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Powering potential
Powering Potential is a non–profit that provides solar panels and computers to schools in rural Tanzania, which lacks sufficient textbooks, electricity, and has a shortage of qualified teachers. Powering Potential’s purpose is education through technology– giving schools in need the tech Read More...
The rise of Islamic feminism
Ziba Mir-Hosseini speaks passionately about her faith. She is Muslim, born in Iran. But she couldn’t accept the fact that as a woman she was not allowed to divorce her husband, under the terms of Islamic law. After she graduated from Cambridge University in the 1980s with a degree in Read More...
Diabetes: try low-carb, not low-fat, to reduce inflammation
A new study has added an important new insight to the debate about the best diet to control type 2 diabetes, finding that diabetics who followed a low-carb diet both lost weight and reduced the levels of inflammatory molecules in their blood. Since inflammation is thought to play a role in the Read More...
The forgotten solution
When you purchase an airline ticket for less than $35, or a piece of chicken for $1, you know that most likely that’s not the true price. Environmental responsibility and humanely raised foods are not free. And yet, for many that’s no reason to stop buying these products. This constrains Read More...
Contagiously optimistic: Lance Stranahan
Sometimes, optimism might seem to be an abstract concept. Here at The Intelligent Optimist, we try to show what an optimistic lifestyle can contribute to your life. And with us, there are many others trying to make optimism visible. One of them is David Mezzapelle, who created the book series Read More...
Coffee reduces diabetes risk
What is the best way to prevent diabetes? Research points to coffee. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health set out to establish how changes in coffee and tea consumption affected the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and their surprising results show that increasing your coffee Read More...
New in the Netherlands: the singing bike path
Three quarters of the Dutch sing while riding their bikes. In Amsterdam singing is now officially allowed on two bicycle paths. No more awkward pauses in cyclist’s songs because they’re passing one another! As a daily cyclist and former amateur singer this news makes me very happy. And that is Read More...
Chemical waste landfill shutdown in South Africa
Twenty years ago Desmond D’sa quit his job at a chemical factory in Durban, South Africa. The disregard for worker safety at the factory had proved to be too much; D’sa knew something had to change. “There was an overarching disrespect for the chemicals and the dangerous environment we were Read More...
The Intelligent Optimist’s Swing Into Spring Auction ends Tuesday
It’s easier to start swinging after a tune-up, and with that in mind, we have popular favorites from auctions past and brand new items and services to help you take care of yourself or your loved ones or contribute to charitable causes, all backed by the intention of making the world a better Read More...
Sunshine improves survival rate after cancer
We get almost all our vitamin D from the sun, and The Intelligent Optimist has long advocated moderate sun exposure to maintain healthy levels of this essential nutrient. Lack of vitamin D has been linked to a wide range of chronic health problems from allergies to osteoporosis and high blood Read More...