Environment
Need some good news about the environment? The Optimist Daily is your go-to herald of positive environmental news, highlighting eco-friendly solutions and scientific progress around climate action, circularity, conservation, and more. Learn about everything eco in our Environment section.
Royal Air Force completes world's first flight powered by synthetic fuel
Earlier this month, Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) set a Guinness World Record for completing the world’s first flight that was powered entirely by synthetic fuel. According to a government press release, senior test pilot Group Captain Peter Hackett took off from Cotswold Airport on the Read More...
Monarch butterflies return to California after historic low
As a result of global warming, habitat loss, and food scarcity, the wintering population of the orange and black Western monarch butterfly along California’s central coast declined considerably in 2020. Conservationists recorded about 2,000 individuals, a number that pales in comparison to the Read More...
Apple to make self-repair parts, tools, and manuals available to customers
Following growing pressure from right-to-repair advocates, Apple has announced that it will begin selling spare parts and tools to allow the general public to repair their devices at home. Under the new program, customers can buy parts and access manuals to repair their own iPhones and Mac Read More...
AI has helped design the chickpea of all chickpeas
AI has helped humans achieve a lot of things; from predicting seizures, to completing Beethoven’s unfinished 10th Symphony. Its latest endeavor: designing the ultimate chickpea. Although these pulses are a thoroughly understood crop, the genome of most varieties is not well sequenced. An Read More...
This NGO clones our greatest allies in the fight against climate change
David Milarch set up an NGO in 1994 called the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive, which works hard to preserve and clone the world’s most ancient and resilient trees. Trees play an incredibly important role in the planet’s ecosystem and are one of our greatest allies in the fight against Read More...
Planners reimagine former coal power plant into a 15-minute neighborhood
As countries around the world make net-zero pledges in a bid to tackle climate change, many are phasing out coal as part of their green energy transition. This means that there’s an increasing need to find new uses for former or soon-to-retire coal plants. With that said, there are already a few Read More...
Winners of international James Dyson Award 2021 announced
Every year the international James Dyson Awards take place, where designers have to come up with new-problem solving ideas. Previous winners have included an at-home breast cancer detection box, a plastic alternative made from fish waste, and an urban wind turbine. The bar is set high for Read More...
This initiative will help recycle e-bike batteries at the end of their life
The recent surge in e-bike adoption is good news for the environment. In fact, it is estimated that Americans will buy over 12 million electric bikes this decade. However, there is still a sustainability concern when it comes to this green method of transportation: What do we do with all those Read More...
This brand offers natural and sustainable textile dyes made of seaweed
Last month at Dutch Design Week, Dutch designer Nienke Hoogvliet and entrepreneur Anne Boermans showcased their brand Zeefier, which offers natural dyes made exclusively out of seaweed. Hoogvliet has been researching how to create a range of sustainable and eco-friendly dyes using different Read More...
Researchers push microalgae as the food source of the future
Facing food security issues on land, more researchers are turning to the untapped potential of the sea to meet the nutritional needs of the future. One new diet, called ocean flexitarianism, emphasizes eating food from low on the ocean food chain such as algae and seaweed. Advocated for by Read More...