Peter Yeung

Peter Yeung is a Contributing Editor at Reasons to be Cheerful. A Paris-based journalist, he also writes for publications including the Guardian, the LA Times and the BBC. He’s filed stories from across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Kids in France Are Pedaling Toward Two-Wheeled Equality

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More than 500,000 students have learned to bike safely, encouraging them to live healthier, more independent and lower-carbon lives.

A Dose of Inspiration: Why Doctors Are Prescribing Museum Visits

7 min read

At the French city of Lille’s Palais des Beaux-Arts, “museo-therapy” draws on the power of art to improve health and wellbeing.

To Keep Clean Drinking Water Flowing to Paris, Farmers Are Going Organic

8 min read

Rather than relying on expensive water treatment plants, the French capital is protecting its water supply at the source.

A Living Seed Bank Is Preserving the Amazon’s Incredible Plants

7 min read

In one of the planet’s most ecologically rich regions, the fight to prevent native plants from being lost forever begins on the forest floor.

Denmark’s Radical Plan for a Plant-Based Future

7 min read

The Nordic country is working toward ambitious goals to make its food systems more sustainable — and other nations are following in its path.

Low-Traffic Neighborhoods Are Reclaiming London’s Streets From Cars

6 min read

A controversial but effective policy is keeping residential streets quiet, getting more people walking and reducing pollution.

Beavers Are Back in London — and They’re Thriving

6 min read

Usually known for their work in more rural places, nature’s best engineers have brought their ecosystem management skills to the big city.

Mexico’s Floating Gardens Are an Ancient Wonder of Sustainable Farming

6 min read

Chinampas — an ingenious adaptation to the Valley of Mexico’s lake-filled landscape — could hold lessons for cities around the world.

The Women Bus Drivers Overcoming Stereotypes in Bogotá

2 min read

The Colombian capital is creating a more sustainable, safe, equal and just transport system. Women are at the heart of it.

How a Colombian City Cooled Dramatically in Just Three Years

5 min read

With “green corridors” that mimic the natural forest, the Colombian city is driving down temperatures — and could become five degrees cooler over the next few decades.

How Solutions Journalism Is Sparking Change

7 min read

Many people say they actively avoid the news. A new approach to journalism offers an antidote.

The Park Where Conservation and Indigenous Rights Go Hand in Hand

6 min read

National parks have historically been portrayed — and managed — as pristine, unpeopled landscapes. Peru’s Cordillera Azul offers another way.

The Galapagos Are Going Green

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In recent years, there has been a growing movement to transform the archipelago into a beacon of sustainability.

How France Brought Brown Bears Back to the Pyrenees

6 min read

Thanks to biological monitoring and community outreach, the once-nearly-extinct bruins are again ambling through the mountains.

How Nigeria Turned Men Into Better Fathers

4 min read

Small group discussions among fathers about breastfeeding and maternal nutrition have a big impact when it comes to preventing child deaths.

 

Dense Micro-Forests Are Thriving in France

5 min read

Developed by a Japanese botanist, the Miyawaki method of reforestation has taken root in a wide range of landscapes.

The Backyard Farmers Who Grow Food With Fog

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In one of the world’s driest cities, an ingenious system channels water from the air to those who need it most.

Paris Is Undergoing a Water Revolution

5 min read

From urban swimming to fixing leaks to public fountains, France’s capital is getting smart about its most precious resource.

To Become a Better Tourist, Aim for Slowness and Imperfection

5 min read

The most rewarding travel experiences leave room for the unexpected — and genuinely benefit communities.

Barcelona’s ‘Bold Strategy’ to Quell the Tourism Crisis

6 min read

The Catalan city is making big moves to get visitation and its impacts under control — and other European destinations are taking action, too.

Wind Power’s Explosive Growth Is Blowing Past Green Energy Goals

5 min read

The production of wind energy keeps breaking records, and its potential for expansion is as wide as the oceans.

We Can Start Thinking in Centuries

6 min read

A new book explores how a global shift toward long-term thinking can solve the problems caused by our here-and-now mindsets.

Cities Are Becoming More Like Sponges

5 min read

Water management that prizes lakes and greenery over concrete makes for less flood-prone cities — and prettier ones, too.

With Green Prescriptions, Getting Healthier Is a Walk in the Park

5 min read

From “forest bathing” to clinically prescribed time in national parks, a growing medical movement is sending patients back to nature, with remarkable results.

