Today’s Solutions: January 10, 2025

Climate Action

What is Climate Action? Climate Action is humanity's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance our planet's resilience against climate change. From adaptation to mitigation, at The Optimist Daily you will learn about the most recent positive news stories and solutions targeting climate change and other environmental issues.

co2 line graph being drawn in decline on a chalk board

This startup turns CO2 into jet fuel and plastics

The impressive Bay Area-based startup, Twelve, is on a mission to replace petrochemicals at a large scale so that it can significantly slash global energy emissions—something that we urgently need to do for our species’ survival. Converting CO2 into something useful How will they do it? Read More...

Electric vehicle charging home

What if you could power your home with your car?

One of the things we find reassuring about electric cars — besides the fact that they produce fewer emissions and don’t hurt our planet nearly as much — is the idea that we could charge one from our very own homes instead of having to drive to a gas station. What if it worked the other Read More...

Happy pigs on pig farm in a muddy yard with a fence.

Scientists can now decode pigs' emotions

We can clearly see animals' emotions through their behavior, whether that’s dogs filling up with glee when we grab their leash or elephants mourning a loss in their herd, there is clearly some feeling going on here. While communication between animals and humans remains at a divide, we do Read More...

gloved hands cup micro plastic found on beach

California’s plan to tackle the problem of microplastics 

It’s time to face the facts: teeny tiny microplastics are everywhere and despite their size, they’ve become a prodigious problem. Not only are they in our bodies, they plague the ocean and its biodiversity and are even floating through the air. Checking microplastics The state of California Read More...

Toilet with flowers in it

Upcycling your "business," 5 uses of human waste

At The Optimist Daily, we keep our ears keened for news about upcycling. It’s an impressive hack, making productive use of discarded materials and waste, turning what was trash into something new. It’s a great solution toward making sustainable products, and we’re always looking for creative Read More...

Traffic free London

Ultra-Low Emissions Zone extended to all of London

The Optimist Daily has followed the progress of London’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) since the beginning when mayor Sadiq Khan planned to reduce the city’s air pollution and introduce a charge on the most polluting vehicles in the city. In 2019, ULEZ was enacted, charging motorists £12.50 Read More...

Algae production for sustainable biofuel at Wageningen University in the Netherlands

Europe’s first biorefinery uses algae to make jet biofuel

The global aviation industry is responsible for more than 2 percent of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions. To put a dent in that statistic, scientists have been actively searching for cost-effective and eco-friendly aviation fuels derived from natural resources. In recent years, microalgae Read More...

Collective climate action

6 impactful changes you can make to help avoid climate crisis

When it comes to climate change, just reading the news can be overwhelming. Hearing about wildfires and droughts, considering greenwashing and corporate carbon emissions, it’s easy to become stressed without even leaving your house, to think that there’s nothing you can do as an individual to Read More...

man with popcorn chooses movie to watch

Green role models, an eco-friendly media change

Scientific advancements, policy changes, and technological solutions are certainly important in our fight against climate change, however, we cannot rely only on these methods if we truly want to help the environment. To effectively tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, we must also Read More...

city trees

City trees may trap more CO2 than we thought

It’s becoming common knowledge at this point that trees greatly benefit cities and the people that call them home. City trees and urban green areas regulate temperature, improve mental health and reduce loneliness for urbanites, clean the air and even reduce crime rates. Our tall, green friends Read More...