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.
New council to help hyperloop and self-driving car projects cut though red tape
While transportation projects such as hyper loops and self-driving cars could hold the key to more efficient means of transportation, bureaucratic structures can hinder progress and slow the development of these projects. For that reason, the Secretary of Transportation has announced a council Read More...
This new internet sensation is motivating people to clean up their communities
While viral challenges that set off in the online world can range from fun to extremely dangerous, some of them can actually be quite inspiring and wholesome. Take the #trashtag challenge, for example, which is inspiring hundreds of people to go out and clean up litter-soaked places like beaches, Read More...
Company comes up with 100% compostable water bottle
Many companies are looking for better ways to package our must-have water, but these alternatives often include metal, plastic or glass that needs to be separated eventually at the recycling stage. That’s why a company by the name of Cove has created a water bottle that sidesteps the recycling Read More...
How outdoor recreation is giving historic mining towns new life after coal
The reason so many people in America champion coal as a necessary source of energy has nothing to do with its effect on the environment. Rather, it’s because coal mining employs so many people in the US, or at least, it used to. But with coal quickly falling out of favor, many coal miners are Read More...
Breathing life back into the New York Harbor with one billion oysters
Once one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and home to a copious amount of oysters, the New York Harbor is now all but bereft of the amazing biodiversity it hosted 200 years ago. The Billion Oyster Project (BOP) wants to change that by reintroducing life into the degraded ecosystem Read More...
This autonomous robot can collect up to 132 pounds of floating debris at a time
It’s estimated that at least 8 million tons of plastic waste ends up in our oceans each year, and more than 5 trillion pieces of microplastics are currently contaminating the marine ecosystems. Governments around the world have started to curb plastic production with new initiatives and Read More...
Vegan pet food gives your pet all the nutrition it needs without the emissions
The carbon footprint of pet food is enormous. In fact, one study calculated that feeding cats and dogs in the US creates the equivalent of 64 millions tons of carbon dioxide a year. That’s why a startup by the name of Wild Earth is coming up with sustainable, cruelty-free options for pet food at Read More...
These robots provide a win-win scenario for farmers and the environment
When you think about Silicon Valley, you probably don’t think of companies that specialize in farming equipment. But there’s one startup by the name of Blue River Technology that’s making waves in Silicon Valley with their special robotic farming machines. The robots they develop help farmers Read More...
Trader Joe’s to become first US supermarket to give single-use plastics the boot
Trader Joe’s has always been top of the league when it comes to supermarkets, providing only organic, non-GMO produce to its customers. On top of that, the supermarket stopped offering single-use plastic carryout bags nationwide and is replacing styrofoam meat trays with compostable options. Now Read More...
New York bans offshore oil and natural gas drilling along its coastal waters
Earlier this year, the president's administration unveiled a plan to expand offshore drilling and gas leasing in nearly all U.S. waters. Like in many other coastal regions, implementing such a plan in New York could harm hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of state revenue that Read More...