By Sage Lenier Sage Lenier, an environmental activist and graduate from UC Berkeley, created a wildly popular course at her university dedicated to sustainable solutions and circular systems thinking against the broader backdrop of environmental justice. In Spring 2020, the course enrolled more than 300 students eager to learn how they can drive the shift […]
By Coda Christopherson (11) and Lea Eider (15) Growing up in a plastic-free home, I was sheltered from the plastic waste crisis. I (Coda) went to a very progressive school that had vegan lunch items, farm animals and ran on solar power. My mom produces zero-waste events and my dad is a sailor, so we’re […]
By Jazmine Velasquez My family’s defining motto is “Siempre usa como lo que tienes.” (“Always use what you have.”) Mom and grandma have used the expression so many times, I hear their voices every time I want to get a $15 poke bowl after class but have leftovers in the fridge at home. I hear […]
By Jeff Turrentine If you think this is going to be yet another column admonishing you for not doing enough to curb the amount of single-use plastic in our waste stream, you can relax. You don’t need a lecture at this point. You might already know, for instance, that global consumer culture has generated more […]
By Meredith Rosenberg Disposable items have become so ingrained in our daily habits that we may not realize all of the small, everyday actions that are adding to the amount of disposable waste that ends up in oceans and landfills. Here are five lifestyle changes you can make today to ditch the disposables and reduce […]
By Meredith Rosenberg In early October, the United Nations released a climate change report forewarning of global catastrophes (severe flooding, wildfires, droughts) that could begin by 2040 unless drastic changes are made to reduce greenhouse gases. It might seem like a daunting task, but here are five lifestyle changes you can make right now to […]
If you wear bras, chances are you haven’t thought too much about their environmental impact. But bras can be made from a variety of unsustainable materials, from water-intensive cotton, to spandex, to petroleum-based polyurethane foam for padding. So once they’re tossed, these synthetic fabrics will sit in landfills and take forever to disappear. It’s no […]
By Marlene Cimons How often do you swap out your old smartphone for a new one? Every two or three years? Every year? Today, phone companies make it easy with deals to trade in your old phone for the newest version. But those discarded phones are becoming a huge source of waste, with many components […]
Earth Day 2018 is focused on the all-important theme of reducing plastic litter and pollution. Of course, we shouldn’t just reduce our plastic footprint, we should try to reduce waste in all shapes, sizes and forms. It’s said that the average American generates a staggering 4 pounds of trash every day—but you don’t have to […]