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.
CA introduces trio of laws to make housing more affordable and sustainable
With new policies surrounding oil extraction, recycling, and building codes, California has led the way on green policymaking this year. Now, the state is taking aim at low-carbon affordable housing with a series of new laws that remove red tape surrounding progressive construction. The first Read More...
New Illinois bill leads the nation in climate equality
Illinois has thrown a stake in the ground on climate change and equality and established a path towards a 100 percent clean energy future by 2050 with a new law. The bill, SB2408, received bipartisan support in both the Illinois House and Senate and takes on mitigating climate change, creating Read More...
New York is removing policing from city schools
In the wake of racial justice protests last summer, many schools are rethinking the relationship between educational spaces and policing. Following the removal of armed police officers from 33 school districts around the country, New York City’s school system will follow suit and begin to remove Read More...
Los Angeles County votes to phase out oil extraction
The Los Angeles County board of supervisors unanimously voted to prohibit new oil wells and evaluate existing ones, taking a big step towards ending oil extraction in the US’ largest county. Currently, oil wells cannot be shuttered in the county until companies recoup the costs of drilling. Read More...
Evangelical Lutheran church installs first openly transgender bishop
The Evangelical Lutheran church accepted seven LGBTQ pastors in 2010 after the ordination of pastors in same-sex relationships was allowed. Now, Rev. Megan Rohrer, one of these seven, has been installed as the first openly transgender bishop during a service at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco last Read More...
In a world-first, England will require all new homes to have EV chargers
With people’s garages increasingly housing electric cars rather than gas-powered ones, there is also a growing need for adequate charging infrastructure for these vehicles. Well aware of that, the British government has decided to introduce legislation that will require all new homes and offices Read More...
EPA moves to permanently protect Bristol Bay from mining operations
Alaska’s Bristol Bay is a rich fishing area home to 46 percent of the average global abundance of wild sockeye salmon. Following two decades of back and forth between the Pebble Limited Partnership, conservation groups, Tribes, and state and federal governments, the Environmental Protection Read More...
The Optimist View: The Green Divide
"Neither cities nor places in them are unordered, unplanned; the question is only whose order, whose planning, for what purpose?” - Peter Marcuse BY Amelia Buckley If you stand outside in the heat of summer, you’ll notice that things are considerably less comfortable on concrete or Read More...
San Francisco schools successfully reopen for all students
The continued latest Covid-19 surge has made for a rocky and uncertain back-to-school season, but the San Francisco Department of Public Health is celebrating the first weeks of school with no Covid-19 outbreaks since students returned to classrooms on August 16. An outbreak is defined by the Read More...
UK invites everyone to donate blood, regardless of sexual orientation
Back in 2010, Ethan Spibey’s grandfather underwent major surgery and survived—thanks to eight pints of donated blood. His entire family knew that he wouldn’t have lived through the operation had it not been for the generosity of blood donors, and to repay that invaluable kindness, they all Read More...