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New York bans the use of mini plastic toiletry bottles in hotels
It’s no secret that single-use plastic is one of the chief contributors to the pollution crisis. Around eight to ten million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, and in recent years, our newsfeeds have been flooded with images that clearly illustrate the suffering all that plastic Read More...
Forests as big as France have regenerated in the past 20 years
Good news from our planet’s reforestation endeavor! A new study has found that a forest area the size of France has regrown naturally across the world since 2000. As reported by the BBC, the restored forests have the potential to sequester the equivalent of 5.9 Gt of carbon dioxide — more than Read More...
Study: MDMA-assisted therapy is an effective treatment for PTSD
We at The Optimist Daily have written before about how psychedelic-assisted therapy can offer mental health relief and even help save the environment. Now, the journal Nature has published data from the phase-III clinical trial results on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, and the outcome is Read More...
Roaming wild bison help mitigate Spain’s wildfire risk
European bison populations are rebounding and their growth is offering new opportunities in the field of wildfire prevention. Researchers in Spain are hopeful that increased bison populations could offer beneficial grazing and wildfire risk reduction. As reported by the Guardian, forest fires Read More...
Electric car manufacturing to be cheaper than combustion engines by 2027
Electric cars and vans will cost less to manufacture in Europe than conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2027, according to a new BloombergNEF study. Commissioned by nonprofit Transport & Environment, the study sheds new light on the future of electric transportation, Read More...
Dracula castle in Transylvania is offering free COVID-19 jabs to visitors
Dracula’s castle in Transylvania is famous for its bloodthirsty fangs, but these days, visitors are more likely to experience a Covid-19 jab than a vampire bite. The Romanian government set up a vaccination center at the castle in the country's central region in an effort to encourage more Read More...
Belgium melts more than 22,000 guns into 60 tonnes of recycled steel
Multiple studies have shown that the fewer guns in a society, the safer its people. With that in mind, the Belgian police have collected more than 22,000 guns from citizens and melted them into 60 tonnes of recycled steel. About half of the collected firearms were handed in by owners from across Read More...
Stimulus checks were critical in dropping hunger rates during pandemic
Back in April, we wrote about how Americans were overwhelmingly using their stimulus checks to cover basic expenses and reduce their personal debt. Now, according to new census data, stimulus checks, in conjunction with expanded access to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, Read More...
Chernobyl continues to be an unexpected wildlife sanctuary
A couple of years ago, The Optimist Daily wrote about a surprisingly positive outcome of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in northern Ukraine— the rewilding of the territory. As an update, we are happy to report that endangered animals are still thriving there, including the Przewalski’s Read More...
EU court upholds pesticide ban to protect European bees
Back in 2020, we shared how the European Union’s top court upheld a French pesticide ban to protect bees. Now the court is back with another pro-pollinator ruling, upholding an EU partial ban on three insecticides linked to harming bees. The lawsuit, filed by Bayer, attempted to overturn the Read More...