Furman Greenbelt Sustainable Living Community

Growing up I had a front porch. It wasn’t the coolest one on the block, and was by no means the most interesting, but it got the job done. When I moved to another part of the neighborhood in 1st grade, I got new neighbors, a higher squirrel population, and a cool alleyway behind the backyard, but unfortunately no porch. Fast forward to the current year, living in the Greenbelt cabin, has made me realize what I’ve been missing the past 11 years of my life. Porches and other outdoor sitting areas encourage you to spend more time around nature and use less electricity. As such, in this blog I’m going to articulate what exactly makes porches not only appealing, but quite sustainable as well.

As humans, we all want control in our lives, right? It seems to be the cause of much of our problems and, well, solutions to those problems as well. The temperature is 96 degrees out so what do you do? Stay in shade, drink more water, and maybe take the opportunity to go for a swim. Or retreat to your nice insulated home and crank the AC till the windows frost over. In our age of endless solutions, its much easier to pick the second option, and take control of your environment. What’s easy to forget, however, is the damages that much of these solutions can cause. Air conditioning, despite its easy fix to a hot climate, releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the environment. According to an article from UN Environmental Program, AC accounts for 20% of a given building’s power consumption. Not only this, but they are accompanied by the electricity costs of all of your other home appliances and environmental regulators, such as lighting, electronics, and so on. We know that these appliances all contribute to energy consumption as well as climate change, but we still use them out of a need for control over our environment. What am I proposing then, that we should all go live outside and surrender ourselves to the elements in order to minimize our impact on the environment? While this may be an appealing idea to some of you out there (I’m looking at you backpackers), it is simply not viable or particularly comfortable for the vast majority of people. What we all can do, however, is simply spend more time outside, something that a porch makes incredibly convenient to do.

 

  –  The Greenbelt Cabin Porch

 

Spending your time outside instead of in the enclosed comfort of your home doesn’t just benefit the environment, it also can greatly benefit your physical and mental health. According to an article from UC Davis Health, being outside and engaging with nature “has a positive effect on our bodies by reducing cortisol levels, muscle tension, and demands on our cardiovascular systems.” Not only can being outside reduce stresses to our physical and mental wellbeing, but it can also help your body produce extremely vital vitamin D. According to an article from the National Institute of Health, in the US “almost one out of four people have vitamin D blood levels that are too low or inadequate for bone and overall health.” Spending more time outside can help you reap the natural benefits of the sun’s rays, helping you to regulate your health and wellbeing.

There are many reasons why one may prefer the inside at a given time to the outdoors. It could be too cold, windy, or your neighbor’s car alarm could be wailing nonstop. Just being outside means you are giving up some of your control over your environment, and well, that is what makes it so appealing. In an age where we have increasing control over all aspects of our lives, it is refreshing to embrace the fact that in the natural world, we are not in control. Sure, our houses may remain the same temperature and never blow our hats off with a gust of wind, but the moment you step outside, anything can happen. It is because of this contrast with the stability of the rest of the house, that the porch has won me over. Not only is it healthy and sustainable to spend your time outside, but the porch provides a space to realize how connected we are with the environment, despite how distant it can feel behind closed doors.

 

 

References:

Air conditioners fuel the climate crisis. can nature help?. UNEP. (n.d.-b). https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/air-conditioners-fuel-climate-crisis-can-nature-help#:~:text=How%20does%20cooling%20contribute%20to,double%20burden%20for%20climate%20change.

UC Davis Health. (2024, October 1). 3 ways getting outside into nature helps improve your health. health. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/cultivating-health/3-ways-getting-outside-into-nature-helps-improve-your-health/2023/05

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Office of dietary supplements – vitamin D. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-Consumer/

People who don’t enjoy the gym don’t understand the way exercise quiets your brain. When you’re lifting weights, you have no choice but to focus on what’s directly in front of you. Either you complete your movement or drop forty-five pounds of iron on your face.

For me, even preparing for the gym is calming. I’ll come back from class in a whirlwind of agitation– and I’m sure anyone who sees me during that time would laugh. My phone’s blowing up: sorority business, club meetings, emails. There’s an exam I bombed in my backpack, and across the lake, a townie kid is screaming at the top of her lungs. I nearly trip on the stairs to my house.

But by the time I’m scooping my preworkout in the kitchen, that’s all long gone. For one hour, six days a week, I don’t have to think about anything but the feel of a barbell in my hands.

I’m not necessarily alone in this feeling: between scientific advancements and social media, gym culture is now more popular than ever. With this comes a rise in supplement use– synthetic vitamins and chemicals meant to enhance your workout experience.

