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.
Once a French coal-mining zone, now a green tourism hub
Once upon a time, Nord-Pas-de-Calais supplied half of France’s coal. This region in the north of the country is distinguished by the giant pyramid-like black cones of slag which are a result of three centuries of environmental and economic hardship. Now, when you get close to the slag cones, Read More...
UK cracks down on greenwashing
As is so often and tragically the case, commerce can adapt more quickly than policy. We’re seeing this right now in what’s known as greenwashing. This is where companies label their products as “eco-friendly,” “greener,” or “sustainable” to appeal to environmentally conscious Read More...
An extinct rock may’ve made life on Earth possible
By delving into our past, we afford ourselves ways to learn about our present and our future. Planetary scientists from Yale University have delved very deeply into our past and discovered perhaps how life was able to form on our planet. Earth’s uninhabitable period In the first 500 million Read More...
The New Symbiosis: Living with Wildlife
“We’re animals. We’re born like every other mammal and we live our whole lives around disguised animal thoughts.” - Barbara Kingsolver By Oliver Kammeyer Human society developed an idea over time that it is separate from nature, that we exist apart from it, or in spite of it. Perhaps it Read More...
This company uses an ancient microbe to convert CO2 into food
Many plant-based meats and dairy substitutes use pea protein isolates as their primary protein source. This often involves a complex process of cleaning the protein to get rid of unwelcome flavors, as well as adding additional ingredients to cover up the taste. A Vienna-based company, called Arkeon Read More...
North Island brown kiwi “no longer threatened”
Kiwis are funny-looking, round, and flightless birds and are the only birds in the world with nostrils at the ends of their beaks. They have the highest body temperature of any bird, over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and they also lay one of the largest eggs relative to their little bodies. The kiwi Read More...
Australian humpback whales come back from endangered status
The majestic and graceful humpback whale is a sight to see in the wild, but unfortunately, these creatures were not only admired by those who have the pleasure of seeing them but desired so much that they became a target for whalers. Between the 19th and mid-20th centuries, the population of Read More...
Peatlands, a boggy carbon sink absolutely worth saving
For those in the world who have to live with it, you may wonder “what on earth is peat good for?” Peatland is a mossy wet mass that you can’t build on, you can barely walk on, you can’t grow crops on it, and all its stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes which bring Read More...
Fractals: why your brain prefers nature over cities
You’re probably very aware at this point that it’s healthy for you to spend more time outside. While we’ve certainly written about it a great deal, scientists keep unveiling new findings about the relationship between lower stress and nature. For instance, new research from the Read More...
Scientists discover an octopus from before the dinosaurs
They are alarmingly intelligent and can solve puzzles. They can change their color to blend into their surroundings and they can squeeze themselves through tiny spaces. Is it any wonder that octopuses, being some of the most adaptable creatures on the planet, may even pre-date the Read More...