Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
As a major zoo closes, 10 reasons to rethink the concept
After 140 years in operation, the Buenos Aires Zoo in Argentina's capital plans to move almost all of its 2,500 animals to natural reserves. Those animals too old or infirm to make the move will stay, but will no longer be kept on public exhibit. The zoo will become an educational eco-park where Read More...
California funds gun violence research because U.S. Congress refuses
The gun lobby in the U.S. is very powerful. Twenty years ago Congress even passed legislation that banned the Centers for Disease Control from conducting public health studies on the effects gun violence and ownership. So, it’s impossible to collect the data about the most effective methods to Read More...
Flying a kite for clean high altitude wind energy
Wind turbines are a wonderful invention, producing clean energy from an abundant natural resource: the wind. Since the oil crisis in the 1970s, we’ve continuously developed new and more efficient wind turbines. The key to an efficient wind turbine is a steady flow of… you guessed it, the wind. Read More...
Online learning offers refugees a first opportunity to enter their new world
Refugees face enormous challenges entering their new home countries. They need to learn a new language, and they have to make sure their skills fit legal and regulatory requirements. The US State Department is posing a solution through a partnership with online education platform Coursera that Read More...
Can the $16 cup of Blue Bottle coffee help rebuild a country?
Blue Bottle Coffee has taken the Bay Area and Silicon Valley by storm, and affection for its brews spread from its flagship store at the Ferry Building in San Francisco to the East Coast and even as far as Tokyo. Visit any of its locations, and chances are the lines will be long. And of course the Read More...
The Inventors of the Internet Are Trying to Build a Truly Permanent Web
If you wanted to write a history of the Internet, one of the first things you would do is dig into the email archives of Vint Cerf. In 1973, he co-created the protocols that Internet servers use to communicate with each other without the need for any kind of centralized authority or control. He has Read More...
The UK response to a mass shooting that greatly reduced crime involving firearms
In 1996 the UK witnessed a dramatic massacre carried out by a man carrying four legally-owned firearms. In response, relatives of the victims lobbied for a total ban on the private ownership and use of handguns in the UK. The petition was ultimately signed by over 750,000 people. Following a Read More...
Everything you need to know about this month's 'Strawberry Moon'
The summer solstice is the longest day of the year, a day falling around late June when there are approximately 17 hours of light. The name comes from the Latin solstitium meaning “sun stands still”. It happens because the sun's stops heading north at the Tropic of Cancer and then Read More...
Solar charging stations help refugees in Greece stay connected
Despite the increased capabilities provided by a smartphone over flip and candy bar phones from past decades, the issue of battery life has been a tough challenge to overcome. While older-style phones would often last days or even over a week on standby, smartphones have typically only been able to Read More...
The Dalai Lama: Why I’m hopeful about the future
Despite the recent tragedies afflicting our world, the Dalai Lama has continued to maintain his great hope in a bright future for mankind. In an article in The Washington Post he cites the vast humanitarian efforts being made toward aiding refugees fleeing from war-torn countries, as evidence of a Read More...