Among the most popular supplements for gym-goers are preworkouts. If you’re unaware of how pre works, think of it as an energy-boosting Kool-Aid mix. Chances are, though, you’ve at least heard of it– because in 2023, the global industry was valued at over $19 billion.

Unfortunately for gym-goers, synthetic preworkout is anything but carbon neutral. Most of the ingredients in pre are amino acids. These chemicals occur naturally in the body; however, in supplemental form, must be produced via chemical processing. Production is energy-intensive and factory waste can pollute environments and even create biohazards. The vast majority of chemical processing plants in America run on fossil fuels, and they are responsible for close to 20% of the country’s GHG emissions (“Ammonia Production”).

Most preworkouts contain these 5 synthetically-produced amino acids: beta-alanine, anhydrous caffeine, citrulline, tyrosine, taurine, and creatine monohydrate. Whether it’s blocking the receptors in your brain responsible for fatigue or increasing oxygen delivery to your muscles, each and every one enhances performance. Chemical production processes for each and every one of these chemicals requires “high temperatures and pressures”– in other words, they’re extremely energy-intensive. (“Advances in the synthesis of β-alanine.”)

The waste from these processes can also be hazardous. Creatine phosphate turns to creatinine (a natural waste product) in the body, but creatine monohydrate has to be burned to be disposed of. This process of burning actually releases hazardous chemicals, which can affect both workers and the environment.

All of these supplements are helpful– even essential– to anyone who goes to the gym on a daily basis. But between the chemicals, dye, flavoring, and plastic packaging of preworkout, it’s entirely unsustainable. On top of this, pre can actually expire, becoming less effective the longer it sits. Its shelf life is only about a year, and once opened, it is generally recommended to use within 6 months. 

Worse, the environmental impacts of the industry have yet to fully be studied. In fact, preworkout is so new that its effect on the body isn’t fully known. The amount of caffeine per scoop typically ranges between 150-300mg, and there’s a common idea among hardcore gym-goers of “double-scooping” or even combining it with an energy drink. The effects of this intake, along with a cocktail of chemical powders, have not been studied longitudinally.

But if the entire industry is an environmental and public health risk, why buy into it? Some ideas to supplement are black tea or coffee and a “quick carb”– a slice of toast, a banana, or another light source of energy. Better yet, endeavor to eat clean. All of these amino acids are either already in your body or can be found in whole foods.

Easier said than done, right? How am I, for example, supposed to eat healthily? I’m in the PDen so often the workers know me by name. Why go to the dining hall when I have literal energy in a carton? I argue sustainability is not just about the environment– it’s about a lifestyle that you are able to support. And personally, preworkout significantly enhances my gym experience.

But the purpose of this article is to bring awareness to the preworkout industry, which is the first step to solving the problem. Choosing to opt out of synthetic preworkout is a solution, but at the root, consumers are not to blame. It’s the companies mass-producing it.

At the end of the day, it’s okay to stick with synthetic preworkout. But when a plume of smoke rises out of the tub as you open it, keep in mind its artificiality and remember that just because it’s the easiest way to get energy, it might not be the best.

 

Works Cited

“Global Pre-Workout Supplements Market.” Yahoo Finance, 16 Oct. 2023, https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-pre-workout-supplements-market-180000537.html.

“Ammonia Production.” Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Department of Energy, 2001, https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/773773.

“Advances in the synthesis of β-alanine.” National Library of Medicine, 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10639138/.

            On a steady note, the temperature is rising, and the once warm summers become unbearably hot. In the desert of Las Vegas, Nevada, the temperature reached an all new peak of 120 degrees and it is doomed to rise. In the South climate change is not only pushing forth a rise in temperature, but an increase in the number of natural disasters, contributing to events such as hurricanes like Helene and Milton. The irony of such a fact is that the natural human response to a rise in temperature is most always to combat such with AC. Whilst the home gets cooler the repercussions of constant AC usage are counteractive.

 

The basic actions of AC units aren’t particularly detrimental to the climate, they literally make the surrounding area cooler, but to do so they require power, and that requirement and production prove to be 

negative for the ozone layer. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions, the almost 2.5 billion number of AC units in the world contribute to about 3% of total emissions, and whilst 3% may not seem a lot, in the grand scheme of things, each minute percent counts. Especially with future projections, with the exponential rise in homeowners, and buildings, since in 2050 the number of units could rise to at least 5.5 billion, attacking this issue before it becomes too large to handle could prove to be more important than we could imagine in terms of reversing climate change.

