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.
Is your city amongst the most sustainably powered cities in America?
When it comes to sustainability, cities from the East Coast of America need to take note of the West Coast. San Francisco and Oakland finished on top of a recent ranking of sustainability by city, followed by Seattle and Portland. The ranking was determined by how much of a city’s energy comes Read More...
Climate change: a chance to restructure toxic politics and destructive economics
This author interviewed many experts across many fields about the impact of climate change. All these people are working on economic and political solutions. The emerging picture is inspiring and optimistic. The solutions are as diverse as the backgrounds of the experts. However, they agree that Read More...
U.S. Supreme Court: teenagers can proceed with climate lawsuit
The Trump administration argued that the lawsuit was against the U.S. Constitution, but the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to halt a novel case pressed by children and teenagers seeking to force the federal government to take steps against climate change. The teenagers say government policies have Read More...
Save energy and the planet: your clothes don’t get cleaner in warm water
It used to be that your clothes got cleaner if washed in warm water. However, today's detergents are made to do the job as well in cold water. And that means that you can save energy and the environment by washing with cold water Read More...
Climate change: it’s not a solar panel, it’s a woman
Most people think about installing more solar panels and windmills when it comes to reducing carbon emission and global warming. However, there’s something else that will have an even bigger positive impact: elevating the role of women, particularly in the developing world. Education of girls and Read More...
Wildfire prevention Portugal style: goats
Wildfires threaten environments around the world. There’s a prevention method that has been tested over centuries: goats. Last year deaths from wildfires in Portugal reached a record high of 106. This summer, however, hundreds of goats are being deployed to eat underbrush and dry vegetation that Read More...
At last, some Republicans are joining the climate change fight
Global warming has been accepted by almost every government and political party in the world—except for the Republican party in the U.S. So, it’s major news that a Republican member of the House of Representatives has introduced legislation to implement a carbon tax. Starting in 2020, the tax Read More...
Where politicians fail, kids are succeeding: the success of climate change suits
Nobody could have predicted children would get this far. From Colombia and Belgium to India, Norway and the U.S., they are succeeding bringing lawsuits arguing that their governments have violated “the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property” by adopting Read More...
IBM thinks blockchains can help reduce carbon emissions
IBM is turning carbon credits into crypto-tokens—part of a scheme to create a massive marketplace of novel digital Read More...
This 19th-century invention to heat homes helps cutting carbon emissions
Heat pumps were invented in 1856. The system works as a fridge in reverse. The pumps never became a commercial winner because they are powered by electricity and it was usually cheaper to burn fossil fuels for heating and cooling homes. That’s now changing as the world spends about 15 percent of Read More...