Introduction The unbelievably low prices of clothing and the super-high sales look enticing and make you think “Oh, why not just buy this cute outfit, it’s only X amount of dollars.” However, once you understand everything that goes on behind the scenes to make inexpensive clothes at a low price, you will think twice about your purchasing decisions. Fast fashion is the “rapid design, production, distribution, and marketing of clothing.” (Rashmila, 2024). On the surface, this process seems harmless and efficient, but after starting my research I very quickly realized that this is not the case. There are endless amounts […]

Introduction: Water bottles, Tote Bags, and Metal Straws: The Newest Trends in “Sustainability” With the continued increase in social media usage and the chronic need of consumers to keep up with new trends, our society is falling deeper and deeper into a habit of overconsumption. Recently, some of the most sought-after items have been reusable stainless steel water bottles. An emerging problem that I have noticed is the frivolous habit of buying items, like these bottles, that are specifically marketed to reduce waste and minimize carbon footprint. We are glorifying gluttony and materialism. For some reason, people carry water bottles […]

For this blog, I would like to address how plastics have made us softer as a group of people. Making us choose between our planet or making things more convenient in our personal lives because of how much we use plastics.  I believe that we would benefit from just focusing on one industry and focusing on its plastic use and then moving on from there. With all this research I have on plastic waste, the food packaging industry became the main topic because of how much plastic it uses compared to other industries. It uses so much unnecessary plastic that […]

Throughout time, farming has been pretty straightforward. You plant seeds, watch them grow, and tend to them accordingly. By “tending” here I mean watering them, keeping pests out, or tilling the soil, you name it. There are many different ways in which people farm, many techniques and technologies farmers incorporate in the growth of their crops, such as: a) The use of fertilizers and pest controls (a method of organic farming) b) Irrigation support, the use of sprinklers or pipes directly next to plants rather than just relying on rainfall C) Weeding/the removal of dead plant matter Permaculture on the […]

Solar cooking is the practice of preparing food using only the energy of the sun. Unlike traditional stoves, solar cookers are designed to take advantage of the sun’s heat to cook meals. For those who would prefer not to use fossil fuels or natural gas, solar cookers offer a convenient and eco-friendly option. It’s for these reasons that a growing number of individuals are switching to solar cooking. Millions of people around the world still use wood or dung as their primary source of fuel for cooking, despite the fact that doing so requires them to travel long distances and […]

Microplastics. What are microplastics? How are they an issue? Why should we even care about them? These are some of the questions I am going to be answering via my blog. Plastics. According to Harris (2020), “ Synthetic material made up of polymers that can be molded into shapes that are used for everyday activities”. There are numerous types of plastics that I will talk about in this blog, but my main focus today will be on microplastics. Microplastics are extremely dangerous to the ocean, and to us as humans due to their small size and their ability to dissolve. […]

Daniel Hilmer 12/11/2022 About Me Last summer I went on a trip to Flagstaff Arizona. I spent 2 weeks altitude training with some of the nations’ best distance runners. The cool brisk mountain air and the beautiful terrain ran through the Coconino National Forest (a portion of the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest). In one moment I’d be running next to some large ponderosa pine and a couple strides later I’d be next to a little shrub that aspired to be as tall as the older ones. It was then that I began to learn about the logging industry that […]

Abstract: In this blog I will be addressing controversies surrounding the practices of pesticide application and soil tilling in our modern farming systems. There remains much controversy regarding their negative and positive effects on the soil, the overall environment, and human health in particular, which has fueled continuing worldwide debate. I will advocate for the reduction or even elimination of tilling and pesticide practices in modern farming. Tilling disrupts soil structure, water filtration, and reduces microorganisms vitality and the nutrient content in the soil essential to healthy plant growth and development while pesticides kill microorganisms and decrease overall soil health […]

It’s not an individual task Climate change is a bigger and more complicated threat to the human race than nuclear annihilation. In his book, “21 lessons from the 21st century” Yuval Noah Harari, a historian and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem writes nuclear annihilation will negatively impact the planet and everything on it [10]. On the other hand, climate change has different outcomes for different countries and to some extent independent individuals. Therefore, climate change can only be solved with the solidarity of all human beings. He explains this necessity through an example of a small Pacific […]

I will be addressing the act of removing beef from one’s diet to help reduce the demand for beef, which overall helps mitigate Climate Change. My position is that one should remove beef entirely from their diet, or at least reduce their consumption of beef raised in a feed-lot system. I personally do not consume beef. People might not agree with this lifestyle, they may like having beef in their meals, or do not believe that cows are a large source of methane as a greenhouse gas. I plan to address those concerns with alternate options and compelling evidence. I […]