Today’s Solutions: November 15, 2024

Sustainable Urban Development

With cities expected to host about 70 percent of the world's population, sustainable urban development is key to making communities worldwide more resilient against the growing threat of climate change. Find out about the latest urban practices from across the world aiming to make our cities more sustainable and inclusive in these good-news stories from The Optimist Daily.

woman gets bottle of milk out of fridge

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...

sun shines on office windows

Windows giant Anderson gives solar window integration a $30M boost

Here at The Optimist Daily, we love sharing stories about the exciting advancements that we are making in terms of discovering and fashioning creative ways that we can harvest clean, green, and renewable energy. One of the threads of renewable energy we’ve been following closely is solar Read More...

gloved hands throw food waste into compost bin

Everything you need to know about California’s new composting law

Food waste is a huge problem to tackle, which is why we’ve shared numerous stories with tips on how you can help reduce your own personal food waste. To that end, we’ve suggested that people re-organize their pantry and refrigerator, download apps that connect consumers with grocery items that Read More...

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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...

Hands cupping soil with worms

How this initiative is helping us worm our way into a greener future

A Nottingham-based initiative called the Urban Worm Community Interest Company (UWC) is helping spur on an urban worm farming movement in the UK that will help the nation deal with waste while simultaneously providing high-grade fertilizer. So far, the enterprise has been granted 50,000 GBP from Read More...

floating homes in the Netherlands

Floating communities can help us rise to the challenge of climate change

It’s no secret—climate change is already upon us, and we have no choice but to adapt to it if we want to survive. While some regions of the world combat increasingly dangerous wildfires or droughts, other places, like the Netherlands, must learn to live with worsening floods while dealing with Read More...

People walking, jogging, and cycling on a pedestrian street in Italy

European cities could see a lot less cars on the roads in the near future

As local governments are finally coming to the realization that prioritizing cycling and walking over driving can tremendously benefit their residents, many are considering implementing permanent policies to tackle car-centric city development. In a bid to accelerate the adoption of such policies, Read More...

Exterior view of the RE modular facade with a floor-to-ceiling PV element.

Modular facade can be installed onto old buildings to cut their emissions

Heating and cooling our buildings comes with a hefty environmental footprint. In the US alone, heating and cooling systems account for 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions of residential housing. Coming up with more sustainable ways to maintain a favorable temperature within our homes is thus key Read More...

Citrus orange fruit on tree, California USA.

Saving America’s citrus fruits

Citrus Greening Disease Citrus Greening Disease, or Huanglongbing (HLB), is a life threatening plant disease that has already destroyed many of Florida's crops and is on its way to ruining California’s also. Asain citrus psyllids are the tiny culprits causing the disease by transmitting deadly Read More...

two diesel pumps side by side

New Jersey is first eastern state to start phasing out diesel powered trucks

In the latter half of December 2021, New Jersey became the first east coast state to begin the process of phasing out diesel-powered trucks (meaning anything bigger than a delivery van). The plan, which is based on California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule (ACT), is expected to roll out in 2025 and Read More...