Sustainability - Tumblr Posts
This is a 3D poster that I created for Unit 3 Sustainability of HND year 1. It’s created from biodegradable material, such as card, tissue paper, string, and recycled Easter egg boxes. I cut and glued everything together by hand, as well as plaited the string for extra strength to hold up the poster.
The text says: “Prevent the Change by Making a Change”. The change that needs to be prevented is climate change.
The art piece was created by me.
Humans are not parasites on the world.
One thing that I think a lot of Environmentalists in America really overlook is that humans are supposed to be part of an ecosystem. Humans are part of the food web; we fill an environmental niche, just as much as beavers and wolves do.
We are SUPPOSED to interact with the environment- the problem arises when we begin interacting with the environment in UNSUSTAINABLE ways. This idea that we should try to “return” the environment to the way it was “before” humans so so so often ignores the way that Indigenous people all over the world were (and are) an important part of their environments- and trying to “preserve” those places without people filling their ecological niche can cause harm in super weird ways.
You know how its shitty for deer populations if you take out all of the wolves? It’s just as bad if you stop all human hunting too. Humans hunting deer has been an important part of the food web for thousands and thousands of years! Deer populations NEED hunters- human, wolf, cougar- to stay healthy.
Yes- massive clear cutting of forests and strip mining is bad. HOWEVER, not allowing Indigenous people to practice traditional controlled burns of grass lands? Not only makes wildfires worse, but ALSO fucks up the bio-diversity of those grasslands. Totally unmanaged “pristine” grasslands without humans are actually less healthy than grasslands that are sustainably managed by people.
Mono-crop super farms are not good- but humans have been farming for thousands of years- tending for plants and increasing their yield, monitoring the soil, in ways that benefit those plants and the other animals that eat them, and the other plants that use that soil, and the insects that make their home there. Sustainable, diversified farming isn’t bad.
Laying out acres and acres of asphalt and oil pipelines? Bad. But digging natural cisterns in the dessert that catches rainwater for grazing animals to use? Benefits the entire ecosystem and all the animals in it.
We are part of the environment. We belong here. And the ecosystems that human beings evolved in and lived in need us just as much as we need them. We aren’t parasites on the planet, we are a part of it. It’s just that global capitalism has thrown us terribly out of balance. Colonialism and profit-seeking are the problem- not human beings existing.
The goal of environmentalism should not be to protect nature by keeping humans totally separate from it, but rather to restore balance with our interactions with nature, for sustainable practices that help us coexist with the ecosystems that we are part of. That we have been a part of forever. And that is hard with billions of people on the planet, yes, and we will need to be clever and resourceful and thoughtful to find ways of restoring that balance, it will take a lot of people working together to find those answers- but humans’ greatest trait has always been our cleverness and our ability to work together.
You just posted like ten different things about potatoes in the span of maybe five minutes, and I gotta know your take on "The Martian".
Like, the (fictional) man alone on a planet literally only survives because of potatoes shrink-wrapped in plastic for a Thanksgiving meal. If they weren't slated to be on Mars for Thanksgiving, he would have died.
And Andy Weir (author of the original novel) did such a good job with the science of every other element to the story, I honest-to-god believe that potatoes could actually manage to grow in Martian soil (even if that's not been proven for certain afaik).
Which means..... could potatoes terraform Mars into sustaining life??? Are potatoes the key to the universe???
Haha sorry for going so hard on them! Those were mostly all posts from 2020 when gardening and fantasy worldbuilding were lockdown fixations for me. One of them blew up recently so I wanted to give The People more of the content it seemed they were looking for. I don't actually know a lot about potatoes. I just think they're neat.
I do not want to take apart the concept of "colonizing Mars" as some kind of woke gotcha. I want to take your question seriously and charitably. However, I just am the kind of person who's like "Hmm, 'colonize', we should really stop and unpack that word," so let's do that, without forgetting the potato element.
(What "I don't know a lot" means: Potatoes were a crop my family grew several acres of for a few years on our farm before we switched our focus to sheep. I am about 50% as reliable as a horticultural brochure on various potato diseases and growing condition issues. I have listened to two University lectures and read perhaps four historical journal articles beginning-to-end on how the Columbian Exchange affected early-modern Europe, that and half as much again on medieval and early modern European farming practices and population changes, and perhaps three science/history articles specifically on the domestication and proliferation of the potato. I am a white Canadian who actively seeks out information and training in Indigenous history and culture in the Americas, but that's probably still only equal to like, two Native Studies classes in university. I know more than the average person on this topic, but I am also not an expert compared to people who have devoted serious time to learning about this.)
