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6 high-tech refugee shelters that can be deployed in an instant
Each year, tens of thousands of people around the world are displaced from their homes by natural disasters, war and, increasingly, the effects of climate change. When this happens, emergency-response teams are tasked with the challenge of housing these refugees in a short period of time. Designers Read More...
Here's how to make the transition to 100% renewable energy
The question no longer is whether we can make a transition to 100% renewable energy, but how we're going to achieve this. Richard Heinberg, of the Post Carbon Institute, and David Fridley, staff scientist of the energy analysis program at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, have worked on a Read More...
Being grateful can change your life
Here's advice: Every night before you go to sleep, think of 5 things that were good about that day and write it down. It can be anything big or small, but the recognition of it alone will create positive energy. This daily practice can anchor you in the present and be mindful of all the goodness Read More...
The counterintuitive reason why doing nothing can make you more successful
In today's work-obsessed society, we have this belief that we have to constantly be doing something in order to be successful. But what if the opposite were true? As Stanford psychologist Emma Seppala argues in her new book, "The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Read More...
Stevie Wonder talks being vegan and living a green lifestyle
There is no doubt about it that Stevie Wonder is looking great these days, but what contributes to his already fabulous self? "I've been a vegan for two years, so that's helped my already good-looking self," joked the musician. "I think that eating healthy is important." The legendary singer put Read More...
South Africa just opened the continent’s first solar-powered airport
South Africa has opened the continent’s first solar-powered airport in Western Cape. George Airport which serves over 600,000 passengers annually, has launched a clean energy project which, during its first phase, will contribute around 40% of the airport’s electricity needs. Once Read More...
Renewables agency invests in energy retailer that wants to sell less
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) has backed a $5m investment in Mojo Power, an electricity retailer that helps households consume less energy and is already taking customers in New South Wales. The company works on a subscription model, where a monthly fee gives customers access to Read More...
The end of automobile dependence: How cities are moving beyond car-based planning
For several decades now, Kenworthy and Newman have been examining the impact of transport on urban sustainability. 1985 saw the publication of Cities and Automobile Dependence, and in the following decade each author published a paper in Environment and Urbanization drawing out this theme. While Read More...
Doctors implant 3D-printed vertebrae in 'world's first' surgery
The Optimist is an advocate of natural solutions to health issues, but when new technology is able to save someone’s life with success, then it is definitely a valid reason to give that technology some attention. A neurosurgeon at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney successfully replaced two Read More...
This $16 water filter is bringing clean water to the developing world
More than 650 million people around the world do not have access to clean and safe water, according to the United Nations. Contaminated water hides illnesses within it, with more than 100,000 deaths related to water-borne illnesses occurring each year in India alone. Safer water is getting more and Read More...