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.
Donate and volunteer: Where to support Hurricane Ida victims
Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday as a powerful Category 4 storm. This is the largest hurricane to hit Louisiana since Katrina and the storm is causing widespread damage across Mississippi as well. Although it has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves northeast, it left one million Read More...
Charlotte, NC launches peer-run alternative to psychiatric hospitalization
Following successful alternative policing programs in Denver and Newark, Charlotte, North Carolina is adopting their own resource for those in a mental health crisis. The new Retreat @ the Plaza, run by Promise Resource Network, is a peer-run alternative to psychiatric hospitalization for those Read More...
New law makes it easier for veterans to adopt service dogs
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a new program that aims to make service dogs more available to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The newly-signed Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers (PAWS) for Veterans Therapy Act is the result of years of work from Read More...
Lost your ball over the fence? Belgian law gives you the right to retrieve it
Have you ever lost a ball because you’ve accidentally kicked it over the fence and into your unfriendly neighbor’s yard? Well, from the first of September, if this happens to anyone in Belgium, they’ll have the legal right to retrieve it (though this probably won’t temper the reaction of Read More...
Afghan all-girls robotics team warmly received in Mexico
Back in the spring of 2020, we wrote about the impressive all-girl robotics team from Afghanistan who was building ventilators from used car parts to treat Covid-19 patients. Now that the Taliban has seized power in Afghanistan, many people, including this team of impressive teenage girls, face an Read More...
EPA announces ban on harmful pesticide chlorpyrifos
Even if you’ve never heard of chlorpyrifos, you’ve probably come in contact with it on your food. This common pesticide has been on the market since 1965 and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 5.1 million pounds of the chemical have been used on American crops like Read More...
The Optimist View: Fighting Fire with FireーRethinking wildfires with Indigenous wisdom
“Everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. This is the Indian theory of existence.” - Mourning Dove BY Amelia Buckley As wildfires continue to rage around the Western United States, Greece, Turkey, and more, I reached out to my Read More...
Argentina's new trans employment law further protects LGBTQ rights
Argentina has proven to be a leader when it comes to protecting and expanding the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals in their country. It was the first country in Latin America to not only legalize same-sex marriage but to give same-sex couples the right to adopt, as well as the first country in the Read More...
Policy choices tied to lower poverty rates in 2021
We’ve written about the impact of stimulus checks during the pandemic, but the US also responded with additional measures like raising food stamps benefits, barring eviction, and offering financial support to small businesses. It looks like this policy choice paid off; poverty in 2021 is Read More...
Celebrate the National Parks Service’s birthday with free admissions
Today, August 25, 2021, marks the 105th birthday of the National Parks Service (NPS), and to celebrate, the NPS is offering free admission to all 423 US National Parks, including trails and monuments, spanning 50 states as well as American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 105 Read More...