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.
Refugees in Cameroon turn desert camp into a lush forest
In 2014, thousands of refugees who were fleeing the violence linked to militant group Boko Haram in Nigeria came to Minawao, Cameroon, a desert region badly affected by climate change. Since 2014, almost 70,000 refugees had made the space their home, cutting down the last standing trees to support Read More...
Public libraries are climate justice tools
We’ve written about how libraries should double as food banks, but did you know that public libraries are also essential to climate justice? As more regions face extreme temperatures due to climate change, libraries are increasingly serving as refuges for heat-vulnerable residents. For Read More...
French roundabouts are understated hubs for public art
If you’ve ever driven through France, you’ve probably noticed the high number of roundabouts directing the flow of traffic. The Place Charles de Gaulle is the most famous French roundabout, but all across the country, communities are taking advantage of this unused space to create art Read More...
Ocean Cleanup Project reports successful trial of its newest and largest system
From ocean trash capture systems to innovative river barges, The Ocean Cleanup Project is dedicated to cleaning our waterways of pollution. In recent years, the organization has focused on scaling up its solutions to address massive areas of pollution, like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Their Read More...
New policy reduces climate misinformation on popular video platform
A 2020 report by Avaaz, a US not-for-profit organization focused on issues such as climate change, blamed YouTube for “incentivizing this climate misinformation content via its monetization program.” In response, Google is finally banning ads, YouTube videos, and other content that preaches Read More...
“The Gathering Basket” is a growing collection of Indigenous recipes
Yucca, three-leaf sumac and chiltepin are all staple ingredients in Indigenous recipes, but the rich history of Indigenous cooking is often forgotten or overlooked, especially in Western kitchens. To highlight Indigenous recipes, ingredients, and chefs, Indigenous chef organization I-Collective, Read More...
This mangrove forest can help us better understand climate change
When botanist Carlos Burelo was a young boy, he used to play among a grove of red mangroves along the banks of the San Pedro Martir River in the middle of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The funny thing is that mangroves typically grow in coastal salt waters, while these ones thrive in freshwater 124 Read More...
US reported record solar power growth in 2020
We’ve previously written about how renewables outpaced fossil fuels in Europe for the first time in 2020. Now, new data demonstrates how US renewables, specifically solar, also thrived despite the challenges of a global pandemic. Last year, the US built more utility-scale solar power plants Read More...
This program bridges the gap between Indigenous knowledge and Western science
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) has launched a new program aimed at bridging the gap between Indigenous knowledge and Western science. Part of the UAF’s College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, the program offers fellowships to Indigenous graduate students with the goal of researching Read More...
Birmingham switches gears from car-centric to low-traffic
Birmingham, the second-largest city in the UK, has announced a revolutionary transport plan designed to lower CO2 emissions and make the city more livable by transforming it from a car-centric area into a super-sized low-traffic neighborhood. The city currently has a population of 1.2 million Read More...