Peatlands, a boggy carbon sink absolutely worth saving
For those in the world who have to live with it, you may wonder “what on earth is peat good for?” Peatland is a mossy wet mass that you can’t build on, you can barely walk on, you can’t grow crops on it, and all its stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes which bring Read More...
This is the UN plan to tackle plastic pollution
The Optimist Daily very much likes writing about plastic cleanup in the oceans. So, we were ecstatic when we learned about the beginnings of a treaty on par with the Paris Climate Accords to clean up plastics. The Paris Climate Accords made history as an international effort of 192 countries to Read More...
The UK repeals anti-homelessness law
The UK Vagrancy Act criminalizes sleeping outside and begging—essentially homelessness—in England and Wales. Under this law, police have the power to arrest people found begging in public, or in enclosed spaces. Anyone convicted of these crimes is charged with up to £1,000 in fines along with Read More...
High-schooler presents first student-written bill for UK climate education
Youth climate activist Scarlett Westbrook decided that she was fed up with the lack of formal education UK students receive on the devastating climate crisis. At one point during a geography exam, she was even asked to list the benefits of climate change — and while this was disappointing, she Read More...
NHS app helps UK families curb the record rise in childhood obesity
Since the beginning of the pandemic, surveys show that parents in the UK have been allowing their children to snack on more unhealthy food, which likely contributes to the record rise in obesity among 10- to 11-year-olds across the nation. Other factors include lockdowns, school closures, and Read More...
This former quarry is now a vital habitat for endangered UK birds
About a third of the bird species inhabiting the British Isles are considered endangered. Among them is the secretive bittern, which was until 2015 on the UK’s Red list of most-threatened species. Today however, the thickset heron is among dozens of other endangered bird species whose population Read More...
The Litterlotto app gamifies litter picking to trade trash for cash
Gamification is proving to be an effective strategy for mobilizing communities to build healthier, safer, and greener habits. We’ve shared stories about how gamification has been implemented to reduce traffic emissions, and how it’s being used to plant millions of real trees. Now, there’s Read More...
UK introduces bill to ban trophy hunt imports
Two years after its introduction, the British government is finally moving forward with a ban on trophy hunting imports. The new law, which bans bringing back trophies from exotic animal hunts, plans to protect 7,000 species threatened by international trade. The law is expected to go before Read More...
Landowner pact promises to boost rewilding efforts across the UK
Some of the UK’s biggest landowners have decided to come together to restore peat bogs, woodlands, rivers, and other natural habitats that need rewilding on their land. The National Trust, National Parks England, and Duchy of Cornwall are just a few of the organizations that have pledged to Read More...
Nap pads could prevent hundreds of homeless deaths this year
As the weather gets colder in the UK, the issue of homelessness becomes even more dire. While it is known that hundreds of people without a stable home die each year across the nation, getting an official count has been impossible until recently, thanks to the efforts of the Bureau of Investigative Read More...