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.
26 major European cities commit to energy and environmental transition
The climate change policy debate is obviously heating up in the City of Lights, eight months ahead of the landmark COP21 Paris Summit that is expected to produce a “universal agreement on climate.” The mayors of 26 European big cities and metropolises representing more than 60 million Read More...
Ancient, forgotten bean to save world bean crop from global warming
Once again, Nature's formidable science lab has yielded the solution to a problem that had been haunting scientists: how to preserve bean crops, which provide food security for more than 400 million people in the developing world, from an expected 50% reduction by 2050 given the sensitivity of the Read More...
Will art free streams of their toxic sludge in the post-coal mining era ?
Artist John Sabraw has been testing pigments created from the orange toxic sludge, rich in iron oxides, inherited from decades of coal mining in Southern Ohio. The project is led by Ohio University with a view to demonstrating that the production of commercial paint could fund the expensive Read More...
Electric cars make cities cooler
Electric cars are cool in more than one way. Scientists at Michigan State University have discovered that electric cars emit 20 percent less heat than conventional cars. This will mitigate the so-called “urban heat island effect,” meaning that cities are warmer than the surrounding areas. Read More...
First US city moves against the car; will pay drivers to use public transit
Many cities in the world are battling congestion problems with charging drivers more money to enter the city at peak travel times. Since ten years, London charges $18 to enter the city on most weekdays. Studies show reduced traffic, pollution, and fewer traffic deaths. In the US—the empire of Read More...
Sunlight and bacteria remove drugs and chemical pollutants from drinking water
Drinking water supplies around the world often contain trace amounts of pharmaceuticals and synthetic compounds that may be harmful to human health. Man-made wastewater treatment plants are not able to remove these residues. But nature can, as experiments with artificially constructed wetlands Read More...
First sign of success in climate change battle
This news is from Friday, but we want to make sure you got it because it’s very important and good. CO2 levels have been rising together with economic growth for decades causing the climate change that threatens society. However, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2014—for Read More...
Algae species protects corals in our ocean’s warmest waters
Coral is a magnificent, fragile creature that can be killed of by water warming just a few degrees. While many corals react to warming water differently, researchers have just discovered a type of algae from the Persian Gulf that protects corals from warming water. Scientists wondered why Persian Read More...
Non-binding climate agreements work best
Policymakers around the world are working out the logistics for the next climate change agreement. Given the international political disparity a binding agreement may be out of reach. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Non-binding climate agreements, like the Kyoto Protocol, have turned out Read More...
Baking soda balls capture carbon
Current carbon capturing technologies use harsh chemicals to keep carbon dioxide from escaping into the atmosphere, it’s a lesser of two evils scenario. A new carbon capturing technique might change the way we capture carbon and make it a sustainable option for offsetting emissions. Researchers Read More...