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.
The sad truth about those “eco-friendly” e-scooters you see everywhere
If you live in a big city, chances are you’ve seen scores of electric scooters take over the sidewalks. Rideshare companies promote them as a greener alternative to cars that residents can use to get around—a claim that is rather easy to assume as true. After all, these e-scooters don’t spew Read More...
This abandoned waterpark is now home to a mini circular-economy
How would the circular economy actually work in practice? To find out, all we have to do is look within an abandoned indoor waterpark that sits on the banks of the river Maas in Rotterdam. Yes, a derelict swimming pool may seem like a strange place to see the circular economy in action, but the Read More...
Commuters in Rome can now pay for metro rides with used plastic bottles
You may not be so motivated to pick up littered plastic bottles when you walk around the city, but if those plastic bottles paid for your ride on the metro, you might be more inclined to collect those bottles. That’s the idea behind a new scheme in Rome where residents can deposit plastic bottles Read More...
Selfies are helping conservationists protect the endangered quokka
While the practice of taking selfies is usually nothing more than a way of sharing personal experiences on social media, on Rottnest Island in West Australia, selfies can be a helping hand to wildlife conservationists. Thousands of travelers have been visiting Rottnest Island in order to get a Read More...
This green oasis is actually a hospital that uses nature to promote healing
Communal gardens, landscaped rooftops, and wide-open windows aren't features of your typical hospital—but maybe they should be. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Singapore is a case study in what can happen when a nature-inspired design is applied to the medical setting to promote healing. The Read More...
A major university just banned beef products from its campus
Goldsmiths, a major University in London, just made a colossal statement after banning the sale of beef in campus food outlets in order to tackle the climate emergency. Under the new ban, beef products will no longer be available in the institution’s cafes and shops when the academic year begins Read More...
This compostable food packaging was made using wasted shellfish shells
Wrapping food in plastic does serve a purpose. A plastic-wrapped cucumber at a supermarket may seem egregious, but the vegetable lasts longer and is less likely to end up as food waste; throwing out food can have an even bigger impact on the environment than the plastic itself. But the system’s Read More...
Damaged seamounts in Hawaii make incredible comeback after decades of protection
For decades, overfishing and trawling - dragging the ocean bottom with heavy nets - had been devastating parts of an underwater mountain range in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii, wrecking deep-sea corals and destroying much of their ecological community. But now, after years of protection, Read More...
This organic lawn care brand wants to remove pesticides from the American lawn
We’re in an age of plant-based diets, organic grocery stores, and farm-to-table restaurants. But if you observe the average American lawn, and how it’s cared for, it would seem like there’s no alternative to the industrialized, highly chemical-dependent agricultural practices of the ‘50s. Read More...
Coal generation collapsed in Europe over the first six months of 2019
Sometimes when you fall, you fall really hard. That’s how it’s going for coal at the moment, the former king when it came to energy production. According to a new report from climate think-tank Sandbag, coal generation in the European Union collapsed by 19 percent in the first half of 2019, Read More...