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.
‘Food in the Nude’ project helps New Zealand supermarket reduce plastic use
A New Zealand grocery store is attempting to slash its plastic use creatively with a new “Food in the Nude” project. And no, it’s not about people getting naked – it’s about serving produce without a pile of Read More...
Radical solutions to the air pollution crisis from around the world
Air pollution is a serious global concern, linked by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to over 5.5 million deaths every year. It has been described as a greater threat to the world population than malaria and HIV combined. As policymakers and scientists scramble for ways to battle the deadly Read More...
The city of Paris is threatening lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry
In response to the city’s recent climate change damage including massive recent floods, Paris has announced that it is exploring possibilities of suing the fossil fuel industry. Last month, the mayor of New York announced that the city would divest its pension funds of $191 billion in fossil Read More...
How volcanic ash can help make cement stronger and greener
Producing cement takes a massive toll on the environment. In fact, the energy-intensive process of making cement accounts for around 5 percent of global CO2 emissions. Researchers have turned to irradiated plastic bottles and tweaking calcium levels to improve cement production in the past, and now Read More...
Patagonia is launching a new digital platform for environmental activism
Over its 40-year history, Patagonia has donated about $90 million to grassroots environmental organizations. In December the company aimed to galvanize people into taking political action against the rolling back of national monuments by declaring “The President Stole Your Read More...
Where the smog in your town actually comes from
The pollution that plagues your hometown doesn’t necessarily originate there. As it turns out, pollution can take a ride with wind patterns and travel across municipal, state, or even national lines, something known as transboundary pollution. If your curious as to where the smog hovering above Read More...
Norway decides in favor of wild reindeer over energy
Wind energy is great. But so are wild reindeer – and the Norwegian government thinks the same, evidenced when it recently rejected construction of a wind farm over concerns that it could harm the animals in an area that is home to the last remaining viable populations in Read More...
Researchers discover lost Mayan city with the help of “digital deforestation”
The ruins of a gigantic Mayan city have been discovered under the blanket of the Guatemalan jungle. Using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to see how the landscape would look without trees, the researchers found more than 60,000 previously unknown structures in the area, running the Read More...
Are glass milk bottles making a comeback because people want to avoid plastic?
Milkmen and women in floats used to be a common sight around the UK, delivering their glass bottles to communities up and down the country. Then, in the 1990s, supermarkets switched to cheaper plastic bottles and drove many of them out of business. Recent news reports about a resurgence in demand Read More...
How Sci-Fi can help fight climate change
Environmental activist Bill McKibben is known for writing grim volumes like The End of Nature, widely regarded as the first book about climate change. But his latest outing, Radio Free Vermont, is a major departure, a humorous novel about a fugitive radio host who agitates for Vermont to secede Read More...