Why there has been so much opposition in the U.S. to any sort of climate legislation? When looking into this question, it is important to understand how the environmental movement is viewed, how it has been framed. One of the biggest misconceptions to become engrained into our society is the idea that we need to [...]

Last week, I had a meeting with an administrator at Cornell, let’s call him/her Alex. This meeting was to discuss ways to possibly reduce plastic bag usage in the Cornell store, to provide an incentive, implement a tax, simply discourage customers, etc. Alex was a really good-hearted person; already knew and was talking about all [...]

Sunday was an important day for environmentalism; maybe even more important than Earth Day. October 10th, or 10/10/10, marked the day of the Global Work Party, a concept started by Bill McKibben of 350.org. This is a day that gave momentum to the environmental movement, bringing it to all corners of the world. 350.org is [...]

It may be possible to keep our investment economy and still reach environmental sustainability

The origins and ideologies of the sustainability movement

The oil industry is more dangerous and corrupt than ever; but is it the industry’s fault or an underlying, much bigger problem?

One thing that struck me about the whole PVC incident was that my roommate who bought the curtain got offended when I wanted to get rid of it; she had bought it wanting to a nice thing for the apartment. I completely understand and appreciate this. I tried to make it clear that my short-lived [...]

Last Monday, Lois Gibbs came in to tell her story about the Love Canal and to give a lecture about PVC. Her story was an extreme and devastating one; when she moved to Niagara Falls, she discovered that her neighborhood, Love Canal, was built on top of a toxic waste dump. Her seven-year-old son and [...]

Last week I wrote about the individuals who turn a blind eye to the environmental impact of what they purchase. This week, I will explain some difficulties in actually making this information available to the public. Currently, most companies seem to be waiting around for Americans to put enough pressure on their governments to enforce [...]

Definition of transparent: 1. To show through. 2. Free from pretense of deceit. 3. Easily detected or seen through. 4. Readily understood. 5. Not subject to misinterpretation. 6. Visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices. (1) Lately, there has been increased demand for transparency. Why? Because the level of obscurity behind each product [...]