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.
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...
GOP states benefiting from shift to wind and solar energy
WASHINGTON — If there’s a War on Coal, it’s increasingly clear which side is winning. Wind turbines and solar panels accounted for more than two-thirds of all new electric generation capacity added to the nation’s grid in 2015, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Read More...
We've been mayors of New York, Paris and Rio. We know climate action starts with cities
The Paris Climate Agreement, already signed by more than 175 countries, was successful in large part because national governments recognized cities’ progress in reducing carbon emissions. On Thursday, as world leaders gather in Washington DC to discuss how to reach the goals set in Paris, they Read More...
Biologist who snatched eggs from nests of world's rarest bird wins the 'Nobel prize' of conservation
A Welsh biologist once criticised for stealing eggs from the nests of the rarest bird in the world has been awarded the ‘Nobel prize’ of conservation after his controversial methods saved nine species from extinction. Professor Carl Jones won the 2016 Indianapolis Prize - the highest Read More...
Denmark considers beef tax to fight global warming
Taxes drive behavior. Cigarettes and alcohol are taxed to discourage their consumption. The Danish Council of Ethics, which reports to the Danish parliament, is recommending that Denmark introduces a beef tax to fight global warming. Globally, food production accounts for up to 29 percent of Read More...