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.
Florida just appointed its first chief science officer to tackle climate crisis
The former governor of Florida, Rick Scott, was widely seen as a disaster for the environment, slashing $700m from the water management budget, rolling back crucial water quality safeguards and pursuing pro-industry policies that critics said turned a blind eye to pollution and polluters. On Read More...
Green parties are the big winners of the European Parliament elections
For the past several months, we’ve seen waves of protesters young and old take to the streets of Europe to urge politicians to act on the climate crisis. With the European Green parties posting their best-ever results in the European Parliament elections, it seems the protests were simply a Read More...
The case for investing in direct air capture technology is clearer than ever
Carbon capture technology has long been hailed as one of the best tools we have for combatting climate change, but without a tangible product to sell, the economics of carbon-removing projects has been fuzzy and unappealing for investors. These days, however, the economic and political pieces Read More...
Here’s what our neighborhoods can learn from the Netherlands
Oftentimes when you walk down the streets of suburbs in America, you have the feeling that something is missing: people! While there’s plenty of space for kids to play and parents to chat with neighbors, the reality is that most people tend to spend their time in their own private spaces. Read More...
This is what the zero-carbon future of cities will look like
In most cities, buildings are responsible for more than half of emissions. Especially considering that more people are living in cities than ever before, the need for more innovative buildings that use resources sparingly is of extreme importance if we want to solve the climate crisis. With this Read More...
Park rangers in Africa are using smart GPS trackers to protect rhinos
At the end of the 20th century, the global population of rhinos stood at around 500,000. Absurd amounts of poaching have caused that number to drop down to 28,000, spurring conservationists to take more dramatic steps for protecting these precious animals. In a sprawling wildlife preserve in Read More...
Taiwan was once known as ‘Garbage Island’. Now it’s a model of recycling success
In the ’80s and ’90s, Taiwan had one of the world’s worst urban waste problems. Its landfills overflowed and mountains of rubbish clogged street corners, earning it the unflattering moniker “Garbage Island.” Fed up with the accumulation of waste, people across the country demanded action. Read More...
Animal rights groups have successfully persuaded Prada to ban fur
In a classic case of ‘better late than never’, luxury brand Prada has announced that it will finally ban the use of all fur in future fashion lines. The major fashion company joins a growing list of designers who have been successfully pressured by animal rights advocates to ban fur from their Read More...
A carbon tax is going into effect next week in South Africa
In a bid to drive down emissions and spur the transition to clean energy in South Africa, the country has joined a list of about 40 countries worldwide to adopt a carbon-pricing program. The first phase of the carbon tax will run until December 2022 and will go into effect next. Under the Read More...
Another major retailer is removing harmful plastics from shelves
One of America’s largest dollar store chains, Dollar Tree, has signed onto a program that would help the company phase out heavy metals such as lead and harmful chemicals including the plastic additives bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. For a discount store that serves millions of Americans with Read More...