But I have some intuitions in a couple of ways:
The Martian is probably being wildly over-optimistic about its potatoes. They would probably have been irradiated into sterility before being vacuum-packed, and I don't think you can split and propagate them that quickly or successfully. However, potatoes can definitely grow in all kinds of conditions (including under my sink).
They might not be the world's healthiest or happiest potatoes, tho. Soil quality definitely affects the end product. Presumably Watney, being a botanist studying Mars' soil composition, knew how much he had to ameliorate his soil with latrine compost (which would definitely have needed a LOT of processing, since human waste is generally not good for plants, but maybe he used chemicals to speed that up?) to get good soil. However, we would probably need to add a LOT of shit to Mars' soil (and air, and water) for it to host plant life.
Mark Watney makes a joke about having "colonized Mars" because "colony" is Latin for "farm" and he farmed on Mars so haha, funny joke! And we talk about colonies on Mars partly because that's what science fiction did, and a lot of science fiction has been into that colonialism aesthetic. But colonialism and empires actually aren't great, not just because they necessitate huge amounts of racism, oppression, and genocide—I know, you asked me a fun question about potatoes and did not sign up for this, I'm not here to drag you, hear me out—but because they're also really sucky models for agriculture and successful societies generally.
My British ancestors tried to be colonial farmers in a place that is sometimes colder than Mars (Canada's Treaty Six), and let me tell you: IT SUCKED. Most of the crops and herbs and vegetables and flowers that settlers here brought from home and are used to? DON'T FUCKEM GROW. For the Canadian prairies to become conventional farmland, farmers and scientists had to scramble to find, or produce, cold-hardy varieties of everything from wheat to roses. A lot of flowers and plants that are unkillable invasive zombie perennials in other climates don't survive our winters no matter hard we try. The trees and flowers that hold cultural or sentimental attachments for us often don't grow here. The climate is so harsh and population is spread so thin that we cannot do the 100 mile diet and eat foods we're familiar with, and can hardly even manage the 1000 mile diet. (Not that I try, but, my family did once look into it)
A huge number of colonial homesteads, where the pioneers go out on their little covered wagon and build little houses on the prairie? Failed miserably and got bought up by land speculators. My own family came out to Alberta in the 1880s and moved around from land assignment to land assignment, like, six times before settling at their current place in the early 1900s.
Meanwhile: POTATOES
Potatoes are less than ten thousand years old! I am not any kind of expert on archaeology, please nobody throw things, but humans showed up in the Andes (think: high, cold mountains) of South America roughly 9,000 years ago. There are hundreds of wild potato varieties, but they generally produce fairly tiny tubers. It took active work of Indigenous Andean people around 8,000 years ago around Lake Titicaca to cultivate specific strains of potato, doing oldschool genetic modification to make them bigger, more delicious, and hardier. From that cultivation effort around a single species of wild potatoes, they produced thousands of cultivated potato varieties.
Ancient Andean farmers and botanists also played a big part in cultivating quinoa from wild amaranth, as well as producing modern food crops you probably haven't heard of, like oca, olluco, mashua, and yacon, and also coca, which may get a bad rap because it's what cocaine and coca-cola are made from but you cannot deny it's got kick.
Basically, Indigenous people of the Americas (South, Central, and North) went all in on botany and plant cultivation. Plants that we take for granted now have mostly been developed by Indigenous people in the past few thousand years: Tobacco, sunflowers, marigolds, tomatoes, pumpkins, rubber, vanilla, cocoa, sweetcorn, maize, and most kinds of pepper except peppercorn. These things were not found; they were made, by careful cultivation of the world as it was.
This gives us a vision of the future. Colonization, and industrial agriculture, both lean us towards the vision of a totally uniform end product, with the same potato varieties grown on each farm because we have made every farm the same. Instead we could embrace biodiversity and focus on privileging local knowledge and considering the interactions of environment, plants, microbiota, and people. We could create potatoes that were happy on Mars. We could create Mars that is happy to have us. We could create a society that can accept what Mars has to offer.
A lot of why we dream about colonizing Mars is the idea that the Earth itself is dying, that we are killing it, and we need to abandon this farmstead and seek out a new frontier. I acknowledge that shit is bad, but I don't agree with that framing. I am increasingly persuaded that there is a third path between ecological destruction and mass exodus, and I think we need to reject European colonial mentality that creates the forced choice. I find far more use in privileging the knowledge of people who live on and with land than their landlords and rulers, and I especially find value in Indigenous knowledge of land management practices and food production.
