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.
These gas stations for bees could help save declining bee populations
Scientists suspect that exponential urbanization and industrialization may be pushing bees to travel longer distances to find pollen, killing them through exhaustion. Some scientists believe bees may need a place to fuel up during their long travels, which is why a paper craftswoman and her team Read More...
Chile to become first country in the Americas to ban plastic bags
Chile is set to become the first country in the Americas to ban plastic bags to help protect the environment and especially the ocean. Congress unanimously approved the measure on Wednesday. The bill was initially designed to outlaw plastic bags in Patagonia, but was later extended Read More...
Regenerating soil: Scaling global solutions is a local proposition
For many years, agriculture—or the production of food and fiber—has resulted in the massive degradation of billions of acres of land worldwide. Now, the same industry finally has been acknowledged as having the unique ability to sequester carbon through the improvement of soils, representing a Read More...
Michelin is reincarnating used tires into new ones
Ever since tires were invented, humans have been looking for good ways of recycling them with little to no avail. But in recent years a technology company, which has been acquired by French tire giant Michelin, has figured out how to reincarnate end-of-life tires into a specialty material called Read More...
Facial recognition system can track endangered primates without being invasive
Tracking endangered animals can involve invasive things like fitting primates with GPS tracking devices. That’s why researchers have developed a far-less invasive face detection system that lets field workers keep tabs on chimpanzees, golden monkeys, and lemurs just by snapping a photo of them Read More...
Specially designed robot can pollinate flowers just like a bee
Scientists have created a robot that uses computer vision algorithms to pollinate flowers. The robot has a specially-designed arm with a set of soft brush tips similar to a bee’s hairs which allow it to gently reach out to a flower and pollinate Read More...
An insider’s look into the climate lawsuit San Francisco and Oakland vs. Big Oil
If you hadn’t heard already, the cities of Oakland and San Francisco have taken five major oil companies to court in an effort to hold them financially responsible for their role in global warming. It’s a groundbreaking lawsuit, one that could change the way we handle companies that harm our Read More...
New map shows many old-growth forests remain in Europe
Though you might read about deep, dark woods in fairy tales, the prevailing story today is that very little European old-growth forest remains. But now a new study—and map—shows that a surprising number of these primary forests still Read More...
New polls show young conservatives care about climate change
Liberals are typically thought to be concerned with climate change, and conservatives are thought to be less so. But according to a new poll from Pew Research, that’s starting to change. While 75 percent of conservative baby boomers are in favor of offshore drilling, just 44 percent of millennial Read More...
Offsetting your emissions can be as simple as adding a penny to your purchases
The emissions from a scoop of ice cream—including everything from the cows to transportation and freezing the product—add up to roughly a quarter of a pound of carbon dioxide. Now if you buy ice cream from a Ben & Jerry’s store in London’s Soho neighborhood, the company will spend a Read More...