“Plastics typically are made through human industrial systems. Most modern plastics are derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals like natural gas or petroleum; however, recent industrial methods use variants made from renewable materials, such as corn or cotton derivatives.” ~ Wikipedia “Indeed, a recent study in the journal Science, authored by the researchers associated with the Pew report, estimated that some 11 million metric tons of plastic […]
Category Archives: consumers
“We should design man-made objects and products in such a way that we’re not destroying the resources, but that we’re basically borrowing them for a certain amount of time … And that we can take them out in their pure form and put them back into the system.” ~ Professor Dirk Hebel, Karlsruhe Institute of […]
As a kid, my family was well-off enough that food was plentiful, and our mother was a great Southern cook. Our dad also cooked — primarily the game we collected by hunting or fishing. Between having great food available and being a big kid, I have always been a ‘hearty’ eater. Nonetheless, there have been […]
“The rejection of grass is also an ideological shift, towards an acceptance that ‘nature is its own decision-maker’ and that ‘we had better learn to live a little differently with finite resources of water’.” ~ William Francis Deverell, environmental historian A friend sent photos today of Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado […]
“The concept that we could use it, throw it away, and it doesn’t matter where you throw it, and it’s going to safely disappear, that does not exist.” ~ Ramani Narayan, Professor, School of Packaging, Michigan State “The vast majority of plastic waste produced around the world is not recycled, but rather incinerated, landfilled […]
Everybody knows that gardening is a great pastime. Some might say I’m a bit of a curmudgeon, but I will note that every English murder mystery shows some old couple enjoying a day in their garden, harvesting wonderful bouquets and baskets of veggies. Of course, shortly you learn that one or both of them have […]
Little boxes on the hillsideLittle boxes made of ticky-tackyLittle boxes, Little boxesLittle boxes all the sameThere’s a green one and a pink oneAnd a blue one and a yellow oneAnd they’re all made out of ticky-tackyAnd they all look just the same ~ Pete Seeger, Little Boxes Suburbs get a bad rap environmentally — spreading […]
“I like the lights on. I want to stay up later at night. I don’t want to have to go to bed when the sun sets.” ~ US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene Journalist and climate activist, Ilana Cohen cites some of the reservations held by the uninformed about alternative energy sources, “Alternative energy sources […]
“They say that if a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazonian rain forest, it can change the weather half a world away.” ~ Catherine McKenzie The natural world maintains its balance through diversity and interconnectedness. There are upsets and cataclysmic changes from time to time, but usually life just goes on. That is until we […]
“Edge effects are the changes in biodiversity that occur inside the space surrounding the shared edge of two or more distinct ecosystems. This transitional zone rich in biodiversity is known as the ecotone; examples are between woodlands and plains, forests and mountains, and land and water.” ~ Gia Mora I live in a small […]
Writes of Nature 