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.
China's 'sponge cities' aim to re-use 70 percent of rainwater
Asian cities are struggling to accommodate rapid urban migration, and development is encroaching on flood-prone areas. Recent flooding in Mumbai was blamed in part on unregulated development of wetlands, while hastily built urban areas are being affected by flooding across India, Nepal, and Read More...
The U.S. should go Dutch to avoid building another Houston
Want to design a city to maximize flood damage? Start on very flat land — any kind of slope will help water flow out of Read More...
Study shows organic soil has a 26 percent higher potential for carbon storage
Organic soil has a 26 percent higher potential for long-term carbon storage than soil from conventional farms, finds new research. The study, which is a cooperative effort from Northeastern University and nonprofit research organization The Organic Read More...
Amazonian locals key to saving 'lungs of the planet' says study
Locals are more effective than governments in protecting the world's largest rainforest, a study said on Tuesday, amid efforts to crackdown on soaring illegal Read More...
New artificial reef at Sydney Opera House will shelter local marine life
Looking to replace some of the natural habitat lost to development in the Sydney Harbor, scientists are set to install an artificial reef outside the iconic Sydney Opera House as a way of preserving local marine biodiversity. The scientists have created specially designed hexagonal-shaped modules, Read More...
Put a price on urban trees – and halt this chainsaw massacre
It’s a grim season for urban trees. The usual bustle of bicycles beneath a grand parade of 140-year-old chestnut trees that crosses Tooting Common, in south London, will cease Read More...
Microbes in flower nectar affect pollination
September 11, 2017 Stanford’s community ecology lab has found that microbes in nectar can affect bird and insect interactions with the flowers and, as a result, whether they get pollinated. Dipping its beak into the sweet nectar of a flower, a Read More...
Zero-waste shop in UK displays how plastic-free lifestyle is possible
Astounded by the sheer amount of waste produced from packaging, a family-run grocery store in the UK has abandoned all forms of packaging to encourage customers to bring any and all of their own reusable containers for packing food. Rather than recycling, customers repurpose old ice-cream tubs or Read More...
Would the world be better off if everyone became vegetarian?
Red meat production, which includes all of the steps that go into supplying animals that turn into hamburgers, takes a toll on the environment in the form of greenhouse gases and the land we use. With that in mind, would the world be ridden of these environmental issues if we just stopped eating Read More...
Why flowering meadows are better than lawns
A groomed, grassy field can be good for certain uses, like sports or picnics. But for broader "ecosystem services" — things like plant pollination, disease control, soil quality and climate regulation — the smart money is in Read More...