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Total number of posts: 23758
Organic wine industry matures nicely
The organic wine industry, once a cottage industry run by and targeting a handful of mavericks, is now big business. Organic wine grape production in Australia increased 120 per cent between 2011 and 2014 alone, with those grapes reaching a value of $117m. Three South Australian organic winemakers Read More...
How meditation affects the gray matter of the brain
I like to meditate. It makes me feel at ease and I am convinced that the sense of calm it produces helps me to handle the daily challenges of my life. There are, of course, times when I don't keep up my daily practice of sitting quietly for 10 or 15 minutes, but these are the times in my life when Read More...
Moby's new vegan restaurant is giving all its profits to animal welfare groups
Moby has a new vegan restaurant called Little Pine in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood and he plans to give all its profits to various animal welfare programs. According Eater, reps for Little Pine say it was all Moby's idea. "Opening little pine was never meant to be a conventional Read More...
Star Wars: The Force awakens to feminism
A feminist fairy tale that celebrates nerdy-girl power. The character "Rey" in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."(Photo: Lucasfilm) The Force Awakens is a lot of things: fun, flashy, elegant — and a multimillion dollar "I told you so" to every little boy who said girls like Read More...
UK wind industry smashes records in 2015
2015 was a record-breaking year for the British wind industry, with onshore and offshore farms providing a larger-than-ever share of the UK's electricity, according to new data released today by National Grid. Last year the UK generated 11 per cent of its electricity from wind, up from 9.5 per cent Read More...
Look again. A wood-fired power plant
The picture shows a power plant that looks like any other fossil fuel burning facility. That makes sense because the Drax power station in the United Kingdom used to be a coal-fired plant and one of Britain’s biggest polluters. However, today, the same plant is fired by wood chips and has turned Read More...
The other link between sugar and cancer
A new study, published in Cancer Research, shows high suger intake can increase the risk of breast cancer and hasten the spread of the disease to the lungs. So today and tomorrow, we'll be seeing alarming headlines in reports about this research. Meanwhile, it can also be read in a different way: Read More...
Be the change: The video
Yesterday we asked you to watch and share the video we created that made us all so proud here at The Optimist. Thanks for your lovely responses. ("This certainly gives me hope for the future.") If you haven't seen it yet, here's another Read More...
Counting elephants: The largest wildlife census ever conducted
The Great Elephant Census, funded by Microsoft billionaire Paul G. Allen, began in February 2014 and is beginning to deliver results. Ninety researchers from various organizations have joined aerial teams flying survey transects in 18 elephant range countries. Preliminary results reveal both good Read More...
Want to reduce anxiety, and increase cognitive ability and memory? Try meditation
For many people, the new year is a great time to start meditating. We won't hold you back! Like a muscle that needs regular workouts to get stronger, your brain needs disciplined training to learn to be present and relax. “Every time we come back to the present, we are increasing our mental Read More...