Consumption and Waste

What Makes the World Go Round?

Nov 27th, 2024 | By
Myanmar

By Suzanne York. Our global world is structured in such a way that it will go to any length to get natural resources needed for modern life.  This is especially true of rare earth metals, that power our electronic devices. But there is a price to pay for this way of life. Global Witness found
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Can We Win the Battle of Plastic Pollution?

Oct 24th, 2018 | By
[Photo: singularityhub.com]

By Candela Vázquez Asenjo, youth blogger for Transition Earth. I have been an activist campaigning against plastic pollution for the past four years. During this time, I have learned about a number of projects that promised to change the course of plastic pollution, but sadly none have actually been strong enough to have a lasting
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Why are People Rushing to Join the Anti-plastics Bandwagon?

Aug 23rd, 2018 | By
[photo: Ian Kirk, via Creative Commons]

By Candela Vázquez Asenjo, youth blogger for Transition Earth. Since the 1950’s our world has made some of the biggest developments in history. We came from the disasters of the second world war to a world of peace with no precedence in the developed countries. However, even with this scenario of peace and comfort, some
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Attaining a Sustainable Life Through Minimalism

Mar 27th, 2018 | By
Flower

By Candela Vázquez Asenjo, youth blogger, Transition Earth. Life as we know it is changing rapidly. The rise of new technologies, globalization, the increasing socioeconomic disparities and unprecedented anthropogenic climate change is resulting in a change in how we pursue our lives, some of it for the better. The challenges we face are leading to
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A Second Chance to Get Paper Products Right

Nov 29th, 2017 | By
[photo: FAO]

By Candela Vázquez Asenjo, youth blogger, Transition Earth. What would happen if one day we did not have any more paper? Would technology be the only alternative and solution to this and other pressing problems? We live in a time where the Earth’s forest mass is fast disappearing due to the massive deforestation caused by human
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Killing Our World With Plastic?

Mar 12th, 2017 | By
[photo credit: http://web.unep.org/stories/story/seven-hot-environment-stories-look-out-2017]

By Candela Vázquez Asenjo, youth blogger, Transition Earth. Plastic pollution is a huge problem in the world today and is affecting our daily lives in ways we may not even be aware of. As we grow up in a culture relying on disposable items, we are unaware of the huge damage this is creating, not
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Earth Overshoot and Ending Our Debt to Nature

Aug 8th, 2016 | By
Earth Overshoot

By Suzanne York. Most people in the world will blithely go about their lives on August 8th, without knowing that on this day, we go into debt to nature. Otherwise known as Earth Overshoot Day, it is the day when humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds the planet’s ability to replenish its natural capital.
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Filling the Food Chain with Plastics

Dec 22nd, 2014 | By
Ad by the Surfrider Foundation

By Suzanne York. Oceans are the lungs of the planet, and make up 99% of it.  Yet more and more, humans are using it as a garbage can.  Many people have likely heard about the giant floating garbage dump in the Pacific Ocean – the Pacific Trash Vortex – which is full of discarded plastic,
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Extinguishing Extinction: Ending the Demand for Shark Fins

Aug 8th, 2014 | By
[photo credit: ocean.si.edu]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org All across the planet, species are at risk, due to humankind’s voracious appetite for practically every natural “resource.” The bounty of the oceans, for example, is being decimated at an unprecedented rate, and fish stocks are near collapse. Unfortunately, some of what people (or industrial trawlers) catch is completely wasted for
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Using up the Earth: What to do about Consumption?

Apr 4th, 2014 | By
[photo credit: www.treehugger.com]

By Suzanne York, www.howmany.org The world is consuming resources at an unsustainable rate.  Reducing consumption is a sensitive and difficult subject to broach, but one that must take place if we want to keep a livable planet for future generations. It doesn’t have to be “all or nothing” or a call to return to a
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