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.
Bangladesh: The case for renewable energy
Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banks in the world, has identified Bangladesh as one of the 'Next Eleven' emerging economies, which means that Bangladesh has the potential to become one of the largest and most influential world economies this century. Although the country was rocked Read More...
Bison to return to Montana after 140 years in the Canadian wilderness
Millions of bison once thundered across North America. These massive animals, characterized by their long, shaggy brown coats, today are making a comeback in a few scattered places in the United States. In the latest ‘resettlement” descendants of a bison herd captured and sent to Canada more Read More...
Carbon farming: Growing solutions for climate change
The more carbon soil withholds, the more fertile that land becomes. So to increase crop yields while curbing carbon emissions, some farmers are turning to an agricultural practice called “carbon farming” to get the most out of their land. Carbon farming uses suites of crops and other practices Read More...
Apple’s recycling robot needs your help to save the world
Somewhere in a Cupertino warehouse, a giant labors with robotic precision, its 29 arms singularly focused on one thing: an iPhone. But instead of putting pieces together, this robot is pulling pieces apart. It disassembles iPhones at the rate of one handset every 11 seconds—less time than it Read More...
Data mining reveals the four urban conditions that create vibrant city life
Back in 1961, the gradual decline of many city centers in the U.S. began to puzzle urban planners and activists alike. One of them, the urban sociologist Jane Jacobs, began a widespread and detailed investigation of the causes and published her conclusions in The Death and Life of Great American Read More...
You can print this bamboo bike in your home for $200
It won’t be long before 3-D printing is going to revolutionize society. Designers in London want to show what that means and are pioneering a new system that uses a small 3-D printer to make the parts needed to put a bamboo bike together. The prototype uses about $20 worth of bamboo to create a Read More...
China is on an epic solar energy binge
It’s worth taking a minute to appreciate the sheer scale of what China is doing in solar right now. In 2015, the country added more than 15 gigawatts of new solar capacity, surpassing Germany as the world’s largest solar power market. China now has 43.2 gigawatts of solar capacity, compared to Read More...
"US could be renewable energy nation in 15 years"
Near wheat fields in rural Kansas, wind turbines spin away, producing clean energy that doesn’t contribute to climate change.But they do contribute to the local economy. Smiling at the turbines on his farm, Ted Bannister says, “Now on a windy day, I’m willing to buy lunch for somebody, Read More...
Seattle's 'aggressive plan' to cut pollution with 15,000 electric vehicles
This week’s pick of city stories from around the web take us from Seattle to the Finnish city of Tampere as we learn more about green transport, Batman’s hometown and a building called “Top Sexy Tower” (seriously). We’d love to hear your responses to these stories, and any others you’ve Read More...
Apple's robot rips apart iPhones for recycling
Apple Inc on Monday unveiled a robotic system called Liam to take apart junked iPhones and recover valuable materials that can be recycled, such as silver and tungsten. The move is an attempt to address criticism that Apple's products, while sleek and seamless in design, are so tightly constructed Read More...