Politics
Having a difficult time finding positive news about national and global politics? Search no further! From public policy to positive leadership to democracy efforts, find the latest good news stories in the world of politics at The Optimist Daily.
Philadelphia soda sales plunge after tax on sugary drinks
Public health advocates in the US have long advised for a tax on sodas as a means to discourage people from indulging in sugary drinks, possibly helping curb obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related conditions. Philadelphia introduced such a tax – 1.5 cents per ounce – in 2017, and now, Read More...
180 countries agree to legally-binding framework to limit trade of plastic waste
If you live in the so-called Western world, chances are some of the plastic waste you have produced has been shipped off to private waste-handling companies in the developing world. That’s a problem, mainly because these companies can’t handle the millions of tons of plastic waste that get sent Read More...
Europe shows us why many of the Green New Deal’s proposals are viable
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, both Democrats, introduced their Green New Deal resolution earlier this year, it quickly sank in the Senate, largely due to Republican opposition. But its ideas are certain to remain in the spotlight, given the increasing visibility of Read More...
Pedestrians are taking over the streets of traffic-filled Brussels
Right now, there can be an almost eerie calm to some sections of central Brussels. Take an evening stroll down Boulevard Anspach, the broad avenue that forms the Belgian capital’s spine, and you may find the roadway empty, its limestone and wrought-iron facades echoing the footsteps of a rare Read More...
Amsterdam to ban diesel and gas-powered cars and motorbikes by 2030
As the world gets hotter and more crowded, we don't need our transportation to continue pumping dirty emissions into the air we breathe. The World Health Association lists air pollution as one of the most threatening global public health issues and estimates that 90 percent of the world’s Read More...
Getting a law passed is complicated. This accelerator is helping activists do it
The idea of creating a law to address a specific issue, let alone trying to get it passed in Congress, seems awfully overwhelming—especially if you don’t know where to begin. Yet if you want to make real change as an activist, the best thing you can do is get a law passed in order to change Read More...
Maine becomes first state in the US to ban environmentally-harmful Styrofoam
Like all plastics, Styrofoam, or polystyrene, stays around in the environment for hundreds of years. But it's particularly noxious because its light weight makes it liable to be carried by wind and water into the ocean, where it breaks down into micro-plastics that eventually make their way into Read More...
Maine just ditched Columbus Day and replaced it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day
There has been a growing movement to change the name of Columbus Day, which has been a federal holiday since 1934. Some activists say that celebrating it ignores the atrocities committed by Christopher Columbus and other European explorers against the indigenous people they encountered. A troubling Read More...
Los Angeles just announced its own Green New Deal
Los Angeles has big plans to clean up its smoggy, traffic-filled image. This week, while Congress is only discussing the Green New Deal, Los Angeles is announcing a version of their own—an ambitious plan to transform itself in order to tackle climate change. Under the plan, LA plans to run on 55 Read More...
Washington becomes first state to make human composting legal
Isn’t it weird that humanity has advanced so far when it comes to technology, and yet, we have only two options for disposing of human bodies after death? There’s a traditional burial, which requires wood and steel and means leaking dangerous chemicals into the ground, and cremation, which both Read More...