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.
Australian first: Newstead aims to run on 100% renewable energy within five years
The quiet Victorian town of Newstead – population approaching 500 – has a big ambition: to source all its electricity needs without burning any fossil fuels at all. Within five years, it wants all of its power to come from renewable energy sources. Newstead is not unique in that goal. Read More...
Norway set to double carbon tax on its oil industry to combat climate change
Norway has been an example of how nation must fight against climate change, and now in one of the most radical climate programs yet by an oil-producing nation, the Norweigan government has proposed doubling carbon tax on its North Sea oil industry. By doubling the tax, Norway wants to continue Read More...
Here's how to make the transition to 100% renewable energy
The question no longer is whether we can make a transition to 100% renewable energy, but how we're going to achieve this. Richard Heinberg, of the Post Carbon Institute, and David Fridley, staff scientist of the energy analysis program at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, have worked on a Read More...
Where should we stash carbon? Look down
All the while we’ve been strategizing to reduce the carbon flowing into the air, the ground beneath our feet is in dire need of it. Soil just may be the perfect carbon sink, Professor Peter Byck of Arizona State University told attendees of the GreenBiz 16 event, underway in Phoenix this week. Read More...
German city bans coffee pods on environmental grounds
The use of single-serving coffee makers has been on the rise in Western Europe, where pod machine sales outpace drip coffee makers. But they're not very good for the environment. These portion packs cause unnecessary resource consumption and waste generation, and often contain toxic aluminum. And Read More...
Soil Carbon Cowboys are here to make the soil healthy
Ranching is a rare occupation. Rarer still are the ranchers pioneering new ways to graze cattle, transforming their ranches and farms into vibrant ecosystems, producing black ink for their bank accounts and giving their incredibly robust animals a great life. These new grazing methods have many Read More...
Natural soil treatment could help trees resist deadly disease
Chalara ash dieback could kill millions of ash trees in the U.K. Experts fear it could have the same devastating impact on the country’s woodlands and landscape as Dutch elm disease in the 1970s. But now, a study by tree and shrub care company Bartlett Tree Experts found that while a third of the Read More...
Al Gore turns optimistic about stopping climate change
Al Gore scared many with his Inconvenient Truth documentary, identifying the dire consequences of global warming, thus mobilizing lots of action groups and businesses to take the issue more seriously. Now, his latest TED talk has a much more upbeat note. Yes, there are many challenges, still, but Read More...
China to build ventilation 'corridors' in Beijing to help tackle air pollution
Air pollution is a sensitive topic in China, spurring public protests every year about environmental degradation, particularly from factories. Now, plans have been announced by the Xinhua state news agency that authorities in Beijing are developing a network of ventilation “corridors” to help Read More...
Sweden's capital is on its way to becoming fossil fuel free by 2040
At the recent Paris climate summit, world leaders set an ambitious global target: no net carbon emissions by mid-century. That means all of the carbon we burn from fossil fuels must be absorbed by the world’s forests and oceans. Achieving that — well, easier said than done. Popout Share Read More...