 

 

Just ignoring the need for climate control within the house, especially for those in desert climates, isnt the answer and could lead to even more peril, so instead what is needed are sustainable, and climate friendly alternatives. One means of curbing the constant usage of electricity is to make sure that the energy used is being used in the most efficient way possible. In a study of AC efficacy in Ghana, over 85% of units ranked at the lowest level of efficiency on the SEER grading scale. Through fixing the crisis of poorly efficient units, less power would go to waste, greatly reducing the power needed to be produced. In the context of hot climate areas, such as deserts, researchers from McGill University, UCLA, and Princeton have found an inexpensive and sustainable alternative roofing material that radiates heat away from the building to regulate the heat inside. With this new radiating roofing, the building would contain less of a need for AC to regulate temp, and reduce the power used. Another alternative for the average, consumer 

purchased AC unit would be to invest in newer systems, rather than to keep to older model. One of the large issues with AC systems is that they tend to leak hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants which can be up to 2,000 times or potent and detrimental to the ozone layer. With new investments in manufacturers such as Daikin and Gree which have developed prototypical models that not only are more efficient, but use less harmful refrigerant, and systems that use alternative cooling techniques such as drying the air.

 

Taking in the collection of what has been stated, AC units if not addressed, could drive the climate into higher temperatures, instead of lower. Through addressing the efficiency, and enhancing the use of alternative cooling methods (i.e. drying air, roofing materials) the power usage could be lowered enough the help reverse climate change, and sustainably cool the earth. For future research, we must ask what must the government do to help, how could we mandate climate safe procedures, and how can we dig out of the hole we created.

Works cited:

Guardian News and Media. (2021, September 3). How to make Air Conditioning Less of an environmental nightmare. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/03/air-conditioning-climate-crisis-clean-tech-solutions

Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2024, July 16). Air conditioning causes around 3% of greenhouse gas emissions. how will this change in the future?. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/air-conditioning-causes-around-greenhouse-gas-emissions-will-change-future#:~:text=In%20summary%2C%20air%20conditioning%20in,emissions%20when%20refrigerants%20are%20included.

ScienceDaily. (2023, October 30). A sustainable alternative to air conditioning. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231030110826.htm

Cold and scared, I gripped the side of a National Guard truck as we made the alarming exodus from our flooded home to shelter at the Houston Convention Center.

With water everywhere, and not a single point of illumination, I stared out at the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

At 13, I was already a veteran of flooding. At age 11, my Houston neighborhood experienced a 100-year flood — an extreme that was supposed to happen once in 100 years. (Leinfelder, (2018)

That day school was canceled so my sisters and I put on our rain boots and went outside to play in the water. I wasn’t too concerned. I was glad to have gotten this 100-year flood out of the way so young. 

But a year later another 100-year flood happened. (ClicktoHouston, 2019) This time our red Ford Focus was submerged in the street and water got into the engine. I was upset and confused.

“Why is it called a 100-year event if it happens every year?” I asked my parents.

A year later, Hurricane Harvey hit, my dad woke me up at 5 a.m and as I stumbled out of bed, I felt water under my feet. The water had finally made it past our front door. 

We moved to our living room and placed anything we could up high where we thought the water could never reach it. But the water kept rising.  I was scared for my grandparents, who lived next door. How could we transport two diminutive elders down a street filled with over 4 feet of murky water? 

Around 11 a.m., we moved to the second story of our neighbor’s house. I watched out the window as my elementary school across the street was submerged. The water kept climbing. Around 5 p.m., we were evacuated by open-air National Guard trucks. 

My phone battery was running out, but I needed to understand what was happening to me. 

I googled Hurricane Harvey, finding a news report that said something called climate change would continue to worsen floods (Gibbens, 2018). 

But surely nothing could be worse than this?  

After a restless night sleeping on cots with hundreds of people at the convention center downtown, the water subsided enough for us to leave, but we couldn’t go home. The water damage to our house was too severe. We moved into temporary housing while it was torn down and rebuilt. 

After two years I finally got to go home. 

It feels like I can’t outrun climate extremes. Three years ago, in February 2021, a historic freeze hit Texas, knocking out power for a week. I found myself sleeping next to my grandparents’ fireplace just to stay warm.

Now, at 20, one of the few places I thought might be safe from climate disasters — where I had hoped to settle down for the long term — has just been devastated by a hurricane, the likes of which the area has never experienced. (Schaper, 2024) No matter where I go, it seems like there’s no escape.

I can’t sit back and be passive when it comes to climate change. Not when it’s getting worse. 

Things are bad now but they’ll be worse for the next generation. When we burn fossil fuels it traps pollution in the atmosphere causing our world to overheat, which in turn exacerbates extreme weather. (IPCC 2021) We have to do something about it. Later is too late.