I am absolutely not saying that Indigenous people were or are wonderful magical ~spiritual beings~ who frolicked in an Edenic paradise that only knew death and disease once white people showed up. This isn't noble savage bullshit, nor am I invoking people who existed once but whom I have never met. I am saying that I have Indigenous neighbours, colleagues, relatives, and elected representatives. I have learned about mental health, leatherworking, botany, and ecology from Metis and First Nations elders and knowledge-keepers. And like. They have good and useful shit to say.
This is about culture, not race. It is not that their biological DNA means that they know more than me about how to get food from this landscape. It's about cultural history and what we learn from our heritages. What have our cultures privileged? Like, Europe has historically been super into things like metallurgy, domesticating livestock, and creating dairy products. If I want to smelt iron or choose animals to make cheese from, European society would have a lot of useful information for me! And what Indigenous cultures in the Americas have historically focused on instead of cows and copper* include 1) getting REAL familiar with your local flora and figuring out how to make sure you have lots of the herbs and grains and roots and berries you need, and 2) how to make a human society where people can live and have good lives, but do not damage the environment enough to impair the ability of future generations to have the same sort of life.
*Edit to add: Actually many Indigenous American societies DID practice metalsmithing of various types, including copper. Which I forgot, sorry!
Conclusion
I think we could use the processes that formed the potato to find and foster forms of life that could survive on Mars. It would involve learning to think that botany is a sexy science, and understanding just how rich and complicated the environment is. To oxygenate the atmosphere, we'd have to get super enthusiastic about algae and lichen and wetlands. We would have to learn to care deeply about the microorganisms living in the soil, and whether the potatoes are happy.
We'd have to create an economy that counts oxygen and carbon dioxide production on its balance sheets. To learn how to wait for forests to grow back after a fire, instead of giving up in despair because the seedlings aren't trees yet. To do the work now and be hopeful even though we might not see the payoffs for decades, or our victories might only be witnessed by future generations.
So yes, I think we could totally plant potatoes on Mars
But I also think that if we ever got there, we'd have turned into the kind of people who could also save Earth in the first place.
Which makes it a good enough goal in my opinion.
Sustainability ideas. From plastic bottles to quilts.
Happy Earth Day, everyone! Trying to more earth consciously is certainly a process that doesn’t happen overnight. Composting is certainly one that left me with a lot of questions at first. I’ve been doing it and off for the last 5 years (not every space has been conducive to it) and have found that like most things, every compost pile can be a little different based on what you’re using for the bin, what climate your in, and how much space you have for it. These guidelines have worked well for me when trying to remember what can be put in it. Some of the best advice I’ve received about composting is finding a good ratio between “brown” (carbon) and “green” (nitrogen) material of about 25:1 (carbon to nitrogen). This means keeping things like newspaper, dead leaves, and hay to a much smaller ratio. Things that I don’t typically throw in my compost would be citrus peels, dairy products, meat products, and diseased plants. Other things to consider putting in would be house plant trimmings, old dried spices, and bashed avocado pit. Composting has significantly reduced waste in my house and has really helped reframe what resources can be regenerative. 🌎For those of you looking to start, or just need a reminder, I added this poster to my downloadable page on my website (link in my bio) for free! 🌏
The Raven
Photo by @idee-montijo | Kilimanjaro National Park, 2013. I really like how the natural light picks up an iridescent blue in the raven's black feathers. We all bear a beautiful light, even in our darkest features.
Live that expedition life with Idee Explores - Idee is an expedition photographer documenting discovery and field science with a focus on conservation and sustainability. Find her portfolios here.
San Francisco Mediterranean Landscape
Photo of a huge mediterranean side yard stone garden path.
10 Effective Ways to Save the Planet and Restore Mother Nature
Shaina Tranquilino
November 17, 2023
In recent years, concerns about climate change and environmental degradation have reached an all-time high. As responsible citizens of this planet, it is our duty to take action and strive towards sustainable living practices. By making conscious choices in our everyday lives, we can collectively make a significant impact in preserving the Earth's natural resources for future generations. Here are ten effective ways that each one of us can contribute to saving the planet:
1. Reduce Energy Consumption: One of the most impactful steps we can take is to reduce our energy consumption. Opt for energy-efficient appliances, switch off lights when not in use, unplug electronics when fully charged, and consider using renewable energy sources like solar panels.
