This spring, I taught a new undergraduate course in environmental sociology. Most of my students took the course because they were curious to see what their desire to live more sustainably had to do with sociology. Alice Mah, University of Warwick The Conversation By the third week – after a deep dive into the troubling […]
As the official holiday of being protected from the deadly void of space, Earth Day is a chance for the general public to be reminded that companies are destroying the planet and ruining public health for the sake of their profits. By Climate Denier Roundup Those disinformation agents tasked with distracting the public from said […]
Wishcycling is putting something in the recycling bin and hoping it will be recycled, even if there is little evidence to confirm this assumption. Hope is central to wishcycling. People may not be sure the system works, but they choose to believe that if they recycle an object, it will become a new product rather […]
In a world that’s clogged and choking with a massive overdose of plastic trash, you’ll be heartened to learn that governments and industries are teaming up to respond forcefully to this planetary crisis. Unfortunately, their response has been to engage in a global race to make more plastic stuff — and to force poor countries to become dumping […]
It’s true that lava is hot enough to burn up some of our trash. When Kilauea erupted on the Big island of Hawaii in 2018, the lava flows were hotter than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,100 Celsius). By Emily Johnson, US Geological Survey The Conversation That’s hotter than the surface of the planet Venus, and hot […]
Most consumers don’t pay much attention to the packaging that their purchases come in, unless it’s hard to open or the item is really over-wrapped. But packaging accounts for about 28% of U.S. municipal solid waste. Only some 53% of it ends up in recycling bins, and even less is actually recycled: According to trade […]
Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) has released a report analyzing the challenges of recycling plastic in five major U.S. cities, closing out Plastic Free July. Today, solid waste disposal costs cities and residents – with their health and their pocketbooks. The cities in this study have the potential to be at the forefront of […]
It’s hard to imagine navigating modern life without a mobile phone in hand. Computers, tablets and smartphones have transformed how we communicate, work, learn, share news and entertain ourselves. They became even more essential when the COVID-19 pandemic moved classes, meetings and social connections online. By Callie Babbitt, Rochester Institute of Technology and Shahana Althaf, […]
As the Earth’s population grows and approaches a projected 9.7 billion by 2050, the world’s freshwaters will face mounting pressure to supply the needs of population growth. Approximately 33 per cent of people do not have access to safe drinking water and a similar number do not have access to proper sanitation — numbers that […]
Environmentally conscious consumers often ask me whether a real Christmas tree or an artificial one is the more sustainable choice. As a horticulture and forestry researcher, I know this question is also a concern for the Christmas tree industry, which is wary of losing market share to artificial trees. By Bert Cregg, Michigan State University […]
Despite extensive lobbying by the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) industry, environmental and economic concerns have led to a welcome movement away from WTE throughout Europe and North America. In the U.S., citizens have effectively organized in opposition to new WTE plants since 1996, with 400 such proposals defeated and only one new plant built. At the same time, existing […]
Masks may help stop the spread of the coronavirus. But according to one estimate, if everyone in the United Kingdom used a single-use mask each day for a year, it would create 66,000 tonnes of contaminated waste and 57,000 tonnes of plastic packaging. By Mayuri Wijayasundara, Deakin University The Conversation Face masks are part of […]
The secretive way in which plastic recycling is handled in the UK carries the potential for the next big scandal. While the government’s statutory guidance is supposed to clarify who is responsible, our research suggests that what happens to plastics we believe to be recycled in the UK is in reality quite obscure. Regina Frei, […]
Green groups responded with alarm to Sunday reporting by the New York Times and Unearthed that a U.S.-based trade group for major chemical and fossil fuel companies has lobbied the Trump administration during the Covid-19 pandemic to use a forthcoming trade agreement to flood the African continent with plastics. Faced with plunging profits and a #ClimateCrisis threatening fossil fuels […]
Our lives rely on technology. We work on computers, watch our favorite shows on services like Netflix, monitor our health with smartwatches and stay in touch with friends and family around the globe on our cellphones. These devices make our lives easier. Unfortunately, we also live in an era of planned obsolescence — everything you buy will […]