Science
From mathematics and AI to medicine and psychology, The Optimist Daily features the latest news on discoveries, technological advances, and breakthroughs in the world of science. Our Science section is here to engage and enlighten you.
Pope goes electric
Pope Francis has been very outspoken about the dangers of global warming, the importance of environmental stewardship, and the corruption of greed — with what seemed like a particular focus on Donald Trump and the USA last year. Pope Francis seems to be a man of action — living by your Read More...
'You weren’t scared?': Nissan takes us for a ride in the Leaf driverless car
A self-driving car has had its first trials on major London roads, proving the technology works – or it does with an attentive driver behind the wheel to slam on the brakes. Guided by five radars, four lasers and 12 cameras, a converted electric Nissan Leaf has been following a carefully mapped Read More...
Deaths from natural disasters in Africa are plummeting thanks to mobile phones
In Africa, the mobile phone has become a vital tool for insurance, health, education, and banking products that allows users to conveniently pay for goods and services. One relatively unknown benefit of the proliferation of phones, however, has been a reduction in deaths from natural disasters. Read More...
China will replace all 67,000 fossil-fueled taxis in Beijing with electric cars
Taxis are the bane of all urban areas. Typically, they are poorly made, poorly maintained, and spew tons of carbon dioxide into the air every day as they shuttle people from place to place. Beijing has nearly 70,000 taxis. It also has an intractable problem with smog. While it has embarked on an Read More...
San Francisco to require that new buildings be ‘100 percent electric vehicle ready’
The city of San Francisco has not been shy to use its building codes to try to accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy. Last year, it required new buildings to have solar panels installed on the roof and this year, it will try to accommodate electric vehicles by using a similar Read More...
The worst thing about electric cars might not be an issue for much longer
Doug Hines, CEO of a software company in Decatur, GA, has logged hundreds of miles in his Tesla. In addition to the obvious perks of owning an all-electric car—little maintenance, no exhaust, and just downright fun to drive — there was one he hadn’t expected: the Read More...
The largest coal plant of Western U.S. will shut down in 2019
A few weeks ago we reported that decision was coming: The Navajo Generating Station in Arizona, the seventh largest individual source of climate pollution in the U.S. will close in 2019, decades before it was originally planned to close. By some estimates, shutting it down will save more than Read More...
These solar panels are both efficient and aesthetically pleasing
An MIT startup has come up with a way to blend the efficiency of solar panels with aesthetics of beautiful rooftops. The startup, Sistine Solar, creates panel systems that can be customized to visually match a shingled rooftop, an ad, or any other image you can image. That’s because their solar Read More...
6 countries leading the way in the global renewable energy boom
As President Trump transitioned into office, clean energy continued to overtake fossil fuels as the main source of new energy investments around the world. While the final 2016 numbers aren't yet published, preliminary estimates put the total wind and solar installations at new records. About 70 Read More...
Wind energy supplied all of Denmark's power needs one day last week
Renewable energy can generate enough power for entire countries–a fact Denmark can confirm. Last week on Wednesday, the nation met all of its power needs via wind energy, according to information from wind power trade organization WindEurope. The group said the energy Denmark produced from Read More...