2. Conserve Water: Water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. Be mindful of your water usage by fixing leaks promptly, collecting rainwater for gardening purposes, taking shorter showers, and opting for low-flow fixtures.
3. Embrace Sustainable Transportation: Reduce your carbon footprint by choosing eco-friendly modes of transportation whenever possible. Carpooling, biking or walking short distances instead of driving alone helps reduce emissions significantly.
4. Adopt a Plant-based Diet: The meat industry contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. Transitioning to a plant-based diet or reducing meat consumption can help combat climate change while promoting healthier eating habits.
5. Support Local and Organic Products: Choose locally sourced products that require less transportation and support local economies. Additionally, opt for organic produce as they minimize exposure to harmful pesticides while promoting sustainable farming practices.
6. Recycle and Reuse: Create a habit of recycling materials such as paper, plastic, glass, and metal whenever possible. Also, embrace creative reuse by repurposing items rather than throwing them away.
7. Minimize Single-use Plastics: Plastic pollution has become a global crisis endangering marine life and ecosystems. Avoid single-use plastics by opting for reusable alternatives.
8. Plant Trees: Trees play a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, making afforestation crucial for the planet's well-being. Participate in tree-planting initiatives or support organizations that focus on reforestation efforts.
9. Practice Responsible Tourism: When travelling, choose eco-friendly accommodations, reduce waste generation by carrying reusable bottles and shopping bags, respect local wildlife and ecosystems, and contribute to local conservation efforts.
10. Educate Others: Spread awareness about environmental issues within your community. Engage others through discussions, workshops, or social media campaigns to inspire positive change collectively.
Saving the planet requires collective action from individuals across the globe. By adopting these ten effective ways in our daily lives – reducing energy consumption, conserving water, embracing sustainable transportation, adopting a plant-based diet, supporting local and organic products, recycling and reusing materials, minimizing single-use plastics, planting trees, practicing responsible tourism, and educating others – we can actively contribute towards preserving the Earth's precious resources and restoring its natural balance. Remember: Every small step counts; let us join hands to ensure a greener future for generations to come!
Join the Green Movement: Plant Trees with One Tree Planted
Shaina Tranquilino
May 13, 2024
In an era where environmental concerns are at the forefront of global discourse, taking action to preserve our planet has never been more crucial. Amidst the myriad of environmental initiatives, one simple yet impactful way to make a difference is by planting trees. Trees not only beautify our surroundings but also play a vital role in mitigating climate change, conserving biodiversity, and sustaining ecosystems.
Enter One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization committed to global reforestation. With a mission to make it simple for anyone to help the environment, they facilitate tree planting projects across the globe. Their approach is straightforward yet effective: for every dollar donated, one tree is planted.
But why trees? The benefits of trees extend far beyond their aesthetic appeal. They act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus mitigating the effects of climate change. Additionally, trees help to combat soil erosion, filter air and water pollutants, provide habitat for countless species, and contribute to local economies through products like timber and fruits.
One Tree Planted collaborates with local communities, NGOs, and forestry organizations to ensure that trees are planted where they are needed most. From reforesting wildfire-ravaged areas to restoring degraded landscapes, their projects span the globe, addressing diverse environmental challenges.
Participating in tree planting initiatives with One Tree Planted offers several compelling benefits:
1. **Environmental Impact**: By contributing to reforestation efforts, individuals can directly counteract deforestation, habitat loss, and the effects of climate change. Planting trees is a tangible way to restore ecosystems and promote biodiversity.
2. **Community Engagement**: One Tree Planted's projects often involve local communities, fostering a sense of stewardship and empowerment. By involving locals in tree planting activities, the organization ensures that projects are sustainable and culturally sensitive.
3. **Education and Awareness**: Planting trees is not just about digging holes and placing saplings; it's an opportunity to educate people about the importance of trees and ecosystems. One Tree Planted emphasizes the educational aspect of their projects, raising awareness about environmental issues and inspiring individuals to take action.
4. **Corporate Social Responsibility**: Many companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Partnering with One Tree Planted allows businesses to offset their carbon footprint, engage employees in meaningful volunteer activities, and demonstrate their commitment to environmental stewardship.
5. **Personal Fulfillment**: Planting trees offers a sense of fulfillment and purpose, knowing that you are contributing to a greener, more sustainable world. Whether you participate in tree planting events, donate to reforestation projects, or simply spread the word, every action counts.
In a world facing escalating environmental challenges, the simple act of planting trees has the power to effect positive change. Through organizations like One Tree Planted, individuals, businesses, and communities can come together to make a meaningful impact on the planet. So why not join the green movement today? Together, let's plant trees and cultivate a brighter, more sustainable future for generations to come.
