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.
The top 20 most sustainable cities (not one is in the U.S.)
The most sustainable cities have shorter commutes, more bike lanes, and more neighborhood farmers’ markets. The Amsterdam-based engineering and consulting company Arcadis did, for the second year in a row, a survey that covers 100 cities around the globe. Zurich in Switzerland leads the list Read More...
Romania is teaming up with Greenpeace to keep its forests untouched
In a race to save one of the last untouched forests in Europe, the Romanian government has teamed up with Greenpeace and other environmental NGOs to create a database that will ensure the federal protection status. The database will create clear boundaries to keep loggers from working illegally, Read More...
Londoners overwhelmingly back Sadiq Khan’s air pollution crackdown
Londoners are backing Sadiq Khan’s plans to crack down on air pollution in the capital, with more than 70 per cent of residents supporting plans to bring forward measures to restrict polluting vehicles in the city, according to the results of the Mayor’s air quality consultation. Some Read More...
Steel emissions could power low-carbon flight, claims Virgin Atlantic
Airline develops world’s first jet fuel made with waste industrial gases from steel mills Commercial airliners could soon be criss-crossing the skies powered by jet fuel made from waste gases from steel mills, thanks to a scientific breakthrough by low-carbon fuel specialists LanzaTech and Read More...
Forensic science could be key in stopping endangered animal poaching
Later this month, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species will meet with forensic scientists to propose a series of changes that could make new technologies available that can help track down poachers. With the latest forensic technology, a poacher caught with a rhino horn, Read More...
Cleaning ports and seas with a trash-eating “shark” drone
The Port of Rotterdam in The Netherlands is using a new experimental drone vessel to clean the harbor. The “Waste Shark” can gather up to 500 kilograms (1120 pounds) of waste before returning it to a collection point. The vessel also gathers data about water quality, and designs more efficient Read More...
Sustainable farming and regenerating soil hold key to tackling global warming
Soil is the second biggest reservoir of carbon on the planet, next to the oceans. It holds four times more carbon than all the plants and trees in the world. But human activity like deforestation and industrial farming—with its intensive plowing, monoculture and heavy use of chemical fertilizers Read More...
Marine conservation efforts just took a major step forward
Ocean conservation efforts took a significant step forward on Friday when a measure to protect 30 percent of the world's oceans by 2030 passed during a major meeting in Hawaii. The resolution, which is non-binding, garnered widespread support from the governments and global organizations Read More...
Kenya to plant a 'green dress' the size of Costa Rica
Kenya aims to restore trees and vegetation across almost nine percent of its land mass by 2030, the government said on Thursday, in a bold initiative to combat climate change, poverty and hunger. The 5.1 million hectares of deforested and degraded land targeted for landscape and forest restoration Read More...
Fungus could be the answer to recycling smartphones
As the world’s supply of lithium nears depletion, researchers are looking at fungus as a solution to the issue. Lithium is used in the batteries of electric cars and smartphones, and what researchers are finding is that fungus can naturally eat up old batteries and spit out lithium, along with Read More...