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.
Meet the world's youngest philanthropic author and wildlife conservationist
Kate Gilman Williams was just seven years old when she went on her first safari in South Africa. The trip allowed young Kate to see incredible wildlife in their natural habitat and learn how these savannah-dwelling animals are constantly threatened by human activity. This sparked in her the passion Read More...
Conservationists bring the Saharan gazelle back from the brink of extinction
The mhorr, more commonly known as the Dama gazelles, were once a common sight in Naudhibou, Mauritania. But following years of local unrest and indiscriminate hunting, the species was pushed to the brink of extinction about half a century ago, leaving conservationists little hope about the Read More...
This algae-filled bounce house captures CO2 as children jump
We recently shared how an innovative playground in Poland uses algae to capture CO2 and create a safer play space for children. Now, that same concept has traveled to the COP26 climate conference where it is gaining international attention in the form of a children’s bounce house. At first Read More...
When bees can't get to crops, these robots step in
Colony collapse disorder, harmful pesticides, and climate change have all contributed to the global decline of bee species. This is not only an urgent biodiversity problem but also an issue for our global food systems since a lot of our crops rely on these little insects for pollination. Produce Read More...
These wind turbine walls let cities harness wind power beautifully
One of the major downfalls of harnessing wind energy is that large-scale wind farms require lots of space, away from urban areas, and wind turbines with bulky poles and huge spinning blades that aren’t just considered an eyesore but are hazardous for birds. Well, what if we could harvest wind Read More...
Looking to the past to predict the future of climate change
Contemporary climate modeling uses our understanding of physical, chemical, and biological processes to shape earth system models. However, as climate change presents our world with unprecedented climate events, these models are becoming flawed and cannot accurately simulate events from the past. Read More...
COP26: Over 100 countries pledge to stop deforestation
The COP26 climate conference is in full swing and is celebrating its first big achievement: A pledge from more than 100 countries to end deforestation. The participating countries, which represent more than 85 percent of the world’s forests, have committed to ending and reversing deforestation Read More...
Beach-dwelling sheep eat seaweed and reduce their methane emissions
Back in March, we shared the research findings from a University of California study on how feeding seaweed to cattle can reduce methane emissions from their burps and flatulence by up to 82 percent. Now, scientists in Scotland have found that the same effect holds true for sheep. The recently Read More...
5 Optimistic predictions about the COP26 climate conference
The stakes (and tensions) are high this week as the COP26 climate summit kicks off in Glasgow. Big issues, like renewable energy and biodiversity, are being discussed on a global scale, and while there are huge issues to tackle, there are also reasons to be optimistic. Just the fact that world Read More...
Kenyan inventors craft biorobotic limb from recycled trash
David Gathu and Moses Kiuna are two young innovators from Nairobi, Kenya. Despite not being able to afford expensive university fees, their passion for science and desire to help their community has driven them to create an incredible bio robotic arm. Using any recycled materials they could get Read More...