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.
How food-spattered plastic waste could soon heat homes in the UK
When plastic waste is spattered with scraps of food, recycling it becomes impossible. But that could soon change after a group of scientists in the UK have discovered a way to use dirty plastic waste to produce hydrogen, which can heat homes and fuel cars without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Read More...
Giant UK hospitality business to stop handing out wasteful receipts to its customers
Every year, British retailers hand out 11.2 billion receipts -- that’s 7300 tons of paper -- at a cost of nearly $40 million. Most of these receipts end up in the landfill because they cannot be recycled as a result of them being printed on shiny paper and containing other substances. In a bid Read More...
With its “virtual” power plant, Oakland looks set to move away from fossil fuels
When the demand for electricity surges in Oakland, California, a power plant burning jet fuel switches on, pumping pollution into the western part of the city. But the plant will soon close—and will be replaced in part by a network of solar panels and batteries installed in affordable apartment Read More...
Fashion giant Zara to produce clothing only using sustainable fabrics by 2025
While it’s fantastic that many niche apparel brands are popping up that make clothes in an eco-friendly manner, the toxic environmental impact that comes with fast fashion won’t be solved if bigger clothing companies don’t agree to clean up their supply chain. That’s why it’s good to Read More...
A tax on jet fuel might make your flights more pricey, but it’s worth the cost
Since World World War II, it became standard to not tax fuel on international flights in order to incentivize commercial aviation—in contrast with taxes on fuel used by trucks and cars. But at the time where we need to reduce the negative impact of the aviation industry, it no longer makes to Read More...
This city in India offers free meals in exchange for plastic waste
It’s no brainer that plastic waste is harmful to the environment. A lot of people and organizations around the world are doing their bit in tackling the issue, however, a lot more needs to be done. In a rather brilliant manner to help save the environment, India just launched its very first Read More...
France and other countries in the EU are seeing their forests grow in size
With all the news about increasing deforestation rates around the world, you might form the idea that losing forests is a common trend in all parts of the globe. However, that’s not necessarily true. Four years ago, for example, France set up one of its newest regional natural parks - the Read More...
The cargo ships of the future might use traditional sails to lower emissions
The vast majority of products that move globally, from jeans to bananas to cars, travel on cargo ships that generate around 3 percent of global emissions (for context, aviation generates 2 percent). And while shipping companies such as Maersk are investing heavily in new technologies to reduce Read More...
Biologists discovered a human-sized jellyfish off the coast of England
Coming across a jellyfish while scuba diving is already a pretty amazing experience, but imagine spotting a jellyfish the same size as you beneath the waves. Well, that’s exactly what happened for biologist Lizzie Daly and underwater cameraman Dan Abbot this past weekend off the coast of Read More...
Engineers have created a robot that plants baby coral in damaged reefs
Right now, the world’s reefs are “losing corals faster than they can be naturally replaced.” In a bid to restore degraded reef systems, a team of engineers in Australia has developed a robot that seeds the reefs with coral that can live at higher temperatures. You see, corals typically Read More...