Children born today are already facing disproportionate increases in floods, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and crop failures due to climate change. Analysis published in Science warns that today’s newborns will face on average seven times more severe heatwaves during their lives than their grandparents (Thiery, 2021).

Last year, I became an intern for the nonpartisan, volunteer-powered nonprofit Citizens’ Climate Lobby and learned how to speak up for the future I want. One where all elected officials, regardless of party, enact laws that hold big corporate polluters accountable and work to prevent climate extremes from worsening.   

It lit a fire under me to become a climate voter in 2024 and talk about what this means for me through the Environmental Action Group and by being a Greenbelt student at Furman. Every candidate vying for my vote should outline real and effective solutions to reduce climate pollution. 

When young people like me think we have no voice and give up, when we don’t tell leaders what we want or sit elections out, we fail to hold our members of Congress accountable. That’s something we have the power to change. 

References:

Click2Houston Digital Staff. (2019, April 16). Look back at Houston’s 2016 Tax Day Flood. Click2Houston. https://www.click2houston.com/weather/2019/04/16/look-back-at-houstons-2016-tax-day-flood/

Gibbens, S. (2018, January 4). Climate change made Hurricane Harvey more deadly. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/climate-change-study-hurricane-harvey-flood

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2021). Climate change 2021: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S. L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, et al., Eds.). Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/

Leinfelder, A. (2018, May 24). Remembering 2015’s Memorial Day flooding in Houston. Houston Chronicle. https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Remembering-2015-s-Memorial-Day-flooding-in-12943900.php

Schaper, D. (2024, October 1). Hurricane Helene brings heavy rain and flooding, raising more questions about climate change. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/10/01/nx-s1-5133530/hurricane-helene-rain-flooding-climate-change

Thiery, W., Lange, S., Rogelj, J., Schleussner, C. F., Gudmundsson, L., Seneviratne, S. I., et al. (2021). Intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes. Science, 374(6564), 158-160. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abi7339

In my last blog, I talked about how one can change their habits through cues and rewards. In this blog though, I’ll be talking about how one can begin to shift their lifestyle through small choices over time. The lifestyle that this blog will be talking about though, will be, how to make clothes last longer when properly cared for. Why should you take care of your clothes correctly? You should take care of your clothes properly so they may last longer and you will not need to get new clothes as often. As a bonus, as we all know, the fashion industry is a hot mess when it comes to sustainability, but by learning to care for your clothes correctly, you can become sustainable by protesting against the fast fashion industry in a very peaceful way by not buying new clothes as often. 

There are many different methods of taking care of your clothes. But before I begin, let me define what ‘proper’ means. Proper means, using the right amount of detergent, using the washing machine correctly, knowing how to read clothes labels, and knowing how to wash your clothes without damaging them.

Let us begin this journey of change as a college student. Most college students either learn how to wash their clothes when first going to college, or learn how to before college even begins. But did you know you could be damaging your clothes by not washing them properly? The most common mistakes college students, and others, make when washing their clothes are too much detergent, overloading the washer, not sorting clothes, and not checking the garment labels (Festiva Laundry). Each of these mistakes can take some life off of the garment, leading them to not last long. 

Using too much detergent can cause extra soap suds that do not completely rinse out of clothes, leaving behind a sticky residue (Bennett, 2022). But by measuring out the right amount, using only about 1 tablespoon per average weight load (Sanci, 2023), preventing detergent buildup is simple. To make this process more sustainable, try switching to a ‘cleaner’ detergent brand or make your own detergent.

The next common mistake that people tend to make is overloading the washing machine. Overloading a washing machine can cause performance issues mechanically, not clean your clothes, and tear clothes up (Buiano, 2023). The simple way to prevent your clothes and machine from being torn and overloaded is by decreasing the amount put in so that about the machine is only ⅔ full. You can also prevent your clothes from showing tears by using a delicate’s bag. A delicates bag is a bag where items that are more fragile, like silk, bras, or knitwear, can be put into to prevent tears from happening on the garment. Delicates bags have been shown to lessen the damage some garments might face. I can say this for certain through personal experience.

