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.
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...
10 reasons why we may beat the climate change challenge
Yes, we know most of the news about global warming is doom and gloom. But the tide is changing. The Guardian, normally not the most optimistic source for news, put together 10 reasons why we may beat the challenge of climate change. Some of the hopeful signs: According to an International Energy Read More...
Thawing arctic lakes absorb more greenhouse gases than they emit
Arctic lakes are thawing due to global warming and the currently held notion is that the loss of permafrost will release even more greenhouse gases—specifically methane—contributing further to climate change. A new study by the National Science Foundation, a government sponsored independent US Read More...
Barge designed to clean waterways
Many rivers, sees and oceans are terribly polluted. John Kellett of Clearwater Mills has come up with a solar-powered trash-collecting barge that is essentially a giant conveyor belt that scoops up trash from waterways, and then deposits it in an onboard dumpster. The new trash collecting Read More...
Google’s cars test for gas leaks minimizing unknown greenhouse gas emissions
The Google Streetview cars you see driving around your neighborhood are taking more than just pictures. Google has affixed sensors to their cars that detect natural gas leaks that are more common in the US than you might think—the cars picked up a leak every few blocks while driving through Read More...
Global warming: Eating meat is worse than driving cars
Researchers from Bard College in New York have found that the production of red meat releases more carbon into the atmosphere than any other meat product, and abstaining from it produces the most environmentally beneficial results. Cows require 28 times more land to raise than pigs or chickens, 11 Read More...
Smog-eating detergent turns clothes into air purifiers
Walking is good for the environment. But it can be even better if you wear the right clothes. A new detergent turns your clothes into wearable air purifiers. The detergent company Catalytic Clothing has harnessed the same titanium dioxide nanoparticle technology that is used in smog-eating roads Read More...
Floating platform to clean the plastic soup in the oceans
Plastic that you use for minutes, maybe even seconds will stay in the environment for hundreds of years. That’s why there are gigantic spots of “plastic soup” floating in the oceans. Cristian Ehrmantraut designed a platform that acts like a giant dialysis machine for the world’s oceans. The Read More...
Can ants reverse global warming?
When minerals break down they capture CO2. In the past 65 million years—before recent global warming—the dissolution of calcium and magnesium is cited as a main reason for the gradual reduction in atmospheric CO2. But breaking down minerals is not an easy or cheap process. However a study Read More...