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.
Toyota is offering royalty-free access to 24,000 patents related to EVs
In a move rarely seen by major corporations, Toyota has announced it will allow royalty-free access to its nearly 24,000 patents for hybrid and other vehicles using electrification technology in a bid to expand competition in the market as the industry adopts stricter emissions regulations. Read More...
Volkswagen’s electric self-driving cars are hitting the streets of Hamburg
Anyone who truly cares about the environment probably shudders a little at the mention of Volkswagen. Nonetheless, Volkswagen has a goal of making automated driving a practical reality by 2025, and is hustling to make that happen. The German Automaker is now testing self-driving versions of its Read More...
African nations are building wall of their own, and it’s made out of trees
While the president is busy trying to build a wall at the southern US border, locals, environmentalists, and scientists from more than 20 African nations are building a wall of trees at the southern edge of the Sahara Desert to fight the effects of climate change. The tree-planting project, which Read More...
Germany saw a big drop in carbon emissions in 2018
As the biggest economy in all of Europe, Germany is also a major emitter of greenhouse gasses. This past year, however, Germany released 38 million tons of carbon dioxide less than it had the previous years, signifying a 4.2 percent drop in total emission. The reason for this drop is not as Read More...
Norway sets record as it sells more electric vehicles than gas and diesel ones
The EV revolution is blossoming and Norway is here to prove it. In a symbolic first, electric cars outsold fossil fuel-powered ones in the Scandinavian country last month. The country set a record in March when 58.4 percent of new cars sold in the country were battery-powered. To achieve such Read More...
A photographer caught a rare glimpse of a “golden” zebra in Tanzania
People who make the journey through Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park are already very fortunate if they spot a pack of zebras from nearby. That's’ why photographer Sergio Pitamitz couldn’t believe his luck when he came across one of the rarest creatures in the animal kingdom: a “golden” Read More...
Can New York City's congestion pricing plan alleviate traffic?
Talk to any New Yorker and they will tell you how bad traffic is in the city. Recently, policymakers decided to address the problem by introducing a bill that would charge vehicles over $10 to drive in the busiest parts of Manhattan. But to ensure that their congestion pricing plan is effective, Read More...
A Dutch inventor has created a ‘cow toilet’ to reduce emissions from urine
By now you’ve probably heard about cow farts and the massive amounts of methane they squeeze into the atmosphere, but did you know cow urine also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions? As it turns out, urine can produce large amounts of nitrous oxide after spilling onto the ground, soaking into Read More...
A battery-swapping scheme is electrifying rickshaws in India
In India, where fewer than four million cars are sold annually, auto rickshaws (called tuk-tuks in other Asian countries) are one of the dominant modes of transportation. As India attempts to clean up the country’s troublesome air pollution, some manufacturers are now, for the first time, Read More...
Burger King is now offering Whoppers made from meatless patties
There used to be a great stigma surrounding plant-based burgers, but now it seems those days are long gone after fast food giant Burger King announced plans to offer vegetarian Whoppers made using meatless patties from Impossible Foods. At 59 locations in and around St. Louis, customers will be Read More...