Next, not reading the garment label of your clothes before washing them can lead to disastrous consequences. Some of those consequences could be your clothes shrinking, getting holes, etc. But to properly take care of your clothes, reading the garment tags can instruct you how to wash your clothes properly. Checking the tag before washing your clothes can help preserve the longevity of your clothes (Buiano, 2023). Below is a stand guide of images that tell you how to wash your clothes. These images range from what temp and how to wash, bleach or no bleach, dryer or no dryer, etc.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/68d051_3d1483f9ac114bd2a8e5a163649064c7~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1000,h_891/fcc_laundrylabels.png

 

Finally, the last mistake people tend to make is not sorting their clothes. Sorting clothes is important because it helps preserve the color of the garment. Think about it, you have a load of whites but you accidentally put one red sock in the load of whites. Now all of those whites are a pink color! Trying to revert the pink back to white would take a miracle. This is why sorting clothes by color is important. When sorting clothes, you’ll also want to think about the material of the garment. Is it delicate, is it linen, is it a sturdy material, etc. Separating by color and type of material is helpful because it can preserve the cloth. For instance, if I want to wash my linens, I would want to use hotter water because it can sanitize the linens better. But if I use hotter water when I wash my clothes, they tend to shrink. This is why separating is important because you can then give each category of garment or cloth the attention it needs.

In the end, learning how to properly wash and take care of your clothes can make them last longer and prevent you from having to buy new garments so often. 

 

References

Bennett, J. (2022, July 10). 7 Common Laundry Mistakes That Can Damage Clothes. Better Homes and Gardens. https://www.bhg.com/homekeeping/laundry-linens/tips-checklists/laundry-mistakes/

Buiano, M. (2023, August 30). 10 Common Laundry Mistakes That May Prevent Your Clothes From Getting Clean. Martha Stewart. https://www.marthastewart.com/common-laundry-mistakes-7853523

Festiva Laundry. (n.d.). 6 Common Laundry Mistakes College Students Make at the Laudrymat. https://festivalaundry.com/resources/6-common-laundry-mistakes-college-students-make-laundromat/

Sanci, E. (2023, September 19). Stop Using So Much Laundry Detergent. Wirecutter. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/stop-using-so-much-laundry-detergent/

 

Most would agree that, within young adults our society has reached a new low in life satisfaction. The rise of mental illness concerns and lack of hope can be contributed to any number of things, a global pandemic during important formative years, high cost of living, an ultra-competitive job market, all leaving the younger millennial and Gen-Z generations with greater levels of stress and mental health concerns than ever. A recent post by the Guardian explored the viewpoints of multiple generations on the state of mental illness in Gen-Z. One psychologist emphasized that Gen-Z is struggling to find things to look forward to. There was undeniably an underlying lack of hope for a stable and satisfying life contributing to increased mental illness and burnout within younger generations. Professionals within the Guardian article highlighted the shift in values of the younger generations to better work-life balance, yet less prospects for anything of the sort to be achieved. 

It seems like an impossible task, curing entire generations of an underlying stress over their future, however I believe the slow living movement may be the societal shift that is vital to the well being of future generations. This movement emphasizes a shift away from the “busy” lifestyle we currently idolize in western society. Instead, it offers one where we prioritize satisfaction and the joys of daily life and community, rather than pursuing the highest salary or the largest home. The simplification of life and the slow living movement offers a way for the newer generations to cope with increasing cost of living, and the subsequent disconnectedness and anxiety that constant movement creates. There’s a strong historical significance of the movement, as before industrialization, most people lived a “slow” lifestyle. We were connected with nature, valued quality over quantity, and were completely “unplugged”. 

This lifestyle offers benefits for mental and physical health, and the health of the environment. DE-Influencing is a trend that has begun to touch on the heart of this movement, emphasizing replacing items when they no longer serve the function they are intended to, rather than buying a new product for the purpose of doing something more efficiently or being aesthetically pleasing. This serves both the environment, as the sheer amount of waste entering landfills decreases, the carbon footprint of shipping and transporting goods is reduced, and natural resources like oil used to make plastics or water used to make jeans is considerably reduced. The slow living movement also emphasizes a connection with nature, suggesting cooking each meal with intention and sourcing food as locally as possible, with the potential to grow part of your own food. The movement away from fast food and time spent in nature gardening pose a variety of health benefits, reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease while also having proven mental health benefits. Simply seeing the outdoors for an hour a day can have benefits to mental health, and help reduce the disconnected feeling that constant technology and extreme sensory inputs from indoor environments produce. When people are more educated about and connected with nature they almost always place a higher value on the environment, which trickles down into political and social decisions. On a large scale, the slow living movement may help us save not only younger generations struggling with their health, but the environment along with it. 

 

Works Cited 

 

Franco, Lara S, et al. “A Review of the Benefits of Nature Experiences: More than Meets the Eye.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Aug. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580568/. 

Solan, Matthew. “Taking It Slow.” Harvard Health, 1 Nov. 2022, www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/taking-it-slow. 

“What Is Slow Living & How Does It Correlate to Sustainability?” The Momentum, www.themomentum.com/articles/what-is-slow-living-how-does-it-correlate-to-sustainability. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024. 

