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.
The Ocean Cleanup project has succeeded in first big challenge at sea
After undergoing virtually successful trials of its advanced technologies in the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Cleanup, the non-profit organization is now venturing onward on its journey of relieving our oceans of plastic. The project is now officially headed towards the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Read More...
To save a forest threatened by mining, this startup offered to buy it
Germany is working on plans to phase out coal, and the head of a large German energy company, RWE, has said that the company is “ready to abandon coal.” But before that happens, the company wants to cut down the remaining slice of a 12,000-year-old forest to expand a coal Read More...
Study in Ethiopia links healthy soils to more nutritious cereals
Large fields, predictable rainfall, and favorable temperatures have meant that farmers in Arsi Negele, a town in southeastern Ethiopia, have benefited from good crop yields. Their production of wheat and maize, two of the main food staples in Ethiopia, have also increased over Read More...
Why 2 degrees of global warming is way worse than 1.5 degrees
While the Paris Climate Agreement strives to keep global average temperatures below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the ultimate goal is to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. How important is that difference though? What might happen if the temperatures rise just 2 degrees higher? This Read More...
Copenhagen is winning the race to carbon neutral… on bikes
More than 70 major cities around the world have pledged to end their reliance on fossil fuels and become carbon neutral by 2050. However, Copenhagen aims to accomplish this goal in the next seven years. Bikes play a central role in the strategy of the Danish capital. While other cities have parking Read More...
Cold plasma pyrolysis: turning plastic waste into green energy
Plastic pollution is a major environmental problem. It's possible to convert all plastics directly into useful forms of energy and chemicals for industry, using a process called "cold plasma Read More...
40 scientists: protecting forests is an urgent climate issue
Avoiding forest carbon emissions is just as urgent as halting fossil fuel use. That's the message contained in a statement written by 40 scientists from five different countries urging the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to consider preserving and regrowing forests as an important Read More...
Awakening collective vision - an alternative telling of America’s story
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Across North and South America, indigenous peoples are making their voices heard. By: Luke Disney Indigenous peoples of North and South America have sought recognition of their identities, ways of life and their right to traditional lands, territories and Read More...
Puerto Rico planting 750,000 trees to defend land from natural disasters
It has been a year since one of the most devastating and deadly natural disasters of the U.S. struck Puerto Rico. This video shows how the island is taking steps to defend itself against future Read More...
Fewer biofuels, more green space: climate action researcher calls for urgent shift
Growing and harvesting bioenergy crops—corn for ethanol or trees to fuel power plants, for example—is a poor use of land, which is a precious resource in the fight against climate change, says a University of Michigan researcher. Untampered green areas like forests and grasslands naturally Read More...