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.
Scientists have come up with a plant-based alternative to Styrofoam
Of all the types of waste that pollute our planet, styrofoam is one of the absolute worst. That’s because unlike many types of waste that take decades or even centuries to degrade, styrofoam never degrades. And to make matters worse, it’s made out of petroleum and creates pollution when Read More...
Europe shows us why many of the Green New Deal’s proposals are viable
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, both Democrats, introduced their Green New Deal resolution earlier this year, it quickly sank in the Senate, largely due to Republican opposition. But its ideas are certain to remain in the spotlight, given the increasing visibility of Read More...
These eco-friendly drink coolers are made using recycled tree pulp
Cheap drink coolers get the job done if you just want to keep a couple of drinks cold, but most of the times they end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to break down. Now, thanks to cooler company Igloo, we are one step closer to ditching harmful polystyrene coolers. The Read More...
China is creating a panda refuge three times the size of Yellowstone
If you love giant pandas (who doesn’t?), then you’ll be happy to hear this bit of news: the Chinese government is on the verge of creating an expanded panda refuge that will span 10,476 square miles. That’s nearly triple the size of Yellowstone. The proposed Giant Panda National Read More...
Youtube could spare the planet by allowing people to stream songs without images
YouTube isn’t only for watching videos. In fact, many people use the platform to listen to music. If people who are only listening to videos don’t have images playing, companies like YouTube might make themselves more Earth-friendly, a new study finds. That’s because a lot of the Read More...
Scientists in Iceland are slashing the country’s CO2 by turning it into solid rock
Taking the carbon burden off of our atmosphere is a prerequisite for curbing global warming, and thankfully, scientists over the world are working on a great variety of solutions to help us achieve this. Take Iceland, for instance, where 21st Century alchemists are transforming carbon dioxide into Read More...
This nonprofit is 3D-printing beautiful homes for poor families in Latin America
It seems there’s no limit to what the 3D printer can do. In the past couple weeks we’ve written about a 3D-printed artificial human heart and a 3D-printed organ that mimics the lungs in terms of function. Now the 3D printer is being utilized for another monumental task: creating a complete Read More...
America’s largest grocery chain to create and adopt a no-deforestation policy
Two years ago, the Union of Concerned Scientists released a report that ranked 13 major food companies on their deforestation-free beef commitments and practices, highlighting that fact that, "beef is the largest driver of tropical deforestation – and companies that buy beef from tropical Read More...
Six out of 10 UK voters support radical action to curb climate change
With the growing international focus on school strikes inspired by teen activist Greta Thunberg, the Extinction Rebellion protests in London, and David Attenborough’s latest documentary on climate change, enthusiasm for tougher measures on curbing global warming is on the rise in Britain. A Read More...
Yacht-sized sharks are being spotted off California coast after 30-year hiatus
Sharks as long as small yachts are starting to frequent the coastal waters of Southern California. Surely some of you beach lovers find this bit of news unsettling, but there is no need to fear. The humongous sharks we’re talking about are called basking sharks, and they are known to be peaceful Read More...