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.
Bootleg fire demonstrates efficacy of Indigenous forest management
Last September, we shared an article about the benefits of controlled burns and other Indigenous practices for wildfire management and mitigation. Now, the Bootleg fire in Oregon is offering up some more evidence to support that Indigenous practices could be lifesaving in a climate change-fueled Read More...
Phoenix is using green space to tackle urban heat disparities
Our latest Optimist View discussed how urban green space impacts heat exposure and health outcomes in cities. One of the cities grappling with this issue is Phoenix. As the hottest city in the US, Phoenix is very focused on keeping things cool in a warming world. The city has pledged to reach Read More...
The future is bright white! How paint can help cool a city
Last year, we wrote about a team of researchers led by Purdue University mechanical engineering professor Xiulin Ruan who invented a kind of paint that is so white it reflects more than 95 percent of the sunlight that falls on surfaces covered in it. We love keeping track of solutions as they Read More...
This is how bacteria can help us recycle electric car batteries
Though electric vehicles (EVs) emit much fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cars that burn petrol or diesel, the rare metals needed for manufacturing their batteries are increasingly in short supply. Currently, the EU recycles less than five percent of EV batteries, and the most common technique Read More...
How one neighborhood used gamification to reduce traffic emissions
Green transportation methods like walking, biking, and taking public transportation reduces carbon emissions and improve air quality for residents, but encouraging people to choose these options over personal vehicles is a challenge. One neighborhood in London has finally cracked the code on green Read More...
New carbon capture facility will remove 1m tons of CO2 from the air yearly
We have previously written about emerging carbon capture technologies and their potential to help us tackle climate change. Now, we’re thrilled to share with you a real breakthrough in our efforts to cut the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. Scotland is set to become home to Read More...
Technology reduces Chernobyl's radiation levels by 47%
Swiss company Exlterra (Excellence for Earth) in partnership with Ukrainian entity State Specialized Enterprise Ecocenter (SSE Ecocenter) has successfully reduced radiation in the soil and air in the Chernobyl exclusions zone thanks to a new technology called Nucleus Separation Passive System Read More...
NASA technology offers full picture of regenerative agriculture benefits
As you are probably well aware by now, most current agricultural practices have a hugely detrimental effect on the environment, leading to the degradation of swathes of land across the world which would otherwise serve as a tool against climate change. The good news though, is that farmers around Read More...
Feeding cattle seaweed could change the world
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and a major contributor to climate change. About 70 percent of agricultural methane comes from enteric fermentation, chemical reactions that occur in the stomachs of cows and other grazing animals as they digest plants. Fortunately, studies have shown that Read More...
Scotland blows up its last coal plant as part of its green energy transition
In recent years, an increasing number of countries have moved away from coal in an effort to meet their climate targets. Scotland, for example, severed its ties with fossil fuel back in 2016, when it shut down its last remaining coal power plant. Last week, government officials blew up that same Read More...