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.
The biggest climate villains in Washington are quickly losing power
Business trade groups are known for throwing their weight around — and getting their way — in Washington. The US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Farm Bureau, the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the American Petroleum Institute — these names Read More...
Why the Green New Deal has already won
The Green New Deal may not have passed its first time around, but in many ways, the ambitious plan has been victorious. If you hadn’t already noticed, ever since the far-left policy was introduced, the climate debate has completely shifted—and what now counts as “moderate” is surprisingly Read More...
Oregon may soon join California’s carbon trading market under new bill
Drawing inspiration from its southernly neighbor, Oregon may soon pass a landmark bill that will mandate not just greenhouse gas emissions in the electricity sector, but also economy-wide emission reductions. The only state to have done that is…you guessed it, California. Across every sector Read More...
Vermont passes bill restricting the use of pollinator-killing pesticides
Pesticides are one of the main reasons why bee populations have plummeted at an incredible rate in the past couple of years. In Vermont, for example, beekeepers reported losing an average of 57 percent of their hives from 2017 to 2018, and that’s even higher than the national average of 40 Read More...
Costa Rica has doubled its forest cover in the past 30 years
Long committed to the environment, Costa Rica has often been praised for its successful efforts in sustainability, biodiversity, and other protections. More recently, the nation has made headlines by pledging to go entirely fossil-free by 2050. In an interview with The New York Times, the Read More...
New Zealand unveils world’s first ‘wellbeing’ budget to help the vulnerable
It’s a familiar story seen in countries around the world: even while a nation’s economy is growing, marginalized communities aren’t benefitting from any of the fruits of that growth in their daily lives. Such is the case in New Zealand where wealth disparity is on the rise despite steady Read More...
As insulin prices soar, Colorado caps co-pays at $100 for insured residents
Earlier this week (in the emissary section) we wrote about a project in Oakland where people are figuring out how to produce insulin themselves. The project is a testament to the skyrocketing prices of the lifesaving drug as nearly 7.5 million Americans struggle to cover the costs of insulin to Read More...
Green parties are the big winners of the European Parliament elections
For the past several months, we’ve seen waves of protesters young and old take to the streets of Europe to urge politicians to act on the climate crisis. With the European Green parties posting their best-ever results in the European Parliament elections, it seems the protests were simply a Read More...
Taiwan was once known as ‘Garbage Island’. Now it’s a model of recycling success
In the ’80s and ’90s, Taiwan had one of the world’s worst urban waste problems. Its landfills overflowed and mountains of rubbish clogged street corners, earning it the unflattering moniker “Garbage Island.” Fed up with the accumulation of waste, people across the country demanded action. Read More...
A carbon tax is going into effect next week in South Africa
In a bid to drive down emissions and spur the transition to clean energy in South Africa, the country has joined a list of about 40 countries worldwide to adopt a carbon-pricing program. The first phase of the carbon tax will run until December 2022 and will go into effect next. Under the Read More...