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.
Ultra-Low Emissions Zone extended to all of London
The Optimist Daily has followed the progress of London’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) since the beginning when mayor Sadiq Khan planned to reduce the city’s air pollution and introduce a charge on the most polluting vehicles in the city. In 2019, ULEZ was enacted, charging motorists £12.50 Read More...
Europe’s first biorefinery uses algae to make jet biofuel
The global aviation industry is responsible for more than 2 percent of human-produced carbon dioxide emissions. To put a dent in that statistic, scientists have been actively searching for cost-effective and eco-friendly aviation fuels derived from natural resources. In recent years, microalgae Read More...
6 impactful changes you can make to help avoid climate crisis
When it comes to climate change, just reading the news can be overwhelming. Hearing about wildfires and droughts, considering greenwashing and corporate carbon emissions, it’s easy to become stressed without even leaving your house, to think that there’s nothing you can do as an individual to Read More...
Green role models, an eco-friendly media change
Scientific advancements, policy changes, and technological solutions are certainly important in our fight against climate change, however, we cannot rely only on these methods if we truly want to help the environment. To effectively tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, we must also Read More...
City trees may trap more CO2 than we thought
It’s becoming common knowledge at this point that trees greatly benefit cities and the people that call them home. City trees and urban green areas regulate temperature, improve mental health and reduce loneliness for urbanites, clean the air and even reduce crime rates. Our tall, green friends Read More...
Offshore wind farms might reverse climate change effects and help sea life
As the demand for renewable energy gets higher and higher, offshore wind turbines will inevitably move further and further away from the shore. Fortunately, floating turbine technology will help facilitate this shift—but now, for the first time ever, areas of the UK continental shelf that are Read More...
Healthier soil means healthier food
We’ve written in the past about regenerative agriculture and how it benefits the planet. It’s a simple system of farming that involves plowing less, using cover crops, and diversifying to create healthier soil. The practice has made products that are 100 percent carbon negative, and it has Read More...
This system takes CO2 from the air by taking it from the sea
The world over, researchers and scientists are looking for effective and economical ways to pull CO2 out of the air to mitigate the effects of climate change. There are many promising solutions out there, but the amount of CO2 that needs to be withdrawn is substantial and the process of pulling it Read More...
This newly launched satellite will improve weather tracking
You may get tired of hearing it, but knowledge is useful. It’s something we at The Optimist Daily try to empower you with every day, and it is something NASA understands the value of in plotting our climate-related future. That’s why the GOES-T Satellite’s launch last Tuesday is so Read More...
Oregon Senate is getting ahead of the next heat wave
Last summer, in June, western North America experienced an unprecedented heatwave that killed more than 500 people across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Canada. To prevent this tragedy from repeating itself this year, lawmakers in Oregon are preparing themselves for another scorching summer Read More...