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.
The rise in popularity of zero-waste stores
What are zero-waste stores? Zero-waste or refill stores, specialize in products with no packaging waste and are non-harmful for the environment. A wide variety of foods and household cleaning products can be found at many of these stores, with the hope in the future that mainstream supermarkets Read More...
Food waste prevention law takes effect in New York
According to estimates, the state of New York is responsible for about 7.8 billion pounds of food waste every year. That’s equivalent in weight to over 17,000 Statues of Liberty. In a bid to curb the humongous amount of organic waste that ends up in landfills, the state has recently joined the Read More...
Berlin plans to have the world’s largest car-free urban area
In recent years, many cities around the world have become much more aware of the plight of designing our urban spaces with a car-centric mentality. In Europe in particular, cities like Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, and Stockholm are well ahead when it comes to reclaiming urban space from cars in Read More...
Rapidly retrofitting old buildings is key for climate goals - Here's how to do it
Buildings account for about 40 percent of annual global carbon emissions. In order to meet our climate goals, every building on the planet will have to be net-zero by 2050. But since most of the current buildings will still exist then, a massive number of homes will have to undergo retrofits in Read More...
Using rubber to create safer, longer lasting EV batteries
Synthetic rubbers have been widely applied for many purposes, such as in tires, sealants, and wearable electronics. A study, from the Georgia Institute of Technology in collaboration with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, has discovered a new use for the material in electric Read More...
This market is tossing "use-by" dates to help curb food waste
The British supermarket Morrisons has decided to remove “use-by” dates on milk packaging by the end of the month in an effort to save millions of pints of milk from being needlessly thrown away each year. Instead, the supermarket is inviting their customers to use the traditional, age-old Read More...
This circular leather alternative is made from algae and peels
As people are increasingly becoming reluctant to use clothes and fashion accessories made out of animal-sourced leather, more and more designers are turning their eyes towards more sustainable and ethical alternatives. One of the latest leather alternatives on the market comes from textile Read More...
IKEA buys land ravaged by hurricane to transform into forests
The Optimist Daily has shared several stories about the popular Swedish furniture company IKEA and its environmentally friendly initiatives such as its buyback and resell program, its pledge to stop using plastic packaging, its zero-waste vegetable cookbook, and its effort to sell renewable energy Read More...
The population of Ugandan tree-climbing lions is growing
One of the only populations of Ishasha tree-climbing lions in the world resides in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park (QENP). Unfortunately, the population faces numerous threats such as loss of habitat, climate change, and illegal wildlife trade. The small group of lions only includes Read More...
Edible coating keeps fresh produce from quickly spoiling
Removing plastic packaging from fruit and vegetables in supermarkets can help reduce a significant amount of plastic waste. However, if you have a product that tends to spoil rapidly once ripe, such as a banana, you will be faced with another problem: food waste. Swapping plastic packaging for a Read More...