Newsletter - Project Optimist

When one mother was taken by ICE, another stepped in to donate breastmilk

Moms in Minneapolis are donating diapers, food and time to help families who have been ripped apart by ICE.

There’s a surprising climate solution right under your feet

Mycorrhizal fungi help plants thrive, and sequester an enormous amount of carbon. But a new atlas shows that they need urgent protection.

A graphic of Earth. Bodies of water are shown as blue people, while land is shown as green areas. It's set on a white globe against a blue background.

Community voices

Community Voices ⎸ The pragmatic case for climate optimism

Author Charlie Sellars on how shifting our mindset from “minimizing footprint” towards “maximizing impact” can bring joy back into environmentalism.

Environment

Atlanta is embracing a cheap, effective way to beat urban heat: ‘cool roofs’

White or reflective roofs significantly reduce temperatures. Atlanta is the latest city to mandate their adoption.

Two people hold buckets of garbage they collected on a beach. The image does not show their faces. You see their hands holding the buckets. They're wearing gloves on their hands.

Environment

Science says plastic bag bans really do work

Outlawing or taxing plastic bags reduces beach litter, according to a recent study.

The cover of a book. It's yellow with different types of cartoon eyeballs drawn on it.

Social Issues

Find 'I Never Thought of It That Way' moments

In her book "I Never Thought of It That Way," Mónica Guzmán suggests people search for moments that take them outside of their own perspective.

A Somali woman stands in her office. She wears a brown dress with white polka dots. Her long, curly hair falls around her shoulders. She wears clear-rimmed glasses and smiles.

Other nonprofit media

More Somali therapists are entering the field, hoping to change the conversation around mental health

The generational divide between younger Somalis willing to seek out mental health services and their parents is a challenge practitioners are working to address.

A woman and a man stand on the snowy ground next to a tall solar panel array. Evergreen trees are seen behind them.

Other nonprofit media

Solar power gives resort ‘new blood, new life’

After sitting dormant during the winter for the past decade, the Lodge of Whispering Pines is up and running on the strength of a solar project that largely powers its dozen cabins.

A clear blue sky with a few white wispy clouds is seen with some trees.

Biophilia

Poems that bring nature to life

Check out two pieces from 'You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World.'