Uganda’s Communal Food ‘Epicenters’ Aim to End Hunger Forever

5 min read

Pushing past the conventional food aid model, a regenerative farming system offers a recipe for success — and self-reliance.

The Ancient ‘Wonder Material’ Sucking CO2 Out of the Atmosphere

5 min read

Though public awareness is low, some scientists believe “biochar” is quietly becoming the world’s first major carbon removal success story.

How India’s First ‘Green Village’ Turned Hunters Into Conservationists

5 min read

In Khonoma, traditional knowledge has led to a boom in ecotourism and sustainable cultivation practices.

The Slum-Inspired Apartment Complex Designed by Its Own Residents

6 min read

In Jakarta, a building for evicted slum-dwellers has alcoves for hawking goods, stairs designed for cross-floor conversation and gardens to grow your own food.

‘Dead’ Electric Car Batteries Find a Second Life Powering Cities

5 min read

What do you do with old EV batteries that are too weak to run a car? Connect them by the hundreds to power vital urban infrastructure.

An ‘Unsexy’ System for Greening Fashion That Actually Works

4 min read

Forget pants made of car tires — to truly make fashion more sustainable, a collaboration between dozens of brands is slashing the industry’s carbon footprint.

What Black Jello Says About the Power of Small Enterprise

5 min read

Targeted support for local products — no matter how strange — can drive down poverty rates.

Cities Take on a New Front in the Climate Battle: Meat Eating

5 min read

From Buenos Aires to L.A., there’s a growing consensus that serious climate action means getting citizens to change one very popular habit.

Helsinki Built a Library That Brings a Whole City Together

6 min read

In a country where half of all citizens visit the library every month, Oodi Library provides a blueprint for fostering human convergence.

Earthships, Mormons, Doomsdayers and Weed

11 min read

Scenes from our Paris-based correspondent’s epic three-month road trip across these “dizzyingly paradoxical” United States.

‘The Green Steel of the 21st Century’

4 min read

Cheap, strong and plentiful, bamboo has been used in Hong Kong for ages as an ultra-sustainable building material. Other countries are catching on.

A Building Material That Consumes CO2 Has Finally Come to the US

5 min read

A false association with drugs that banned ‘hempcrete’ from the US residential building code has been lifted, paving the way for widespread use.

Our Solar Powered Future Is Already China’s Reality

5 min read

No other country’s green transition approaches the scale of China’s, where a world powered by the sun is quickly taking shape.

Beneath This Sea, a Sculpture Garden Is Saving an Ecosystem

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The Mediterranean is the world’s most overfished sea — and a proving ground for how art can elevate conservation.

Cars Are Vanishing from Paris

6 min read

The share of journeys made by car in the city has fallen by nearly half, and the trend is only accelerating.

Japan’s ‘Zero Waste’ Village Is a Model for Small-Town Sustainability

5 min read

In Kamikatsu, recycling isn’t just an environmental imperative — it’s the glue that unifies a community.

Incarcerated People Are Saving a Disappearing Plant

4 min read

Hundreds of prisoners across eight states are helping a threatened species thrive while growing a little bit themselves.

Tel Aviv Has Shade Down to a Science

5 min read

While other cities wait for their newly planted trees to grow, the Israeli city is updating an age-old cooling method for the 21st century.

Evanston, Illinois Is the First City to Offer Reparations to Black Residents

7 min read

In “an extraordinarily commendable first step,” families whose descendants experienced housing discrimination can receive $25,000.

You’ve Got Mail from Timbuktu

5 min read

Anyone can receive a postcard from this city rumored to be at the edge of the earth — and support a post-tourism economy in the process.

What Happened When France Sent Low-Income Kids to Wealthy Schools

4 min read

Bussing disadvantaged students to top-notch public schools has led to higher grades, lower drop-out rates and a call for more integration.

What Birth Control for Men Will Change, and What It Might Not

4 min read

Society has come a long way in expecting men to share reproductive responsibility, but those who could benefit most might not get access.

Meet the ‘Future Generations’ Commissioner of Wales

6 min read

Sophie Howe has one job: make sure her country’s policies benefit citizens who haven’t been born yet.

Meet the ‘Cultural Mediators’ Who Help Refugees in Germany

4 min read

For thousands of refugees, integrating in Germany is made easier by a local mentor.

Liberia’s Beekeepers Harness the Power of Simplicity

5 min read

“Once you have the skills to build one beehive, you can make 100.”

