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.
Startup cuts the ribbon on the world’s first lab-grown meat factory
Lab-grown alternatives to meat (aka cultured meat) that look and taste like the real thing have become mainstream in recent years, with people increasingly turning to these substitutes to green up their diets. A new startup in Israel wants to make cultured meat even more popular among consumers by Read More...
New ThredUp survey shows used clothing market is here to stay
According to a new report from ThredUp, millennials and Gen-Z consumers are demanding more sustainable products and would rather dig for gems in vintage shops than purchase from giant retail chains, which are increasingly criticized for generating colossal amounts of material waste and failing to Read More...
UK Bill strengthens protections for animals
The UK is gearing up to pass major animal rights legislation, called the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill, which addresses a wide range of animal welfare issues. According to UK environment minister Zac Goldsmith, who sponsored the bill, it is scheduled for passage into law later this Read More...
Climate justice: Legal experts draft historic definition of “ecocide”
In a historic moment for climate justice, a panel of 12 lawyers from different countries has unveiled a new legal definition of “ecocide,” intended to be adopted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute world leaders and corporate chiefs for the worst acts of environmental Read More...
All pension funds in Maine must now divest from fossil fuels
We recently wrote about New York state’s move to divest from fossil fuels in their pension fund. Now, the state of Maine is adopting legislation to match that commitment and take it one step further. Signed into law by Governor Janet Mills, the state’s new legislation bans any state Read More...
Multi technology energy center provides green energy directly to local community
Wind and solar power have long been the most popular suggested methods to reduce fossil fuel emissions. While in many places their efficacy was still being debated, some entrepreneurs in Wales took it upon themselves to make community-wide renewable energy a reality. The Rassau industrial Read More...
3 Smart solutions to space junk
Planet Earth's trash is more than enough for us to deal with, but that doesn’t mean we should forget about the mess we've left behind in space. Space junk presents a potential threat to functioning spacecraft because not only is there plenty of it (tens of thousands of pieces of space trash Read More...
Elephant-friendly alternative to ivory can be 3D-printed to restore art
Although there has been a ban on international ivory trading since 1989, tens of thousands of elephants are still poached for their tusks every year, a trend that’s slowly pushing some endangered species to the brink of extinction. A team of scientists has recently developed a high-quality ivory Read More...
Target plans to design all its products for circularity by 2040
While you can currently buy sustainable products at Target, such as compostable cutlery, cleaning products in glass bottles, and shoes that can be sent back for recycling, the retail giant plans to go further and make all the products in its stores circular by 2040. That goal is part of its wider Read More...
This map app helps pedestrians in Barcelona stay cool on the shadiest routes
A new app launched in Barcelona is helping the city’s residents deal with scorching temperatures this summer by finding the shadiest and coolest routes for pedestrians. The pedestrian routing app, called Cool Walks, was first developed at a data visualization contest. Its purpose is to show Read More...