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.
One ambitious crew is bringing carbon-neutral shipping to the Hudson River
Many conscious consumers choose to limit their online shopping to reduce their personal footprint, but entrepreneur Sam Merrett is taking sustainable commerce to a new level. After purchasing a 64-foot steel-hulled sailboat on Craigslist in 2015, he launched a “clean shipping” venture which Read More...
This soccer club to become the first in the US with a zero-landfill stadium
Soccer games at the Subaru Park stadium in Philadelphia are about to get a lot greener thanks to a new initiative that aims to divert 100 percent of the waste generated during matches away from landfills. Home to the Philadelphia Union soccer team, the stadium produced more than 570,000 pounds of Read More...
IKEA’s buy back and resell program has launched in select US stores
Last year, Swedish furniture company IKEA announced plans to launch a “Buy Back & Resell” program as part of their plan to reduce waste and become carbon neutral by 2020. After successful trials of the buy-back program in Europe, the sustainable initiative is officially coming to select US Read More...
For Gen Z, climate careers are the clear path to success
For many Gen Z students contemplating their future careers, the answer is clear: addressing the climate crisis. Multiple surveys have found that overwhelming numbers of students and professionals under 25 are pursuing environmental-related degrees and careers. This shift in career aspirations Read More...
These Minnesota solar farms go beyond green energy production
Global renewables company Enel Green Power has installed 16 solar farms across Minnesota, but their arrays look a little different than others you find across the US. Instead of bare earth or gravel beneath the panels, you can find pollinator-friendly plants and grazing sheep. Recognizing the Read More...
A star-mapping algorithm from NASA is being used to save whale sharks
The Wildbook for Whale Sharks uses an advanced algorithm to scan images of sharks and compare them to thousands of archived photos to track populations, but the technology was not initially intended for use in our oceans. The system was first developed by NASA to map stars in the sky with the Read More...
This is how butterflies could make our future security systems unhackable
Though fingerprint recognition may make us feel like we have control over our privacy when it comes to accessing our electronic devices, much like other modern security labels — like QR codes and electronic passes — our fingerprints are vulnerable to the possibility of being replicated. A Read More...
Bootleg fire demonstrates efficacy of Indigenous forest management
Last September, we shared an article about the benefits of controlled burns and other Indigenous practices for wildfire management and mitigation. Now, the Bootleg fire in Oregon is offering up some more evidence to support that Indigenous practices could be lifesaving in a climate change-fueled Read More...
Phoenix is using green space to tackle urban heat disparities
Our latest Optimist View discussed how urban green space impacts heat exposure and health outcomes in cities. One of the cities grappling with this issue is Phoenix. As the hottest city in the US, Phoenix is very focused on keeping things cool in a warming world. The city has pledged to reach Read More...
The future is bright white! How paint can help cool a city
Last year, we wrote about a team of researchers led by Purdue University mechanical engineering professor Xiulin Ruan who invented a kind of paint that is so white it reflects more than 95 percent of the sunlight that falls on surfaces covered in it. We love keeping track of solutions as they Read More...