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Scotland bans plastic Q-Tip sticks to combat marine pollution
Cotton buds, or Q-Tips, may seem like an innocent bathroom staple, but the Marine Conservation Society has ranked them in its top 10 most problematic beach littering products. Over the past 25 years, volunteers have collected over 150,000 of these cotton buds from Scottish beaches, prompting the Read More...
New law makes it near impossible to drill for oil on public lands in California
California’s ban on the sale of fur (see Monday’s story) wasn’t the only bill to be signed into law on Saturday. As it turns out, California Gov. Gavin Newsom also signed a law designed to counter White House plans to increase oil and gas production on protected land. The measure bars any Read More...
This device uses the dark of night to generate clean energy
The common problem with renewable energies, such as solar power, is that they cannot produce energy all the time. When the sun goes down, the solar panels stop generating energy. Energy-storing batteries are one way to get around the problem, but what if we could also produce energy at night using Read More...
What forests’ natural fire cycles can teach us about wildfire prevention
For residents in California, Greece, and Portugal, destructive wildfires have become the new normal. Exacerbated by climate change, these fires claimed more than 135 lives in California alone in 2017 and 2018. But we can learn a thing or two from these fires. In fact, looking back to nature’s own Read More...
Can iceberg-producing submarines change how we think about climate solutions?
In the mission against climate change, innovative futuristic designs are surfacing from some of the world’s brightest minds. One of these ideas was shared with us this week by an Optimist reader and appeared at an international design competition: iceberg producing submarines. The project, Read More...
Brussels is encouraging its commuters to hitchhike to work
Being one of the smallest truly global cities in Europe, it’s no surprise that Brussels is also one of the continent’s most congested ones. To help clear up traffic jams and the air pollution linked to it, the local government has recently taken on an ambitious commitment to encourage its Read More...
Bison in the Great Northern Plains are reveling in a 20,000-acre habitat expansion
Once numbering in the tens of millions, bison populations in North America dwindled to only 325 by 1884. Fortunately, forward-thinking conservationists managed to protect those remaining animals and bring them back up to the 20,000 we see roaming today. And the best thing is that number is expected Read More...
How to discover the best campsites online
Whether you want to glamp on a cliff above the ocean or sleep in a tent deep in the forest, camping helps you get away from it all. But one of the hardest parts of camping—wherever you like to be—is finding that perfect campground. The most popular campsites near metro areas or in Read More...
Why more cities are replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Chances are you went to work or school yesterday like any other Monday. In past years that wouldn't have been the case, but fewer and fewer states and cities are celebrating Columbus Day nowadays. And in many cities, Columbus Day is being replaced with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Columbus Day, Read More...
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed just won the Nobel Peace Prize. Let’s get to know him
In 2017, Abiy Ahmed was largely an unknown figure in Ethiopia. Fast forward two years later, and Ahmed has won the Nobel Peace Prize for the peaceful political reforms he has brought on as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Ahmed took the reigns when the nation was in political disarray, but since Read More...