“What’s up with Generation Z?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 Mar. 2024, www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/03/whats-up-with-generation-z.

Carbon dioxide has been known to be one of the most prevalent reasons for climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels, with the concentrations in the atmosphere rising yearly due to human activities releasing more into the atmosphere than natural processes can remove. In 2023, the global average atmospheric carbon dioxide was 419.3ppm, which is 50% higher than it was before the Industrial Revolution (Lindsey, 2023). This is detrimental because carbon dioxide traps heat and redirects it towards earth, heating up the Earth and contributing to around 2/3 of the total heating influence of all greenhouse gases produced.

 

A way governments are attempting to counter this continuous rise in carbon emissions is by implementing a carbon tax, which is imposing a price on carbon emissions to mitigate the negative externalities created by greenhouse gas emissions (brookings.edu). In carbon pricing, there are two different main forms: emissions trading systems (ETS) and carbon taxes. An ETS is also known as a cap-and-trade system, which limits the quantity of pollution that can be produced, but then is also able to be traded to other entities (US EPA, 2016). This allows there to still be a cap but allows for flexibility for certain industries on their path. The other is a flat carbon tax, which essentially just taxes you based on the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. Currently, around 40 countries have implemented these mechanisms, with more planning to implement them in the future due to their success in reducing carbon emissions and increasing renewable energy.

 

Putting a price on carbon is essential for continuing to reduce emissions, as it helps discourage companies from using fossil fuels, which will in turn help the environment. There is some pushback from certain companies about the implementation of a flat carbon price, but it has future uses other than simply costing more money. It is not only implemented as a climate policy but can also be used as an economic policy. The taxes paid for carbon allow the government to use more funding towards creating clean energy opportunities, helping eliminate the use of fossil fuels, as well as promote and scale other future climate mitigation efforts. Also, these taxes help incentivize companies to reach the United States long-term climate goals, as companies will search for alternatives that are less expensive.

 

A critic about carbon pricing is that the tax is too low to make much of a difference for the major contributors of carbon dioxide. Creating too high of a tax too early could drastically limit major companies’ ability to invest in renewable energy for the future, but implementing a tax too low would not incentivize industries to invest in renewable energy at all. Also, many large companies and people are fighting against the carbon tax, especially consumers. This is because goods and services that rely on carbon-intensive processes such as transportation, energy production, electricity, and heating can all raise in price (Why Putting a Price on Carbon Has Been Fraught with Difficulty, 2023). This leads to a negative public opinion towards carbon pricing. However, the implementation of carbon pricing has statistically proven to reduce the amount of carbon emissions put into the atmosphere (Jotzo & Burke, 2020).

 

 

As shown in the graph above, the countries that had no carbon price in 2007 have majority rising the carbon dioxide emissions growth, while virtually all of the countries with a carbon price show a decrease or equal amount of carbon dioxide emissions growth.

 

Overall, carbon pricing is a valuable tool that the government can utilize to help reduce carbon emissions, while also building a better future for generations to come. While there may be short term detriments, the long-term implications are beneficial both monetarily and environmentally. This pricing would speed up the building of renewable energy and help drastically reduce the effects of climate change in the future.

 

Resources

Jotzo, F., & Burke, P. (2020, September 4). Does carbon pricing work? This is what a new study found. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/carbon-pricing-study-emissions-global-warming-climate-change/#:~:text=Growth%20in%20annual%20carbon%20dioxide%20emissions%20was%20about

Lindsey, R. (2023, May 12). Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Climate.gov; NOAA. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

US EPA. (2016, March 16). What Is Emissions Trading? | US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/emissions-trading-resources/what-emissions-trading

Why putting a price on carbon has been fraught with difficulty. (2023, November 3). Www.ft.com. https://www.ft.com/content/d91d6daa-a5bf-42fd-9a9b-24f86e3fbc6b

Plastic bags have become ubiquitous in our lives, from grocery stores to retail shops. But as convenient as they are, they have become a major environmental issue, contributing to litter, pollution, and a growing waste problem.

 

The numbers are staggering: It’s estimated that over 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year. [1] Around 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away annually in the United States alone. [2] The rest end up in landfills, oceans, and other natural environments, where decomposing takes hundreds of years.

 

Believe it or not, plastic bags are recyclable. But not in your typical recycling bin. They must be taken to a specialized facility for processing. These facilities are sparse in the United States. Municipal recycling plants don’t take plastic bags due to how expensive it is to recycle them. Many Americans are unaware that these bags cannot be recycled conventionally with the rest of their recyclables [3]. Only 1% of plastic bags end up getting recycled in America. [2] Both inaccessibility to recycling and lack of public knowledge have led to an abundance of bags being redirected from recycling facilities to landfills.

