I wasn’t born an optimist. At least I don’t think so. Not sure what the balance of nature versus nurture is, but until my mid-20’s, I was one of those annoying people that had a knack for finding the worst-case scenario in every situation. There was a tectonic shift in my world-view not long after I made it through the quarter century mark. And I began what has been another quarter century plus challenge to retrain my neuropathways to seek out the positive in all situations. Most days, the glass is half full; some days my opinion on the status of the water in the glass is neutral; and occasionally, the glass is just dry (heavy sigh) — the plight of human existence? Here are 6 ways to be an environmental optimist despite the sometimes tragic and overwhelming news.