricity plants travels around the globe and even reaches California on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. So it’s really good news that Beijing's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau has announced a plan to ban all coal use in 2020. Coal is Read More...