The Optimist View
Our weekend edition long form journalism explores in-depth solutions to global issues.
Follow the sun for clean water
If you’re a girl, you’ve definitely followed the sun while tanning. Always making sure your towel faced the sun in a straight angle, guaranteeing optimal sun exposure and minimal shade lines. It’s quite possible Eden Full and her girlfriends used to do this as well, and maybe this is even Read More...
Biodegradable plastic that solves the methane problem
While we’re exceptionally thorough in making sure our plastic waste fills every corner of the earth, we’re simultaneously shockingly effective in allowing methane gas to burn away the ozone layer. It’s impressive really. But perhaps more impressive is how Mango Materials is tackling both our Read More...
A very smart shower that cuts water and energy usage by 70 percent
Ever thought lives could be saved by engineering a new type of shower? Peter Brewin and Nick Christy probably didn’t think so either, but it appears to be a nice side effect of their water and energy efficient shower design. How? Well, it turns out many casualties in the U.S. Army are soldiers Read More...
The sun: The ultimate BBQ
Summertime often equals campfires and BBQ parties. However, what serves as a luxurious and enjoyable pastime for the lucky few, is actually serious health-hazard for most. Globally, over 4 million people die every year from household air pollution mostly due to cooking over burning wood, animal Read More...
Mi casa es su casa, and all my stuff is your stuff!
How many times have you bought something for one specific purpose only to let it collect dust for all eternity afterwards? How many times have you needed a *insert object here* but didn’t want to buy one and after a failed attempt to borrow one from a friend, you either give up on your project or Read More...
Mushrooms To The Rescue!
Eben Bayer grew up on a maple farm in Canada. To fire up the boiler they’d use woodchips, which is where Bayer first learned about mycelium or “nature’s glue”. Heaps of woodchips would – as you may imagine – start to grow mushrooms when left alone outside and when it was time to move Read More...
Growing bricks from scratch to reduce carbon emissions
So, bricks. How much time have you ever spent thinking about bricks? Unless you’ve built your own house, I’m guessing the subject has hardly ever crossed your mind. This means that you’d probably be somewhat surprised to find out that bricks are used in over 80 percent of global construction. Read More...
The mushroom: A doubly-whammy for Vietnam’s poverty & pollution
It’s very difficult not to have a smile on your face while looking at Fargreen’s Postcode Lottery Green Challenge pitch (it takes less than 5 minutes, definitely worth a watch!). The founder and CEO, Trang Tran passionately describes her social enterprise, Fargreen. At Fargreen, they have been Read More...
Cows, rejoice! We don’t need your milk anymore!
Together with environmental engineer Perumal Gandhi and CEO of New Harvest Isha Datar, Ryan set out to create “a real dairy product that relies in no way on animal husbandry.” Muufri (pronounced Moo-free, get it?) is not meant to undercut small farmers, rather it serves as a much-needed Read More...
The Artemis-effect: How Women are Changing the World
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