Sustainability reading list

BOOKS

Garbology

Edward Humes

This is such an eye-opening book that every human on the planet should be required to read. Humes highlights our obsession with trash and the disposable, describing the issue very eloquently while making the issue tangible. I’ve never had an informational book that was a page turner that I couldn’t put down until this one.

Zero Waste Home

Bea Johnson

The mother of zero waste, Bea Johnson’s book gives you a guide to going zero waste and provides lists, charts, and multiple resources to help you on your journey. My only tip for anyone who reads this book: keep in mind she goes above and beyond in every aspect of her life to be a zero-waster, and you do not have to! It’s all about baby steps and making switches that work with your lifestyle and of course, your budget!

Wear No Evil

Greta Egan

I just finished this one and it was a really great starting point for my quest to finding sustainable, Earth-friendly clothing. While she does suggest a lot of brands that are out of my price range, I love her ideas on how to tackle looking for clothing that lines up with your values!

FILM

Before the Flood

Documentary on Netflix

Leonardo Dicaprio holds a very special place in my heart. He is an amazing actor, but even better, he’s an active environmentalist. Check out his chilling documentary that unveils the issues we face with global warming and our problem with consumption.

 

PODCASTS

A Sustainable Mind

While I am subscribed to a ton of sustainability podcasts, this is the only one I’ve been consistently listening to. A Sustainable Mind features all sorts of interesting people who are doing their part to help the environment. I love listening to this podcast when I’m on long drives or on a walk or, when I’m feeling really motivated, the occasional run. 

 

I’ll be adding more of my favorite books, movies, and podcasts to this running list! Happy reading! 

P.S. If you want to be an eco-friendly reader, try buying second-hand or getting them from a library! I got all three of these books for under $8 a piece because I bought them used on Amazon! 

 

A ripple in the ocean: switching to a sustainable lifestyle

Everyday I look out my window and see trash. Everywhere. It’s fast food wrappers and single use coffee cups scattered on the sides of the roads, its plastic shopping bags blowing in the wind wrapping around tree branches and red solo cups scattered around apartment buildings. In case you don’t believe me, here is a picture of a literal bag of
garbage just sitting in my backyard. College kids are animals. Anyway, the point is that trash is everywhere. We live in a throw-away culture where we value convenience and ease of use over sustainability and the health of the Earth.

I hate the thought of how little we care about the planet. I hate all the plastic, all the trash and the convenience-first (and company first), earth-second way of life. So last semester I decided to start recycling. It was going really well, and I felt like I was making a difference. I made my roommates sort their garbage out into different bins I had in the kitchen and I’d haul it to the recycling center. I felt like I was making a difference. But one day I came to the realization that recycling isn’t the problem, our consumption of plastic is.

Don’t get me wrong, recycling is helping the problem. But the trouble with plastic is, it can only be melted down so many times before it’s useless and is thrown in a landfill (or ends up in the oceans). So that means a good amount of the time I spent carefully rinsing, sorting and taking my trash to the recycling center was a waste (no pun intended). When I found out all plastic eventually ends up in a landfill, I was furious. I felt like an idiot for all the time I wasted recycling and feeling so proud that I was making a difference. I know now that recycling does make a huge difference, but I also know that in addition to recycling, I needed to reduce my consumption of plastic to really make an impact with this problem.

Because of this realization, I’ve decided to shift the theme of my lifestyle blog to sustainable living, which seems fitting since I’m shifting my lifestyle to be a more sustainable person. The aim of this blog is so readers can see there are easy ways to be an earth-friendly citizen, and it’s much more achievable than they think.

Some blogs and podcasts can make sustainable living seem expensive and difficult to achieve. Not everyone has zero waste grocery stores where you bring your own containers, and not everyone can afford a $30 stainless-steel bento box to pack their lunch in, you know? So I decided that I’m going to take it upon myself to learn how to be sustainable in an affordable and easy way, and while I learn, I will share my discoveries with all of you.

I hope this blog will have a rippling effect, and that the changes I make to my life will inspire some of you to do the same. Leading by example is sometimes the only way to implement change, and it is my goal to do exactly that. So, without further ado, you can find my first blog post about sustainable grocery shopping here. Stay tuned for more stories on my triumphs and failures at becoming a more sustainable citizen. Thanks for reading!

The Truth About Feminism

I’m sure many of you have seen in the news all the attention the Women’s March On Washington has received, and I’ve seen all sorts of mixed ideas on different media platforms, especially social media, discussing ideas of feminism and whether or not this march was worthwhile.  I wrote this response after reading some of Tomi Lahren’s tweets after the march, and was hesitant to post it at first but I feel somewhat obligated to share my views and to (hopefully) open the eyes of those of you who may think feminism is a joke or  just a fad of a bunch of whiny democrats who are sad that they lost the election.  

So without further ado, feminism.

Here are a few things feminism is NOT:

1. Feminism is NOT about hating men (Some men are feminists).
2. Feminism is NOT all about free-bleeding, not shaving, burning bras and wearing pussy hats (some people like to protest in that way, but not all of them).  

 

The definition of feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.”

Feminism, contrary to popular belief, does not require wearing a pussy hat, and it doesn’t even require that you march with the women and make your voice heard about pressing issues that DO matter.

There is just one thing that qualifies a person as a feminist: Believing that women (and everyone for that matter) deserve equal rights.    

If you do share this belief (whether you are a woman or a man), you can not deny the irrefutable fact that you ARE a feminist (whether you want to call yourself one or not).  Welcome to the club, pussy hats are optional.  

However, I can understand why, based on the stereotypes associated with the term “feminist”, you could be scared off.  There are some women out there doing crazy things, making feminism the punchline of many jokes.  I understand why a woman would not wish to fall under the same category as someone who doesn’t shave their armpits or use feminine hygiene products during her time of the month.  But honestly, there is only a small fraction of women practicing those radical movements.  You don’t have to burn all your bras and throw away all your tampons (in fact, I implore you to please keep them).  

I’ve struggled with this idea myself, and once thought how annoying feminists can be and how whiney they are.  But I’ve come to this grim conclusion: it is 2017 and everyone is whiny.  Everyone has something to complain about.  I mean, those of you who “don’t identify as feminists” because you think feminists are whiny are complaining and whining that feminists are whiny.  Whether it’s Donald Trump, GMOs, giving out participation trophies, wearing school uniforms, not giving out participation trophies, or Harambe, everyone has something to complain about.  

I can’t help but do my part and complain.  Silence is compliance.  I want to be seen as equal to a man and be paid equally for doing the same amount of work as a man.  I should retain the right to choose what to do with my body.  I demand respect, not because I’m pretty or because I have money, but because I deserve it.  We all do.  I am not “playing the victim”.  I am standing up for what I believe in, and what I believe in is equality.  

For those of you who, after reading this, still really truly think you aren’t a feminist, let me just leave you with one last thought.  These feminists that you do not wish to identify with are the ones who fought for your right to vote, they are the ones who have given you opportunities to hold positions like “CEO”, “Senator”, “Judge”, and “Doctor”, and have paved a path for you so that you feel like you don’t “need to” be feminist.  The feminists today are fighting to ensure you retain those rights, and are given other rights that women still don’t have, like the right to have equal pay for equal work.  You don’t have to identify as a feminist (even though by definition you probably are), but you damn well better appreciate the work that’s been done for you by those who do.