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.
Toxic substance found in clothing banned by EU members
It has been known for years that nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE) degrade in the environment into substances which accumulates in the bodies of fish and disrupts their hormones, harming fertility, growth and sexual development. Still, the toxic substance was used in clothing and other textile Read More...
Business opportunity: remove carbon from the air. Who wants to pay for it?
The problem of too much CO2 in the air is an interesting challenge for innovative businesses. There’s no more effective force to solve problems than business. So more and more startups are placing bold bets on technology designed to directly capture the greenhouse gas. Their technologies work. Read More...
EU parliament backs reform of carbon market
The European Union in 2005 decided to put a cap on CO2 emitted by more than 11,000 large factories, power plants and other companies. Within the cap, companies receive or buy emission allowances which they can trade with one another. Back then, it was widely considered a key tool in combatting Read More...
Catholic organizations ask members to change lifestyle and fight climate change
Cut energy use, eat less meat and buy locally produced food. These are three examples of the necessary lifestyle changes included in the campaign launched by an international group of Catholic organizations this week. Following the pope's call to fight climate change in his environmental Read More...
Better roads and more fridges are the answer to food waste and hunger
In less developed nations where one in ten people still go to bed hungry, food waste doesn’t happen so much in the kitchen. Instead, in Africa, more than three-quarters of the waste occurs in inefficient agriculture and infrastructure or inadequate storage. Finding solutions to these Read More...
Taking better care of yourself reduces carbon emissions and supports the planet
Our high-carbon lifestyles are unhealthy—and not just for our planet. If we would cut red meat and dairy consumption, a UCL Institute for Human health and performance director says, we would make big savings in methane, a potent greenhouse gas. It would also boost our health. Similarly, choosing Read More...
Scientists find way to get synthetic hormones out of wastewater
Lakes and rivers around the world are polluted with synthetic hormones that have negative effects on wildlife, causing male fish, for instance, to become feminized and produce eggs. The synthetic hormones get into municipal wastewater because millions of women around the world take synthetic Read More...
From oil to microalgae: the race to sustainable bioasphalt is on
Standard asphalt is composed mostly of bitumen, a byproduct of crude oil distillation. Like concrete, its production is resource-, carbon- and energy-intensive. It is also a poor choice to pave roads, since it easily cracks and degrades into potholes, requiring frequent and expensive maintenance. Read More...
How the apparel industry has been making progress cleaning up textiles
Fashion has traditionally been one of the dirtiest industries around, riddled with toxic processes throughout its supply chain – from textile production to garment manufacturing. The good news is that initiatives to reduce environmental pollution have been sprouting, transforming practices and Read More...
Great Barrier Reef coral significantly safer in no-fishing reserves, study finds
For the first time a study has shown that marine reserves enhance coral health on the Great Barrier Reef. On average the reserves had a 1-percent level of coral disease, compared to 5 percent on average outside the reserves, and even up to 9 percent in certain areas. Coral tissue damaged by Read More...