Politics
Having a difficult time finding positive news about national and global politics? Search no further! From public policy to positive leadership to democracy efforts, find the latest good news stories in the world of politics at The Optimist Daily.
Vancouver’s New Year’s resolution: no more styrofoam containers
The styrofoam container is the trademark of the takeout meal, but Vancouver is getting set to eliminate it. For the new year, the city has set a resolution to reduce single-use waste with a ban on all foam takeout containers starting January 1, 2020. The ban comes a year after New York City’s Read More...
Vendors turn streets into community spaces, so why are cities cracking down?
Earlier this month, a woman from Ecuador was handcuffed by police for selling churros in a New York City subway station. Officers confiscated her pushcart—her livelihood—and all its contents. She did not have a permit. But the city has not raised the number of permits since 1983, meaning $200 Read More...
New Jersey just doubled its offshore wind power promise
How do you go about generating renewable energy when your state has 130 miles of windy coastline? Massive wind farms, of course. This week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared the state will install 7.5 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035, almost double its initial target of 3.5 gigawatts. Read More...
The European Investment Bank will stop financing fossil fuel projects as soon as 2021
After seeing a massive boost for climate action and sustainability from the world’s finance sector during this year’s UN Climate Summit, the EU’s financing department has recently taken it one step further by adopting a new, game-changing energy lending policy. The European Investment Bank Read More...
No state is more prepared for a transition to 100% clean energy than Colorado
At the moment, Colorado only generates a fraction of its electricity using clean energy sources. Despite this, there’s perhaps no state that is better poised for a full-scale transition to clean energy. For one thing, thanks to its bountiful sunlight and wind, Colorado has enormous potential Read More...
Amsterdam is pushing hard to become a car-free city
Aside from its beautiful canals and delicious Stroopwafels, Amsterdam is perhaps most famous for the masses of bikes that voyage through the city. To make life easier for bikers and pedestrians, Amsterdam has been instituting policies towards its ultimate goal of becoming a car-free city. In Read More...
Brazil is rolling out a full-on basic income program for over 50,000 people
Can basic income programs help people achieve a better standard of living and rise out of poverty? The jury is still out, mainly because we don’t have enough data to inform the jury. That’s why it’s great news that a massive basic income program featuring more than 50,000 participants is Read More...
California has returned a sacred island back to an indigenous tribe
The Wiyot Tribe held sacred rituals on Duluwat Island for generations before it was seized by the state of California in 1860. Now, in a historic accord between the City of Eureka and the Wiyot people, the island has been returned to its original owners. In 2014, the Wiyot tribe raised $100,000 Read More...
Bristol might soon be the first city in the UK to ban diesel cars
While London has been busy implementing restrictions on gas-powered cars, the city of Bristol wants to take it one step further by banning diesel cars from the city center. That would make it the first UK city to implement such a ban. Under the city council’s proposals, diesel vehicles will be Read More...
Why raising the minimum wage in restaurants is a win for everyone
Cities including New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have adopted ambitious minimum wage increases. In New York, the new minimum wage of $15 an hour raised concerns of layoffs and cut hours, but for restaurant employees, the effects were quite the opposite. New York has shown that the Read More...