Ecuador's historic court ruling grants Quito's Machángara river the right to not be polluted
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM On July 7th, an Ecuadorian court ruled that pollution violates the rights of the Machángara River, which flows through the country's capital, Quito. This decision, hailed as "historic" by environmental campaigners, highlights Ecuador's progressive approach Read More...
How swimmable cities could change the face of urban cooling
DECEMBER 21ST, 2023 UPDATE: This solution is a Reader’s Choice selection of 2023! Thank you for nominating the solutions that left you feeling optimistic this year. Swimming in floating pools in the Hudson and East Rivers was formerly a popular way for New Yorkers to escape the oppressive Read More...
April is Earth Month! 5 effective Earth Day campaigns and the holiday's history
April is Earth Month, a time to celebrate and protect our world. The annual Earth Day celebration on April 22 draws more than a billion people, making it the greatest civic event in the world. Earth Month is an expansion of the Earth Day movement, which originated in the early 1970s in the Read More...
Youth activists in Vanuatu score a major climate win
BY SIRI CHILUKURI, Grist This story was originally published by Grist. Subscribe to its weekly newsletter here. Young environmental activists from a small South Pacific island earned a climate win that could cause major problems for the world's largest polluters. The nation of Vanuatu Read More...
US launches first-of-its-kind environmental justice investigation
Public health departments have a responsibility to operate waste management in a safe, uniform, and equitable manner, but for years, sewage overflows have plagued Alabama’s Lowndes County, predominantly affecting Black residents. To address this injustice, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Read More...
Developers permanently pull the plug on Keystone XL pipeline
After a 13-year environmental battle, the Keystone XL pipeline has finally been canceled for good. After the permit for the project was revoked by the federal government in January, Calgary-based TC Energy, the sponsor of the project, announced this week that the project has been Read More...
These Florida waterways are taking developers to court
If nature could speak, would it defend its rights from damaging human activity? Last November, Orange County, Florida passed a measure called the “rights of nature” that allows for entities such as waterways to bring people to court should someone infringe on their rights. Two weeks ago, a Read More...
Nigerian farmers win 13-year case against Shell for oil spill damages
A 13-year environmental justice trial has finally come to a close with a long-awaited victory for four Nigerian farmers harmed by oil spills at the hands of Shell Nigeria. The company has been ordered by a Dutch court to compensate the farmers for oil spills that polluted their land in 2004 and Read More...
Ways you can support the environmental justice movement
When most of us think about environmental issues, we are inclined to picture in our heads images of melting ice caps, deforestation, wildfires, and animals close to extinction. But how often do we think about how all of these issues affect the human communities in our own backyard? When climate Read More...
Indigenous people in Brazil win historic lawsuit after 24 years in court
During the 1980s, the Ashaninka tribe of Brazil had seen large swaths of its land being devastated by deforestation at the hands of lumber companies seeking to exploit the indigenous reserve for resources such as mahogany and cedar wood. Seeking justice, the tribe managed in 1996 to take the Read More...