Mapping the Future

6 min read

A new land policy replacing outdated colonial laws is being piloted in Sierra Leone — and putting the power back in the hands of the people.

“Cool Roofs” Are Helping Women Earn More in India

4 min read

As days get hotter, new forms of architecture are ensuring home-based workers can stay comfortably productive.

How Norway Popularized an Ultra-Sustainable Heating Method

4 min read

No other country has more heat pumps per capita, a cheap, highly efficient tool to keep homes warm — and carbon footprints small.

Where the “Right to Rest” is Guaranteed

4 min read

In Portugal, the human need to log off and relax is now protected by law.

Is It Time for Your Pet to Go Vegan?

3 min read

Your pet’s “carbon paw print” is bigger than you think. Cutting animal products from their diet may be the quickest way to change that.

The E-Trike Armada Propelling a Net-Zero Dream

4 min read

The German postal service wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. Its fleet of battery-powered cargo bikes could help.

How Berlin Lets the Whole City Care for Its Trees

4 min read

Urban trees need a little extra care. In the German capital, anyone can give it to them.

The Computer Designed to Last

4 min read

Repairable, upgradable computers are here, and could make your next laptop something you own for a very long time.

France Is Freeing Fruit and Veg from Its Plastic Prison

4 min read

Under a new law, a large portion of the country’s produce will no longer be sold in single-use plastic containers.

Milan Is Winning the Fight Against Food Waste

4 min read

The city’s groundbreaking “zero waste” strategy aims to leave no meal behind.

Potty Trained Cows Are No Joke for the Climate

4 min read

Researchers are teaching cows to pee in designated places where the urine can be collected and neutralized, sharply reducing methane emissions.

‘Eco-Score’ Labels Make Shopping More Sustainable

4 min read

A simple letter-grading system in the U.K. has led to a significant shift towards ecologically greener foods.

‘Community Ownership’ Might Be the Best Way to Fight Deforestation

6 min read

When forests are managed by the people who live in them, conservation tends to follow.

Could Low-Carbon Trains Cure Europe’s Flying Addiction?

4 min read

A new generation of sleeper cars and short-haul routes are helping railways compete against discount airlines.

Why ‘Work from Anywhere’ Works for Refugees

4 min read

As remote employment becomes the norm, some refugees are discovering new opportunities and autonomy.

Returning 600,000 Acres to Nature, One Piece at a Time

4 min read

As homeowners, churches and even railway operators “rewild” their land, biodiversity is flocking back to England’s East Anglia region.

The Fridge the Vaccines Have Been Waiting For

3 min read

Ice-chilled, powered by the sun and cold for weeks without electricity, the future of refrigeration is here — and just in time.

France’s ‘Peevolution’ Is Irrigating Farms With Liquid Gold

4 min read

A century ago, Paris recycled half of its urine. Today, it’s being used as a high-grade fertilizer once again.

Ancient Farming Techniques Are Climate-Proofing Today’s Agriculture

3 min read

In the Bolivian Andes, the low-water growing practices used by Mayans and Aztecs are making a comeback.

For a Clean Ocean, Just Add Oysters

4 min read

From picturesque Mediterranean isles to New York’s bustling harbor, strategically placed oyster colonies are depolluting the sea with ease.

French Cuisine Has Gone Off the Grid

4 min read

As other businesses go green, food service remains an energy-intensive outlier. Europe’s first solar-powered restaurant wants to change the recipe.

How Bogotá’s Waste Pickers Reinvented Their Jobs for a Modern City

5 min read

As waste collection gets professionalized, the people who keep Bogotá clean and green are making sure they’re not left behind.

Ask Me Anything! Our New Contributing Editor Peter Yeung

2 min read

What makes Paris special? Any tips for learning French? You asked, Peter answered.

No Smoking — Ever? New Zealand’s Plan to Stub Out Cigarettes

4 min read

In an era of decriminalization, a proposal to phase in a total ban has some harm-reduction advocates scratching their heads.

In Paris, More Student Diversity Means Less Private School Flight

4 min read

An experiment in shuffling kids from school to school saw more families stick with the public system.

Spain’s Four-Day Work Week Is a Game Changer

3 min read

Most experiments with four-day weeks have been motivated by corporate self-interest. That could be changing.

In France, Accents Are Now Protected by Law

8 min read

A groundbreaking new rule aims to let people speak freely and without fear of discrimination.

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