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.
Largest palm oil producer makes supply chain transparent
Palm oil is in half of the products the average person uses, seriously. Many palm oil farmers cut down swaths of rainforest to plant their palm oil trees, often in protected habitats. Additionally, palm oil supply chains are difficult to follow—once a bucket of palm oil is dumped into a giant Read More...
Intel and Microsoft are greenest energy consumers
Every quarter the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks the top 100 greenest energy consumers. The list includes companies, cities, and government departments. Despite having enormous, energy-consuming campuses, Intel and Microsoft toped the EPA’s list. Both companies produce more energy Read More...
Obama to cut methane emissions
Our society is hooked on oil and natural gas. While we make the transition into a—hopefully—completely green society, we need to minimize the impact of the fossil fuels our society has to use in order to keep running. In an effort to do exactly that the Obama administration has announced plans Read More...
New York bans Styrofoam
Single-use Styrofoam containers are horrible, they don’t biodegrade so they pile up in landfills. Now New York City has joined a few others across the US and has announced a ban on single-use Styrofoam, set to go into law July 1 this year. While some are worried about the impact this new law will Read More...
Shell ordered to pay after spill
Six years ago Shell oil spills devastated parts of the Nigerian Delta. Now after years of hard work and dragging the oil giant through court they are finally paying back both the community and individuals impacted by the spills. Shell will pay about $52 million to the communities around where the Read More...
This bus is powered by your waste
Yesterday, we wrote about the plant in California that turns sewage into hydrogen to fuel clean electric cars. Now the UK introduces a bus that needs the waste produced by five people in a year to fill its tank with biomethane gas, and drive 186 miles per tank. Humans are finding their way to the Read More...
Solar heat power breakthrough
Another week, another jaw-dropping solar technology breakthrough. The critical point of solar technology is the amount of light that can be captured by light-absorbing material and converted into electricity (photovoltaic panels) or heat (concentrated solar power). Researchers at the University of Read More...
China to cap emissions for steel, cement
In their latest attempt to breathe fresh air into its asphyxiated cities, the People’s Government has announced planned caps on two of its major polluting industries: Steel and cement production. While the cap isn’t aimed at reduction—2015 emissions from the two industries should be equal to Read More...
Norway is most prepared for climate change
Norway is best prepared for the impact of global warming. The country tops rankings prepared by the University of Notre Dame. The US came in at number 8. The rankings took into account vulnerability and readiness to adapt to droughts, extreme weather, and other natural disasters associated with Read More...
Solar walls: the next dimension in renewable energy
In The Optimist Daily we’ve written before about solar cells that have been integrated in windows. But could they serve as walls? Well, yes. CSEM a Swiss non-profit company, made them. They’re white, but they can come in every color you like. (White keeps the cells cooler, boosting efficiency.) Read More...