Sustainability
On saving the planet...
What you have to understand is that we are running out of time....we need changes but they are too slow to come. We need earth shattering commitments and for leaders to stand up and fight for what’s right or more accurately the right thing to do, because of course why wouldn’t anyone want to save our beautiful planet. I am sure this doesn’t make much sense to most people, so where does that leave us?
By Ruvini De Alwis5 years ago in Earth
The Fallacy of the Thrift Shop
The fallacy of the thrift shop is that it is simultaneously one of the best tools that we, as individuals, can have to fight over-consumerism and one of the tools that have been warped to support over-consumerism. The rise of thrift shops is often taken as a sign that more people are engaging with circular economies or at least thinking of reusing their items and giving them a new life by allowing others to have them. Yet both buyers and donators of thrift shop items, particularly clothes, are contributors to this fallacy.
By Melissa in the Blue5 years ago in Earth
Reducing Our Consumption of Animals Is Our Last Shot At Saving Earth
Stop eating meat and dairy: it's an unpopular directive. Browse any Facebook groups for five minutes and you're likely to come across multiple cringeworthy memes about veganism and vegetarianism. Where I come from in the southern region of the U.S., fried chicken and grilling out is a way of life. Only 14% of the world population identifies as vegan or vegetarian...and while that is up from other years, that means that 86% of the world population has likely grown up consuming animal products. And that's a hard habit to break.
By L.A. Hancock5 years ago in Earth
The Recycling Industry is TRASH
You've gathered a trove of plastic this week. Triumphantly, you parade over to your blue bin and plop it inside with a satisfying thwack. You dust your hands and pat yourself on the back - you're a good person; you care enough to recycle.
By Olivia L. Dobbs5 years ago in Earth
Artists can do better
There's something hugely exciting about a newly purchased sketchbook. It seems to offer unlimited hope and potential, opportunities and exploration. But all too often the pristine white pages of a new sketchbook stay exactly that way, often for months and even years, as the unused sketchbook gets added to the ever-increasing pile of other unused art supplies. As an emerging artist, I understand the deep need for my art supplies to become my closest companion and to be employed regularly to record, interact with, and document the world around me. I know undeniably that they are my best friend and faithful ally in providing the self care, mind distraction and creative expression my heart yearns for; but more often than I would care to mention, my stacks of unused art supplies have become elements of excessive clutter and unnecessary consumerism.
By Monique Green5 years ago in Earth
My GUPPYFRIEND
Finding ways to keep the earth clean and ways to stop the ozone layer from deteriorating has been important to me since the moment I dropped my iPod into the recycling liquids bucket in sixth grade. To be honest, it was not because my Apple product failed due to sticky mixed liquids but because the bucket was so full of liquids after children had not finished their juice or milk, only threw the plastic into the bin. I did not realize the impact that wish-recycling has on the recycling process but I ensured to finish my beverages from that day forward as I was disgusted.
By Tia Hendricks5 years ago in Earth
Bodies Of Water
My first step toward making waves of transformation was a scary one. I listened to my heart pound every night like the rhythm of the waves crashing violently on the beach as I lay in bed anticipating my new life adventure and leaving behind my old life as a carpenter and a painter. I began to recognize through the years, that this feeling was my aliveness coming to get me like a swinging trapeze bar, according to Danaan Parry in Warriors of the Heart.
By Arieal Pearl Healy5 years ago in Earth
You Start With The Middle Tray
My mother has excellent taste. While I would never admit that to her face, I'm sure there's no harm in confiding this well-kept family secret here on the internet. Ever since I was very small, she has consistently recommended what would become my favorite books, recipes, movies, TV shows, musicals, restaurants, day trips, and random experiences. Being a headstrong child, followed by an impossible teenager, and finally, a cheeky adult, each one of her recommendations has been met with a firm, "No thanks!" That is, until someone else offers their own acclaim.
By D M Alvarez5 years ago in Earth
The Economy of an Old Shirt
Consumerism is the fundamental divide between our current societal model and the bitter cries of our suffering planet. On an individual level, each time we opt out of buying something new to suit our need or perhaps greed, we spare our vote to cast another day.
By Samantha Joy5 years ago in Earth
