The Weekly Theme
Each week, we feature a new theme of solutions for those passionate about learning in-depth on how we are building a better world!
Transformation and Turbulence: Dr. Nick Haddad on his quest to Save a Rare and Vanishing Creature
“We should care about butterflies because they are a part of the web of life…and they are the ‘canaries in the coal mine’ of ecosystem health.” - Nick Haddad By Kristy Jansen & Amelia Buckley Chaos theory implies that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, it can cause a Read More...
Oyster mushrooms could help patients in impoverished countries fight tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases in low-income countries, where limited infrastructure, obtaining and storing vitamin supplements can be difficult. With that in mind, German scientists are now suggesting that people in such regions could fight TB by ingesting Read More...
Understanding The Neurodivergent Perspective
What’s it like to live in a body and brain that functions differently than the majority of your peers? We are not talking about subtle differences - as always exist between any two minds - but rather those individuals who possess an entire mental processing system that is metaphorically blind to Read More...
How assistive technologies are helping children with ADHD in the classroom
Like we’ve said throughout this whole week, neurodiverse people with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often have overlooked abilities that can be of great benefit to any organization or company. But in order to help people with neurological conditions unlock Read More...
The parents of dyslexic children are transforming the way schools teach reading
The reading proficiency of kids in America is shockingly low. Apparently, less than 40 percent of fourth and eighth-grade students nationwide are proficient readers—and the blame lies on flawed methods of teaching reading in our education systems where kids are taught simply the letters and the Read More...
Why having neurodiverse employees can give a company a competitive advantage
Yesterday we ran a story about how Goldman Sachs’ plans to hire job candidates on the autism spectrum as a way to boost diversity. As it turns out, doing so could also boost productivity within the company. Because neurodiverse people are wired differently from “neurotypical” people, they may Read More...
More companies across the US are hiring neurodiverse employees
At the Optimist Daily, we are proud to celebrate neurodiversity— the idea that neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation. That’s why we are pleased to see that Goldman Sachs has become the latest company to target job candidates on the autism Read More...
Community solar projects are finally including low-income households
Although community solar projects are on the rise in America, there’s one major flaw: less than half of US community solar projects have any participation from low-income households, and of the projects that do include lower-earning families, only about 5 percent involved a sizable share above 10 Read More...
No matter how much space you have, here’s what you can plant to help bugs thrive
Habitat loss is a major factor in the decline of insect populations around the world, a trend that one group of researchers has warned could bring about the “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems.” For instance, the monarch butterfly population has fallen 99.4 percent since the Read More...
The EU has banned one of agriculture’s most-used pesticides to save the bees
Although you may not be a big fan of bugs, it’s bad news for everyone that insect populations are rapidly dwindling around the world. Insects are the foundation of nature’s ecosystems, and without them, we would run the risk of a ‘catastrophic collapse’ of those ecosystems. Still, if we Read More...