 

Recognizing the environmental impact, some states and municipalities have discouraged plastic bag usage by implementing fees or taxes on single-use plastic bags. For example, California imposes a minimum 10-cent charge for each plastic carryout bag provided by retailers. [4] Similar laws exist in Hawaii, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, and others.

 

The idea behind these charges is simple: By making plastic bags more expensive, consumers will be incentivized to bring their own reusable bags instead. The fees collected can go towards environmental initiatives or efforts to provide reusable bags.

 

But do these fees really make a difference?

 

Initially, the amount of plastic bag waste collected during trash clean-ups reduced. However, the number of plastic bags collected during cleanups has remained relatively flat since 2016. [3] The graph below shows this trend, with a dip in 2021, likely an effect of COVID. The type of plastic was not categorized before 2012.

The efficacy of the tax hinges on consumer behavior and attitudes toward convenience. For many individuals, the convenience of plastic bags outweighs the nominal cost imposed by the tax. Thus, while the financial incentive may deter some from opting for plastic bags, many consumers remain willing to pay a modest fee in exchange for convenience.

Ultimately, plastic bags are just one part of a much larger problem: our society’s reliance on single-use plastics and the lack of proper recycling and waste management systems. While plastic bag charges may help raise awareness and encourage a shift in consumer habits, more comprehensive solutions are needed to address the root causes of plastic pollution. This could include greater investment in recycling infrastructure, incentives for businesses to adopt more sustainable packaging alternatives, and a broader cultural shift towards embracing a more circular economy – prioritizing reusing and repurposing materials rather than disposing of them after a single use.

Even as we strive for systemic changes, individual actions can still make a difference. By making conscious choices to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics and seeking out environmentally friendly alternatives, we can collectively contribute to a more sustainable future. For instance, there is a way you can redirect some of your plastic bag waste here in Greenville. Some stores, such as Publix, accept plastic bags that they send to be processed at their facilities. So, if you forget your reusable bag, you can still clean your conscience. Contribute to the whopping 1% of plastic bags that really are recycled!

Sources:
[1] https://www.earthday.org/fact-sheet-plastics-in-the-ocean/
[2] https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/plastics-material-specific-data
[3] https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-08-24/whats-the-deal-with-single-use-plastic-bag-bans
[4] https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/plastics/carryoutbags

As I have begun to think more sustainably, a problem that I was recently prompted with was the issue of gift giving during holidays and its implications on sustainability. Gift-giving, especially during the holiday season of December, is such an integral part of American culture. In fact, the EPA estimates that waste goes up 25% during the holiday season (EPA). Growing up celebrating Christmas, I got plenty of gifts every year. I never really questioned this practice; I’ve always embraced it. That was, until, I was confronted with the harsh realities of how harmful consumerism really is for Earth and marginalized peoples across the world. Now, buying and receiving gifts inevitably comes with feelings of guilt. 

I don’t think anyone would deny the joy of giving and receiving gifts. It would be unreasonable, and frankly sad, if we just stopped giving gifts altogether. A shift must be made, rather, in how gifts are given. Upon thinking about this further I came to the conclusion that the two main options we have are as follows: making gifts and/or thrifting gifts.

Thrifting is a great option. Thrifting gifts gives us the peace of mind knowing nothing new is being made, it’s just reusing old stuff. Thrifting is especially relevant in the realm of fashion but it can apply to other items too. One can find empty picture frames, artwork, furniture, electronics, kitchenware, and more at thrift shops such as Goodwill. Goodwill’s manager of sustainability, Brittany Dickinson, claims that Goodwill receives billions of pounds of donations every year, so there are plenty of options to choose from (Chiu 2023)!

Making gifts is also a wonderful option. This year, instead of buying cards from the Hallmark store for Christmas, I decided to write notes with penCIL and paper. I found the process to be more enjoyable and more wholesome, really. In my personal experience, I like to receive notes as well. It’s always more meaningful to get something handmade as opposed to a generic card with a signed name. To me, it’s a demonstration of care. I think I will continue this tradition. When it comes to packaging the gifts I didn’t want to use wrapping paper. Solutions to the wrapping problem can come in many forms depending on the gift(s) you have. Some, like the North London Waste Authority, choose to wrap their gifts in re-usable fabrics using a traditional Japanese method known as furoshiki or opt out of the wrapping process as a whole and send their gift recipients on a scavenger hunt! I got one person a mug and some other small gifts so I was able to fit it all into the mug and the mug acted as a container to hold the gifts. I wrote a little card, folded it up and placed it inside the mug for a cute presentation! I think avoiding waste ultimately comes down to being creative and working with what you already have.

