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.
4 eco-conscious innovations that make biking more accessible
We at The Optimist Daily have written about the many positive aspects of biking as a form of recreation and transport. If more communities chose to develop infrastructure that favors bicycles over cars, our world would be a safer, greener, and healthier place. Biking has grown in popularity Read More...
Passive cooling techniques reduce AC strain by up to 80 percent
In the summer months, many of us are of two minds: we’re dying to keep it cool, but we’re also dying not to spend too much on electricity. Not only that, many of us don’t want to overload our town’s power grid during the summer, so we’re turned to AC alternatives. As it turns out, Read More...
Crab Trapper Whiskey: capturing invasive species and putting them in whiskey
An occasionally neglected fact of conservation is the encroachment of invasive species. Some non-native animals can wind up consuming all available resources for endangered species, and sometimes the endangered species themselves. This was the case with the lionfish, which Florida fishers addressed Read More...
How historic cemeteries help biodiversity thrive
Historic burial places often bring about thoughts of peace and death, however, they actually have a lot of potential for preserving ecological systems and conserving biodiversity that has otherwise been lost in the region. This is because cemeteries have spiritual and sentimental meaning, and so Read More...
Vegetable oil byproduct can filter heavy metals from water
It’s unfortunate, but creating many of our products these days can also create harmful waste. We love finding stories about businesses and scientists repurposing waste to improve life. Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and ETH Zurich, Switzerland have discovered a Read More...
White House and 11 East Coast states partner to bolster offshore wind power
On Thursday, the White House announced that it will partner with 11 East Coast states to bolster offshore wind energy. This arrangement, called the Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership, will help to reach national climate goals of 30 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Read More...
Lego to set up a factory in Virginia... and it comes with its own solar park
Danish company the Lego Group has established itself as one of The Optimist Daily’s favorite toymakers for its many efforts and initiatives that make this world a more inclusive, accessible, greener, and all-around better place. Now, we’re happy to report that Lego is up to more Read More...
Wild tortoises live a long time, and some don’t age at all
The oldest living land animal in the world is named Jonathan, and he is a 190-year-old Seychelles giant tortoise. Jonathan and other cold-blooded species like his are famous for living outstandingly long lives. They age incredibly slowly, and new research suggests that some might not age at Read More...
Fragrances after desert rainstorms may have health benefits
If you’ve ever lived in the Southwestern United States, you know the calming smell of the desert after a rainstorm. The earth and desert flora like creosote emit an aroma after rain unlike anything else. They also, as it turns out, have health benefits for those smelling them. Researchers Read More...
LA may ban the construction of new gas stations
In the face of the climate emergency, officials in Los Angeles are working on policies to stop the construction of new gas stations. Being the second-largest city in America, LA could become the largest city in the world to prohibit new fossil fuel infrastructure. “We are ending oil drilling Read More...