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.
This hotline makes it easy for anyone to demand climate action
Activists will encourage you over and over again to call your representatives to spur action on a specific issue, but if you’re not familiar with the process, you might be asking yourself: How exactly do I call my representatives? Fortunately, a new project now makes it easier than ever to demand Read More...
Minnesota law improves conditions for pregnant women in prison
Resources for pregnant mothers in US prisons are scarce, to say the least. Most offer limited prenatal care and in some states, newborns are only allowed to reside with their incarcerated mothers for 24 hours before they must be turned over to a relative. In a bid to make conditions for pregnant Read More...
US to return Gilgamesh tablet and 17,000 other looted artifacts to Iraq
During a period of unrest in Iraq in 2003, looters stole tens of thousands of ancient artifacts that were later smuggled out of the country, including the 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, a rare portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, known as the earliest Read More...
Sierra Leone abolishes capital punishment
On Friday 23, 2021, Sierra Leone became the 23rd country in the continent of Africa to abolish capital punishment after MPs voted unanimously to end the death penalty (which is largely a remnant of colonial legal codes). Under the 1991 constitution, criminals could be sentenced to death in Read More...
This new metric assesses road safety before any accidents ever happen
The way urban planners currently assess the safety of a road involves counting the number of accidents on that particular road. Essentially, this means that there’s a "literal human cost" to measuring how safe a street is, says Megan Ryerson, a transportation engineer and urban planner at the Read More...
Cheaper and Cleaner: Europe’s renewable energy success story
Europe made history over the last six months when it generated more electricity from renewable sources than it did from fossil fuels. Over 40 percent of the electricity used by the EU’s 27 member states came from renewable sources, such as solar, wind, hydro, and bioenergy. In contrast, fossil Read More...
The Optimist View: ITP Small grants change the world
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” - Margaret Mead The Optimist View is our long-form edition weekend publication which dives deeper on the critical solutions we cover on The Optimist Daily. Read More...
New York is the sixth state to ban child marriage
Just over a week ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that officially raises the legal age of marriage consent to 18 and makes New York the sixth state to ban child marriage. “This administration fought hard to successfully end child marriage in New York and I’m proud to sign this Read More...
Rotating water still device produces potable water at much faster rate
Solar stills are a primary technology for extracting potable water from tainted or salinated water, and while they’re useful in water-scarce regions, their technology is still relatively inefficient. Fortunately, a team of researchers from Russia's Ural Federal University has reconceptualized the Read More...
Four science-backed solutions to address the opioid crisis
During the Covid-19 pandemic, another epidemic has been raging in the US, largely unnoticed: the opioid crisis. As the number of drug overdose deaths reaches a record high in the US, researchers have identified several science-backed actions that could be taken at a federal level, and are indeed Read More...