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.
Graphene could replace rare metal needed for our touchscreens
What do touchscreen, LED lighting, and solar cells have in common? A rare metal called indium, which is a key ingredient in their manufacturing process. Indium is regarded as a technology critical element and is used in the production of thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO). Because of their high Read More...
‘Strange metal’ may be the future for a more energy efficient world
Strange metal behavior was first noticed around 30 years ago. These materials are composed of copper-oxides and carry the properties of being high-temperature superconductors. This means they can transfer electricity very efficiently, withstanding much higher temperatures with less energy loss than Read More...
Science Moms are on a mission to spread science-based climate optimism
When we feel overwhelmed and hopeless, many of us turn to our mothers or the mother figures we have in our lives for comfort and encouragement. As adults the challenges we face are much bigger than a scraped knee, with wider problems like climate change possibly luring us into despair. Luckily, Read More...
Key ingredient in cat litter could help reduce methane emissions
In recent years, carbon capture technologies have started playing an increasingly important role in our global quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere. Now, researchers at MIT have started working on solving another problem — removing methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 80 Read More...
Empowered activism is cultivating a marketable skill - A dispatch from Colombia
“Part of doing something is listening. We are listening. To the sun. To the stars. To the wind.” – Madeleine L’Engle By Jackie Gilbert We all catch ourselves making remarks like “I’m starving” or “we’re dying of hunger”, but fortunately for most of us in my middle-class Read More...
China’s “artificial sun” fusion reactor breaks yet another record
The Chinese Academy of Sciences has exciting news about its fusion reactor that it recently shared in a release. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion reactor successfully sustained a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 1,056 seconds, effectively Read More...
Ocean Battery could help solve the renewable energy storage problem
The lack of adequate energy storage systems is one of the biggest problems associated with the rise of renewables such as wind and solar in recent years. In an effort to provide a solution, a Dutch startup has invented the Ocean Battery — an energy storage system that operates by the same Read More...
Create a refuge for endangered native plant species in your own garden
Here at the Optimist Daily, we never tire of sharing stories that help garden-lovers and green thumbs continue cultivating their gardening habits. Gardening, or even just spending time in a garden, doesn’t just offer people several physical and mental health benefits, but gardens can potentially Read More...
Preeti Chandi becomes the first woman of color to trek across Antarctica
Preeti Chandi, a 32-year-old army officer and physiotherapist hailing from Derby in the UK, has become the first woman of color to successfully complete a solo expedition across Antarctica. Chandi admits that she was not always encouraged to take on the 700-mile trek on her own. She says that Read More...
Coffee on the go: These sneakers are made out of recycled coffee
While coffee is a popular drink all across the world, it holds a particularly special place in the hearts of Finnish people. According to the International Coffee Organization, Finns consume more coffee than any other nation in the world. But like everywhere else, coffee consumption in Finland Read More...