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.
Climate change dream scenario: A power plant with negative emissions
The giant coal power station at Drax in Yorkshire in the United Kingdom, with its 12 cooling towers, is one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. It sends some 23 million tonnes of carbon dioxide up its stacks each year while supplying up to a tenth of the UK’s power. But that Read More...
The Soil Story: how to take carbon out of the atmosphere and put it back in the ground
The Soil Story, created by Kiss the Ground, is a five-minute film that shares the importance of healthy soil for a healthy planet. Learn how we can "sequester"(store) carbon from our atmosphere, where it is harmful, and pull it back into the earth, where it belongs, through regenerative Read More...
This web game shows you why self-driving cars are better
You've probably heard that self-driving cars are safer than their human-guided equivalents (as a general rule, at least). But what if you have a hard time wrapping your head around how that concept works in practice? Never fear: developers Mark Backler and Peter Cardwell-Gardner have posted a web Read More...
Transport giant UPS invests in renewable fuels for its fleet
The international shipping company UPS plans to buy up to 46 million gallons of renewable diesel fuel during the next three years, to be able to replace 12 percent of the fossil fuels the company currently uses. UPS plans to get these fuels from three producers, and they are made from several Read More...
Researchers successfully growing bacteria producing ethylene, most important plastic ingredient
Imagine bacteria eating sunlight, and using this "energy" to produce the natural plant gas ethylene, the most important ingredient of plastic and polyester. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are succesfully growing these bacteria. It would be a great step forward for Read More...
Canada adopts higher standards to cut air pollution from vehicles
Transportation is a big source of air pollution in Canada, as well as the source of about 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions. Tightening regulations is important since 25% of cars are causing 90% of the air pollution that we breathe. Canada has now passed new emission standards, starting with the Read More...
Google, Apple, Coca-Cola and other companies invest $140 billion in projects that reduce carbon footprint
Thirteen of the largest US companies promised this week that they will invest at least $140 billion to lower their carbon emissions. They did this by signing the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, an initiative from the Obama administration. The thirteen companies—among them Goldman Read More...
Conservation success story: Australian humpback whale makes a comeback
Many decades of legal and illegal whaling diminished whale populations all over the world, and it's not often that we get to share a conservation success story like this one: Humpback whale populations have recovered to up to 90% of pre-whaling numbers in Australian waters. Conservation policies Read More...
Hillary Clinton wants half a billion solar panels for the US to combat climate change
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has announced goals to combat climate change, and they're ambitious. She pledges to install 500 million solar panels by 2021, if voted president. Her campaign team said these goals would lead to a 700% increase in the current solar capacity. She Read More...
Algae: the eco-friendly alternative for livestock feed
Corn is mostly genetically modified, needs to be highly processed and is a cause for allergies in people. Thankfully, algae could replace corn as feed for cattle and other livestock. A study published in the Journal of Animal Science shows that algae—microorganisms that can grow in a variety of Read More...