Deck in Boston Large trendy rooftop rooftop deck photo with no cover
A team of Rhode Island School of Design students and researchers have created tesselated, floating planting beds made of a mycelium biomaterial to cleanse waterways of pollutants and restore wetland habitat.
The floating Biopods act to introduce native plants back to degraded wetland systems while cleansing the water through bioremediation, or the re-introduction of microorganisms that naturally decontaminate their environment.
"Because of the urbanization of the Providence River itself, a lot of the wetland that acts to actively remediate pollution had been removed. So the project is really about reintroducing this new biology to kick start these ecosystems again so that the river might repair itself."
"It's interesting, the relationships that we have to biomaterials and the way that we are connected to systems that have the potential to remediate in a way that isn't electricity intensive or chemically intensive," said Banerjee.
— Ursula K. Le Guin, from “A Rant About ‘Technology’”
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/headway/hoboken-floods.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9kw.gbCb.cy56uUXSa4W2
"A study released by researchers for Rebuild by Design and Ramboll, an architectural engineering firm, suggests that every dollar invested in green infrastructure ultimately yields $2 in “avoided losses” (office closures, waterlogged inventories, flooded basements) and other benefits (improved home values and public health) [...] Just days before the September storm, New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, slashed $75 million that had been slated for the city’s Parks Department to deal with a budget crunch. Disinvestment in parks is going to cost the city in the long run because parks are a first line of defense against climate change."
It’s not about the productivity. If we worked less, we’d have time to cook our own meals, fix our devices, do DIY projects, grow food, talk to our neighbors, improve our communities, get our stuff from real stores instead of ordering on amazon, maybe even go around and find a small business instead of just going to walmart because it’s easy, walk or bike instead of drive, play in the park instead of collapsing in front of the TV to turn our brains off, look around a public library instead of just buying online, etc, etc, etc
Exhausted people are easy to sell convenience to and easy to isolate. If we had time, we’d realize we don’t need them
Liberalism can’t explain things like why we still work 8 hour days when it’s well-proven that 4 hour days increase both happiness and overall productivity because it can’t recognize the fundamentally adversarial relationship we have with the owning class. The missing piece of the puzzle is that the rich directly benefit from keeping us miserable, and that will continue to be the case as long as they’re rewarded for exploiting us. Reform won’t fix that, taxation won’t fix it, redistribution won’t fix it. Only abolishing centralized ownership of the means of production will
no im fine im just imagining a world where advances in technology were pushed by collaboration for the betterment of the world instead of driven by competition for increasing profits
In an innovative shift towards sustainable transportation, solar-powered boats are making silent voyages through Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. This green initiative is spearheaded by Kara Solar, a nonprofit dedicated to enhancing the lives of the indigenous Achuar communities along the Wichimi River in eastern Ecuador.
Kara Solar’s initiative began under the vision of founder Oliver Utne, who recognized the potential for sustainable technology to preserve the Achuar’s territory and cultural heritage. After studying solar energy in the United States, Utne returned to Ecuador, partnering with academic institutions to develop effective electric propulsion systems for the Amazonian waterways.
The benefits of these solar boats are manifold. They travel at speeds up to 12 miles per hour and can cover distances up to 60 miles on a single charge, with the capability to recharge using onshore solar grids. These grids not only power the boats but also supply energy to local schools and community centers, fostering broader societal benefits.
HUGE NEWS!!! The Rethinking Lawns project of @chicagobotanic @ChicagoParks @UMFlint just received the PACSP grant from @NSF & @PGAFamilyFdn to support our research into lawn enhancement & replacement with native plants. PIs:
@BeckSamBar @BeckyTonietto @lglyndal @chase_prairie (that's me!)
Turf lawns are omnipresent landscapes in urban settings. While they are more beneficial than impervious surfaces, our research project asks the question: what could our lawns become?
Coming from backgrounds in prairie restoration and urban native plants, we are proposing that incorporating short native plants into lawn greenspaces can produce concrete benefits for people and our more-than-human neighbors.
We are quantifying the benefits of our native plants in these settings, putting numbers to the theoretical benefits documented in the literature. We are measuring wildlife support, stormwater infiltration, cooling effect, and soil carbon storage.
To learn more, check out our website with official press releases and links and goodies!
Research shows that these techniques can help prevent the need for air conditioning, the long-range transport of building materials and concrete production, all of which contribute to the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions driving the climate crisis.