I think many people aren’t even aware of the harm that their shopping and consumerism has on the earth. Maybe upon learning this they’ll be inspired to change, as I was. The main point is that there are alternatives. Maybe not every gift can be thrifted or made but I’m sure out of all the gifts one gives in a year at least a few of them could. Ultimately, our culture as a whole must change, and this is just the beginning of that journey!

 

References:

Chiu, A. (2023, January 4). How to donate clothes without wasting them — and hurting the environment. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/01/04/how-to-donate-clothes-waste-environment/

 

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Holidays. Archived from https://archive.epa.gov/students/web/html/holiday.html

 

North London Waste Authority. (n.d.). Eco-friendly Alternatives to Wrapping Paper. Retrieved from https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/article/eco-friendly-alternatives-wrapping-paper

Recently I watched the 2020 movie Sound of Metal. The film follows a metal drummer named Ruben as he battles with hearing loss. Ruben’s whole life is music. He lives in a van and tours the U.S. performing small shows in various cities with his bandmate and girlfriend, Lou. Years of touring and playing with no ear protection has permanently damaged his hearing. After disregarding doctors’ recommendation to stop drumming in order to preserve the hearing he has left, Ruben is left completely deaf. Because Ruben previously had issues with addiction, Ruben and Lou decide to part ways in order to allow Ruben to spend time in a deaf community designed for addicts to recover and become adjusted to their new lives.

I promise this is going somewhere.

As time goes on, Ruben puts in a lot of effort to become accustomed to his new life as a deaf person. He learns American Sign Language and takes on roles as a mentor and teacher in his community. But he cannot ever shake the feeling that he has lost a part of himself. He misses drumming. He misses Lou. He misses hearing. To try to regain these parts of his life, he sells just about all of his possessions in order to pay for cochlear implants. In doing this, he betrays the community he has built. Trying to “fix himself” goes against the community belief that being deaf is not a problem that needs fixing, merely it is a neutral thing that must be adapted to.

The cochlear implants do not work the way Ruben wants them to. They cause distortion in the way he hears sounds, making it easier, but still very difficult, to hear the world around him. Upon meeting back up with Lou, Ruben decides that she is better off without him, and leaves her again. The film ends with Ruben turning off his implants, sitting in a park, and solemnly reflecting on the choices he has made.

This movie is a great exploration of the choices we make, and how we must choose to live with and adapt to the consequences of not only our actions, but also the hands we are dealt in life. As I was watching it, I could not help but see a parallel in Ruben’s arc as a character, and the path we are all headed down in regards to climate change.

For years, he have been drumming with no ear protection. Simulations indicate that if mitigating strategies were done as late as the 1980s, global temperatures would be predicted to rise far less than what is being predicted now (Sanderson, 2020). We now know that climate change is an issue, yet we still continue to drum. As of 2021, none of the world’s largest economies had climate plans in place that aligned with the 2015 Paris Agreement, an agreement made by many major countries to try and limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial numbers (Kottasova, 2021). Instead of adapting to the new world we will soon face, we are turning to technology in order to keep things the way we like them. We are constantly being told of technologies like carbon capture, a process that will come to save us all, when in reality, the technology will likely not do enough to solve the problem, with it not even being half as efficient as we had been promised it would be (Anthony, 2022). Much like cochlear implants, these changes will help, but not fully solve the issue like we wish they could. As a result of banking on technology, it seems like we do not really have a plan of how we will live when climate change starts wreaking havoc on our society.

We are at a fork in the road here. We could change the way we live in order to adapt to the challenges we are and are going to face. Continue being a part of the deaf community. Reduce emissions and consumption and live smaller lives. Or we could go get the cochlear implants, trust that technology like carbon capture will save us. We need to change the way we are thinking about our response to climate change. You can’t solve being deaf with technology, you learn sign language and adapt to the new life being deaf brings you. We won’t solve climate change with technology, we must, at this point, live smaller adapt to the new life it brings us.

Anthony, Leslie. “The Truth about Carbon Capture.” Canadian Geographic, Canadian Geographic, 5 Jan. 2023, canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-truth-about-carbon-capture/.

Kottasová, Ivana. “Not a Single G20 Country Is in Line with the Paris Agreement on Climate, Analysis Shows.” CNN, Cable News Network, 16 Sept. 2021, www.cnn.com/2021/09/15/world/climate-pledges-insufficient-cat-intl/index.html.

Sanderson, B.M., O’Neill, B.C. Assessing the costs of historical inaction on climate change. Sci Rep 10, 9173 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66275-4