Today’s Solutions: January 11, 2025

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.

Young man enjoys big and tasty breakfast at downtown cafe, prepares delicious sandwich or toast with avocado spread and smoked salmon on top.

The time has almost come for vegan lab-grown salmon filets to hit the market

Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of buzz around meat alternatives—lab-grown meat alternatives that are— that will help those who don’t want to sacrifice the taste and “mouth feel” of real animal products ease into a more sustainable, eco-friendly, and a plant-based Read More...

Ancient tree / Woodland walk at Allen Banks in Northumberland past ancient trees

This UK-based project maps England’s hidden ancient trees

An impressive project taken up by researchers at the University of Nottingham is revealing the secret hiding places of England’s ancient and veteran trees—and it turns out that the country is hosting ten times as many as experts had thought. Conservationists compare the researcher’s Read More...

The five ring symbol of the Olympic Games at tokyo museum and new stadium in background. Japan will host the Tokyo 2020 summer olympics and Paralympic.

CO2 emissions significantly reduced at the last Olympic Games

The Pandemic turned everyone’s world upside down, causing us all to adapt to new ways of life and society to find a new “normal.” While this experience came with its negatives, it also created an opportunity for numerous lessons to be learned and possibilities for change, especially when it Read More...

Aerial View of the Ohio River between Jeffersonville, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky

600 acres of neglected land to be transformed into climate-adaptive park

600 acres of neglected land in the state of Indiana is finally going to be transformed into Origin Park—a climate-adaptive park that had been in the works for several years and was supposed to be completed in 2021. Of course, due to unavoidable delays, the project didn’t break ground until Read More...

Laptop keyboard with plant growing on it. Green IT computing concept.

What you need to do to make your office more sustainable

Chances are it takes quite a lot of resources to keep your office running. Think about it. The office needs lighting and heat, the printer requires ink and paper, and may use disposable cups and other single-use plastics that can easily be thrown away instead of cleaning. With just a few changes, Read More...

Gardening

New study shows gardening alleviates depression and anxiety

In a new study from the University of Florida, researchers proved that gardening can improve the mental well-being of even healthy people.  “Past studies have shown that gardening can help improve the mental health of people who have existing medical conditions or challenges. Our study shows Read More...

European common toad (bufo bufo) looking out of in shallow water.

To ecologists’ surprise, toads can climb trees

Toads were always known as terrestrial creatures, spending their time on both land and in water… until now. To ecologists’ surprise, a group of volunteers surveying dormice and bats in trees made the accidental and unexpected discovery that toads also dwell in trees. How did they discover Read More...

Car Maintenance

9 driving changes you can make to save more and burn less

Gas prices keep going up. While many of us can’t yet afford an electric vehicle, and we still need to get places, there are little tweaks we can make to save money on gas by burning less of it. Here are nine tips for your car, your driving, and your lifestyle to save some cash at the pumps and Read More...

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds have the widest color range of all birds

Among the different species of birds, hummingbirds are among the most iconic and distinct in the skies. These unique creatures hover unlike most birds, they feed on sugary nectar, and they have incredible metabolisms. They also have the most wide-ranging colors in their plumage of all other Read More...

Clone mice

Scientists clone first mice from freeze-dried skin cells

Even before Jurassic Park, many have fantasized about cloning endangered animals. Science fiction made this seem too simple, easily copying a complex creature from recovered DNA. Now, that fantastical process is not so far off.  Researchers have cloned the world’s first mice from freeze-dried Read More...