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.
Farmers and scientists in CA collaborate to minimize water use
In response to climate change and relentless droughts and heatwaves, scientists and farmers in California’s Central Valley are working with local communities to put innovative water-saving systems in place. Together, they have found ways to use and re-use water as sustainably as possible. The Read More...
The Optimist View: Keen on Kelp
“The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat.” - Jacques Yves Cousteau On a sunny Saturday morning, I drive about 30 minutes north of my home in Santa Barbara to an area called Refugio Beach. Aptly Read More...
Otters are making a promising comeback in Alberta
Once thriving in southern Alberta, Canada, otters were nearly wiped out as a result of hunting and habitat destruction. Fortunately, the carnivores are now making an encouraging comeback in the region. As reported by naturalist Brian Keating, there has been an increasing number of otter sightings Read More...
Solar concentrators provide fast and reliable solar light
With a population of 5.6 million people, the small island nation of Singapore has roughly the same density as New York City. In a country where space is of the essence, researchers from Nanyang Technological University have developed a compact solar concentrator to illuminate the island’s Read More...
There's something fishy about this biodegradable plastic
It’s no secret that plastic is not a friend to our environment. Commonly used types of plastic, like polyurethane, are made from non-renewable crude oil and will take hundreds of years to break down once thrown out. The problem is that humans use plastic for a variety of things, so much so that Read More...
Tree fungus can help boost tomato yields and improve flavor
Ceriporia lacerata is a type of fungus that causes trees to rot, but researchers have recently discovered that the fungus holds significant potential in helping boost tomato yields and reduce the need for fertilizers. Fertilizers are often used on tomato farms because the plant has a long growth Read More...
Philadelphia is using a mediation program to prevent evictions
Back in August, with Covid-19 cases on the rise and tenants across the city struggling financially, the city of Philadelphia decided to take an unconventional approach to solve a housing crisis with their Eviction Diversion Program. With the new program, landlords are required to attend a Read More...
Coffee waste speeds up forest recovery on degraded land
From boosting local job opportunities to improving biodiversity and capturing carbon, restoring deforested land can hold a variety of benefits for both local communities and the environment. And in the tropics, these benefits could be boosted with the help of coffee waste — at least that’s what Read More...
How Cool Food nudges consumers to eat more sustainable meals
Back in 2019, Genentech, a biotechnology company in South San Francisco, partnered with Cool Food, a World Resources Institute (WRI) initiative, to see if they could cut the emissions by nudging employees towards purchasing more sustainable meals. At Genentech’s enormous headquarters, where Read More...
Kelp could replace corn and soy as a biofuel base
We’ve written about kelp as a tool for capturing carbon emissions, but it turns out these giant underwater forests could provide a solution for many of our environmental crises. Researchers from the University of Southern California have found that kelp could serve as a fast-growing and efficient Read More...