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.
These recycled swimming pools are made from old shipping containers
Earlier this summer, we shared a story about the “Airbnb of pools,” but what if that rented pool was also made out of a recycled shipping container? This is the vision of Modpools. Conceptualized by Paul Rathnam, Modpools turns old shipping containers into convenient, sustainable, and efficient Read More...
Volvo will soon use fossil-free steel to make its electric trucks
Earlier this year, Volvo pledged to go all-electric by 2030, while making its entire business operations (including its supply chain) climate-neutral by 2050 — all in a bid to do its part in the fight against the climate crisis. To that end, the carmaker has recently made a deal with Swedish Read More...
Retrofitting demonstrates the profitability of green industry
Research has shown that it is possible for our world to be sustainable and profitable, but transitioning away from the fossil fuel industry requires the transfer of job skills. In England, this shift is already taking place with the growth of the green home retrofitting industry. The Manchester Read More...
Remote Northern Ireland island aims to become carbon neutral by 2030
A UK island has just committed to becoming carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Lying six miles off the coast of Northern Ireland, Rathlin Island has only been connected to the electricity grid since 2007. About 150 people live on the island and they want to produce their own wind and wave Read More...
New tidal energy design harvests double the energy from ocean waves
Tidal energy could soon hit record conversion efficiency thanks to a new development from scientists at Australia’s RMIT. The engineers have developed a novel design for a convertor that they claim operates with far greater efficiency than current systems. They hope the breakthrough could pave Read More...
Plastic crisis: India will ban single-use plastic items by 2022
With growing awareness about the huge environmental threat of single-use plastics, countries around the world, like Chile and New Zealand, have ramped up their efforts against plastic pollution by strategically banning disposable plastics. Now India is committing to a plastic-free future as well. Read More...
California’s new energy codes push an all-electric housing future
As more cities embrace natural gas-free futures, the US’ most populous state is giving the concept of all-electric homes a big legislative push. California has approved new energy codes that will incentivize electric appliances and efficient heating and cooling systems. Approved by the Read More...
Four strategies to make solar panels even more sustainable
Solar energy is a renewable source with fairly high reliability and scalability, but even the best solutions have some drawbacks. In the case of solar, the panels themselves are emissions-intensive to produce and require mined silicon, glass, and aluminum. As we continue to improve the Read More...
IKEA to sell renewable energy directly to customers
IKEA has made efforts to transition to a greener business model with disassembly and moving instructions for furniture, forest protection, and buy-back programs. They even published a zero-waste cookbook! Now, the Swedish company is looking to expand its environmental reach even further with the Read More...
The Optimist View: Building Circularity into Electric Vehicles
To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things-products, packaging, and systems-from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist. - William McDonough BY Kristy Jansen and Sam Suh Earlier this year, I became the proud owner of an all-electric car一a used Read More...