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 plan that will make use of Alberta's abandoned oil wells
The continuously falling price of oil has left thousands of oil wells abandoned in Alberta, but a new proposal may have found a way to make use of those wells again. The Living Energy Project wants to use the waste heat produced from the idle facilities to allow crops to grow, even in Canada’s Read More...
Pressure mounts on retailers to reform throwaway clothing culture
Fast-growing, fast-fashion retailer H&M, which has more than 4,000 stores in 62 countries, sold $24.5bn worth of T-shirts, pants, jackets, and dresses last year. It also took 12,000 tons of clothes back. In a glossy, celebrity-studded video, H&M says: “There are no rules in fashion Read More...
Killing weeds with light beams, not pesticides
At The Optimist Daily we are convinced that organic agriculture can feed the world in a healthy way. But on the way to that ultimate goal we may need some help from technology. Here’s an example: The U.S. Air Force is experimenting with a device that removes weeds without the use of toxic Read More...
This eco-friendly fire could be the solution to oil spills
Disclaimer: What you are about to read may leaved you flabbergasted. Scientists at the University of Maryland have discovered a new state of burning that is nearly soot-free, and they believe it may be the solution for cleaning up oil spills. This new type of fire evaporates oil from the surface of Read More...
Gabon launches elephant fences in pioneering conservation move
The President of Gabon, one of the founding members of the Giants Club conservation initiative, today demonstrated his commitment to his people and conservationists globally by officially launching the first elephant fence in Gabon. Human elephant conflict is a daily reality across Read More...
This project is helping women support their families while curbing deforestation in Zambia
What’s driving deforestation in Zambia is the same thing that is creating one of the country’s biggest health hazards: charcoal. So to help address both issues in one go, a group of volunteers is empowering women in Zambia with clean wood chip stoves which they can sell in their local Read More...
New cargo ships combine the old with the new for carbon-free shipping
You know what was best about old-school cargo ships? With their masts and sails, they were the original carbon-neutral ships. Now we’re seeing a resurgence of these classics as cargo ships are combining centuries old technology like masts with modern inventions like solar panels and battery Read More...
This startup has the first viable replacement for palm oil, and its made of carbon dioxide
The world’s growing demand for palm oil, which is used in nearly half of all packaged food in supermarkets, has led to the destruction of critical rainforest lands that have been replaced by plantations. In fact, Indonesia’s burning rainforests released more climate pollution, day by day, than Read More...
Every U.S government agency must now document how their actions will affect the climate
The Obama administration has finalized a new six-year process of shaping how each of the government’s agencies will factor climate change into their decisions. In this latest climate change policy, the Council on Environmental Quality will ask agencies to not only include climate change in their Read More...
'No one leaves anymore'. How Ethiopia's restored drylands offer hope
Kahsay Gebretsadik was arrested at 5am in Saudi Arabia. As an illegal immigrant with no papers he knew this was the end of his stay. After 15 days in prison, police placed him on a plane to Addis Ababa, one of 160,000 Ethiopian migrants expelled from Saudi Arabia in recent years. A perilous trek Read More...