The Optimist Today
MIT scientists have created a recycling robot that sorts items by touching them
Sorting recycling can be a real pain for workers, both because of safety reasons and the sheer monotony of it. Using robots to do the sourcing would be a great alternative, but they don't have the sense of touch to be able to tell the difference between a can and a cardboard tube. That is, until Read More...
Scientists have captured the first-ever image of a black hole in space
Oh my, oh my, how far science has come. This week, scientists managed to capture the first-ever images of a black hole that is 55 million light-years from Earth. To get a sense of how difficult it is to take a detailed photo of a black hole, imagine trying to figure out a way to get a close-up shot Read More...
This iconic image quickly became a symbol of hope for women in Sudan and beyond
Every once and a while, an image is captured that is so powerful and iconic that it remains in the memory of people for years and years. One of those images came to be this past week in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where thousands of civilians have been protesting against an autocratic Read More...
These surfers are mobilizing more than 30,000 volunteers to clean ocean plastic
Very few people are as familiar with the problem of ocean plastic as surfers. Tired of riding waves littered with trash, more and more surfers around the world are taking a stand against plastic and finding ways to fight it. In Australia, a duo of surfers created a floating rubbish bin that can Read More...
Wrapping produce in banana leaves is becoming a trend in Asia
A few weeks ago, we wrote about a supermarket in Thailand that had a surprisingly simple solution to plastic packaging: banana leaves. Instead of wrapping goods such as cucumbers and lettuce in plastic, the store simply used leftover banana leaves. A local real estate person spotted the Read More...
This project shows drones can be the key to restoring the world’s forests
Drones are really starting to prove their worth—beyond just taking cool videos up in the air. Last September, drones were used to drop seeds across abandoned fields in Myanmar where industry or farming once took place. Just a half a year later, tiny mangrove saplings around 20 inches tall are Read More...
Norway pulls the plug on plans to drill massive oil reserve
Western Europe’s biggest petroleum producer is falling out of love with oil. To the dismay of the nation’s powerful oil industry and its worker unions, the opposition Labour Party over the weekend decided to withdraw its support for oil exploration offshore the sensitive Lofoten islands in Read More...
Georgia becomes first state to offer free tampons to low-income women
In the United States, access to tampons and pads for low-income women is a real problem: food stamps don’t cover feminine hygiene products, so some women resort to selling their food stamps in order to pay for “luxuries” like tampons, which can be very expensive. This is especially Read More...
A simple trick for finding your focus when you really need to finish something
Even though office spaces are meant for working productively, it doesn’t always feel that way. From the distraction of open office spaces to the constant requests for meetings, actually getting work done isn’t easy. The abundance of choices brought on by technology doesn’t help either. Yes, Read More...
This little gadget stops microfibers from going down the washing machine drain
When it comes to stopping microfibers from washing off your clothes and into our waterways, using a washing bag or simply not buying clothes that don’t shed microfibers is the best thing you can do. Unfortunately, for many consumers, taking these precautions is already too much work. Enter the Read More...