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.
This simple strategy could help mitigate massive amounts of carbon
When we think of solutions that may help save the world from climate change, we tend to think of the technologies such as solar panels and carbon capture systems. The truth, however, is that there are other ways that are much simpler to cut down on carbon emissions. One way, a researcher found, is Read More...
Bill McKibben: Winning slowly is the same as losing
If we don't win very quickly on climate change, then we will never win. That's the core truth about global Read More...
'One garbage truck of textiles is thrown away every second'
In a new report, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation exposed the scale of waste within the fashion industry, which creates 1.2bn tons of greenhouse gas emission each year—larger than that of international flights and shipping combined. The fashion industry is incredibly wasteful, but thanks to the Read More...
SkyCool’s panels can cast heat into space
In the small rear suite of a light industrial building near the San Francisco airport, Eli Goldstein looks over a set of silver panels tilted on metal racking. The panels look like simple mirrors, but Read More...
Dark ocean bacteria discovered to play large role in carbon capture
Marine bacteria that live in the dark depths of the ocean play a newly discovered and significant role in the global carbon cycle, according to a new study published in Science. The "dark ocean" - everything that lies below 200 meters - makes up 90 Read More...
Fighting climate change starts with what you put on your plate
While meat is considered to be the main food-related contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, there are plenty of highly processed foods that also add to emissions. Worst of all, these processed foods such as salty snacks and sweets add to the burden of greenhouses gases without doing anything for Read More...
India's farmer network is saving seeds from climate change
Every gardener knows that native weeds can be harder to kill than that one precious, exotic flower that seems ready to droop at the slightest affront. Yet few seem aware that the same principles apply to the Read More...
Swimming against the stream: Seafood company uses data to clean up the oceans
Tuna itself may be good for the heart, but the levels of mercury often found in tuna can wreak havoc on your body over time. To ensure its tuna is free from harmful levels of mercury, a fishing company has mercury standards ten times stricter than the FDA recommends, which it enforces using an Read More...
Georgia is planting a special carbon-capturing crop alongside its highway
On a stretch of highway in Georgia, a project to create the world’s first sustainable highway is currently underway. A solar farm has been installed on the shoulder and “solar pavement” has been paved on the roads, and now a special crop is being planted along the road to absorb carbon. Read More...
Urban wildlife plays a key role in keeping us humans healthy
Sharing our city blocks with trees, birds, and other animals is a good thing. As strange as it sounds, urban wildlife helps control the spread of diseases typically passed from animals to humans. Unfortunately, as the world continues to urbanize, more and more of the natural spaces found within Read More...