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.
Sustainable road building: Pig manure can replace asphalt
Roads are made of asphalt, an environmentally polluting petroleum product. Researchers have been looking for a low-cost, sustainable replacement. Now they have found that pig manure is rich in oils very similar to petroleum, at a grade too low to make gasoline but suited for asphalt. The group Read More...
Floating solar produces clean energy and saves water
The Southwest of the U.S. is dealing with a multi-year drought. Many man-made drinking water reservoirs are at all-time lows, and they continue to deplete as vast quantities of water are lost to evaporation. What if the same scorching sun that causes so much of this water loss were harnessed for Read More...
Climate change: UK to set bold emissions target
A world-leading climate change target up to the early 2030s is set to be confirmed by the British government. Ministers are expected to announce that the UK will cut carbon emissions by 57% by 2032, from 1990 levels. The announcement will help reassure the investors needed to overhaul the UK's Read More...
Committing to recycling the “non-recyclable”
Waste items most commonly known to be recyclable include glass bottles, aluminum cans, and plastics like water bottles or milk jugs. Many opportunities to capture and divert potentially valuable materials from the landfill are missed. Examples of these missed opportunities include industrial waste, Read More...
Clean, renewable energy can save 6.5 million lives each year
Global warming is seen as a top global threat that drives investments in clean, renewable energy. However, it’s a threat that is many years or even decades away. The most important reason to convert to clean energy is that every day in the world almost 18,000 people die as a result of air Read More...
Scientists call for urgent action to save the world's coral reefs
As the largest international gathering of coral reef experts comes to a close, scientists have sent a letter to Australian officials calling for action to save the world's reefs, which are being rapidly damaged. The letter was sent Saturday to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull imploring Read More...
Immense species richness of bacterial-eating microorganisms discovered in soil
Millions of microorganisms play a major role in the decomposition of soil matter. A group of researchers has just shown that there is an enormous diversity among a group of bacteria-eating microorganisms known as Cercozoa. The research suggests that a drier climate in the years ahead due to climate Read More...
Americans rush to Cuba to save organic agriculture practices on the island
For decades, an international embargo prevented Cuba from importing things fertilizer and pesticides, and pharmaceutical drugs. As a result, the country had to rely on organic agriculture and traditional medicine to serve its population. Now that Cuba is slowly re-entering the world community, that Read More...
Rwanda, Mexico seek to make coffee more sustainable
Nearly 9,000 miles apart, Rwanda and Mexico are the first countries to join the Sustainable Coffee Challenge — which aims to increase the demand for sustainable coffee. Representatives from both countries joined with Conservation International (CI) at European Development Days to announce their Read More...
Centuries-old African soil technique could combat climate change: scientists
A farming technique practiced for centuries in West Africa, which transforms nutrient-poor rainforest soil into fertile farmland, could combat climate change and revolutionize farming across the continent, researchers said on Tuesday. Adding kitchen waste and charcoal to tropical soil can turn it Read More...