It may surprise you that the coffee sock wasn’t originally an idea to help make our planet more sustainable. In fact, the CoffeeSock was born out of need. One day, a family in Austin had run out of coffee filters and needed coffee. They did what anyone else with a slight caffeine addiction would do (no judgement), and made a coffee filter out of tightly woven fabric. Thus, the CoffeeSock was born!
Since life first blossomed on earth, organisms have evolved complicated interdependencies in order to survive. When we look at these relationships, a very important one is between plants and the organisms that pollinate them. This is done by insects, birds, bats, and other animals by transferring pollen from one flower to the next, allowing them to reproduce.
Each year on April 22nd, we celebrate Earth Day as an opportunity to appreciate our world, but importantly, also to bring attention to the environmental challenges that we face. Since 1970 Americans and the global community have recognized Earth Day as an opportunity to spread awareness and mark the anniversary of what can be considered the modern environmental movement.
While you may be unfamiliar with what palm oil is, where it comes from, and how it is produced, you certainly have come into contact with it - most likely very frequently. Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil that has become the most commonly used oil in packaged products. However, palm oil production has an enormous environmental cost, which makes it a deeply problematic commodity on a large scale.
For many of us, laundry is one of those household chores that simply needs to be done. It’s a mundane and unglamorous routine that most of us complete multiple times a week. One can be forgiven if spending a significant amount of time pondering our laundry routine’s environmental impact doesn’t rise to the top of the immediate concern list.
Our shower & bathing routines have have developed an enormous plastics problem. From shampoos, conditioners, soaps, face washes and scrubs, to even the majority of sponges - they are all packaged with or contain plastics. This was not always the case, but rising demand in the personal care market and changes in how we bathe have helped create this new plastic landscape.
Every year as we change our calendars, many of us create new year resolutions and examine changes that we can make. Many of these goals revolve around creating new “good” habits for a new year. For those looking to prioritize sustainable living in 2021, we have created a shortlist of 21 of our favorite and simple ways to reduce waste in 2021.
For many of us, a cup of tea is a staple of our day, whether it is first thing in the morning, regularly throughout the day as if it were on a drip, or as a part of the classic British afternoon break. The practice of drinking tea spans cultures and its origins can be traced as far back as 2700 BC.
10% of all plastic produced in the world ends up in the ocean. This number is, frighteningly, only expected to increase over time. Our bodies of water are littered with yesterday’s trash. As the problem increases, awareness has begun to increase. A growing number of artists, companies, and individuals are doing their part to tackle the problem.
There is a set of human-made islands in the Pacific currently fighting to become a nation. While human-made, these are pacific isles that will doubtfully have a booming tourist economy - because they are entirely made up of marine debris that has been collected together. Though not yet a nation unto themselves, these islands pose an enormous threat to the rest of the world. The waste that makes up these human-made isles is a majority plastic, posing a concern to sea life around the area.
Picture yourself standing on the beach. Your feet sink into the warm sand as you listen to the gentle roar of the waves hitting the shore. As the sun dips slowly into the endless ocean, you’re struck by the vastness and beauty of the sea. Sadly, global pollution levels are rising, and much of that pollution ends up in the sea.
This summer has been devastating for Australia. Over the past few months, the world has watched in shock as 17.9 million acres of beautiful land burned. New South Wales has suffered some of the worst damage, with at least 12.1 million acres affected.