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.
How McDonald’s is distancing itself from plastic straws
In a bid to tackle plastic waste, McDonald’s has announced only hand out straws to customers upon request, rather than giving them standard with every drink. And in some diners, customers will be receiving paper straws instead of plastic. It might seem like a minuscule change, but the act of Read More...
Why Europe just banned two cosmetic ingredients you’ve probably never heard of
The European Chemicals Agency has announced a ban on the use of two chemicals widely found in cosmetics intended to be washed off after use. Although you’ve probably never heard of the chemicals cyclomethicone (D4) and cyclopentasiloxane (D5), they will be banned from use in cosmetics as of 2020 Read More...
Campaigners call for plastics-free aisles in giant U.S. grocery chain
U.S. campaigners are calling on the nation’s largest supermarket chain to introduce a plastics-free aisle, giving shoppers the option of buying products without pollution-making Read More...
These scientists have created sustainable paper out of elephant poop
In search of more environmentally-friendly ways of making paper, scientists have discovered that cow and elephant poop can offer a simple and sustainable alternative. Paper typically requires cellulose, and as it turns out, the diet of roaming herbivores such as elephants are full of high-fiber, Read More...
The European carbon market is cutting emissions across all industries
Thirteen years after Europe’s carbon market was invented, it looks as if it’s finally starting to do what it was meant to do: reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. Even though European Union policymakers are continuously increasing the cost of pollution, industry giants are not complaining because Read More...
Scientists believe they found a way to stop hurricanes in their tracks
There have been at least a dozen devastating hurricanes that have wreaked havoc in the last decade – but there may be hope on the horizon for a solution. These Norwegian scientists believe that they may be able to use existing technologies to stop hurricanes in their Read More...
A promise is a promise: Starbucks to finally make a fully compostable cup
A decade ago, Starbucks pledged it would introduce 100 percent recyclable coffee cups. Now the coffee giant is finally going to deliver on its promise and develop a ‘fully recyclable and compostable cup’ after a coalition of environmental organizations pressured the company to honor its Read More...
Israeli firm says it can turn garbage into plastic gold
Hawks, vultures and storks circle overhead as Christopher Sveen points at the heap of refuse rotting in the desert heat. "This is the mine of the future," he beams. Sveen is chief operations officer at UBQ, an Israeli company that has patented a process to convert household trash from landfills Read More...
Scientists believe this microbe could eat up the world’s plastic problem
The preferred solution to pollution requires acting at the source to prevent the contaminants from entering the environment in the first place. But as it is clear there is already a big mess to clean up, and as we probably won't stop using plastics today, it seems worth looking at progress in Read More...
Could this be the solution to plastic packaging?
Wrapping something as perishable as food in something as indestructible as plastic makes no sense at all. Changing the way we package our food is a dire need, but fortunately, one company has already come up with a solution. By utilizing plant materials, the company has created a packaging that is Read More...