Miscellaneous
The Intelligent Optimist’s Swing Into Spring Auction ends Tuesday
It’s easier to start swinging after a tune-up, and with that in mind, we have popular favorites from auctions past and brand new items and services to help you take care of yourself or your loved ones or contribute to charitable causes, all backed by the intention of making the world a better Read More...
Contagiously optimistic: Myrtle Newsam
Sometimes, optimism might seem to be an abstract concept. Here at The Intelligent Optimist, we try to show what an optimistic lifestyle can contribute to your life. And with us, there are many others trying to make optimism visible. One of them is David Mezzapelle, who created the book series Read More...
Creating utopia
For more than three decades, villagers in Marinaleda, Spain, have fought a relentless struggle to create utopia. Now, even as Spain’s economic crisis deepens, this village has almost full employment, strong social cohesion and no police. Journalist Dan Hancox wrote a lively, engaging book, The Read More...
We’re getting richer
Think about it: These days, most poor families in the West have phones, TVs, washing machines and cars. The tap water is clean, and the food is safe to eat. We’re not trying to play down the problem of poverty, but these conditions are a vast improvement over those in, say, the 1950s. The value Read More...
New solar panels are cheaper, more environmentally sustainable
Scientists from Northwestern University have created a new type of solar panel that is less expensive to produce, better for the environment, and could eventually be more efficient at capturing the suns rays and turning them into energy. Perovskite solar panels, solar cells with a crystal structure Read More...
Making funny faces in Gaza
Imagine you’re 10 years old and live in the occupied territories of Palestine. There are no playgrounds in the neighborhood and the danger of violence is very real, and often experienced daily. That’s not a good place to play, be a kid, or make funny faces. That’s the reason Right to Play and Read More...
A mossy miracle
The Teardrop Glacier in northern Canada is melting rapidly, but that’s not all bad news, at least not for researchers who have revived a group of mosses that date back 400 to 600 years. Catherine La Farge, a biology professor at the University of Alberta, came across newly exposed moss on one Read More...
Are you inside, behind your computer? Go outside!
‘Every day I make time to go outside and truly enjoy nature. Because of that I have much less stress and have gotten to know my inner child.’ -Participant Rewild your Life You can’t expect people to be mindful of the planet and nature if they don’t have a connection to it, says Canadians Read More...
Fracking banned across New York State
The side effects of hydraulic fracking are notorious. Fracking is the use of liquid to fracture shale rock, and then extract the natural gas that comes through the fractures. Fracking deposits a cocktail of chemicals into underground waterways, one of the most infamous occurrences of this is a Read More...
Innocent
In his daily life John Wareham coaches some of the most successful and wealthy people. With his neatly combed thick white hair, his bespoke suit and professorial glasses you’d never expect him to spend his free time at a prison. And yet the psychologist, author of several novels and self-help Read More...