World

By Larraine Roulston:  Approximately 40 years ago, scientists began to study ocean pollution. During the 1990s, they discovered the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch — an array of discarded floating plastics that have formed an island.  Today, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean every year. …

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By Emma Grace Fairchild: “Freegan” is a term loosely defined as someone who resists spending money on things that can be found for free, especially products being discarded. This is expressly true in terms of food; the most popular application of “freeganism” is finding food through waste collection or dumpster …

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By Larraine Roulston: While we humans gleefully sing the praises of Valentine’s Day with heartfelt gifts and romantic songs, the birds in Alberta are forced to change their love tunes. Recently published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, a study suggests that the noise emanating from the Alberta Tar Sands oil drilling is drowning out …

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By Larraine Roulston: Climate change is warming the oceans, causing the coral reefs to lose a high percentage of their symbiotic algae. Corals require warm water, but the extra heat is making the algae produce toxins. Because of this, the corals reject the toxic algae. As a result, the corals turn a ghostly white …

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By Fredrica Syren: We’re drowning in waste! Yes, you read that right. The fact is that all over the world, we create more than 3.5 million tons of trash … a day! And, sadly, that number is growing. And it is 10 times greater than it was 10 years ago. …

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By Kim Robson: Ask any pilot and he or she will confirm this: There is far less turbulence flying low (1,000 to 2,000 feet) over a forest of green trees than flying over cleared or cultivated land with no trees. The reason is heat absorption. Green trees absorb sunlight and …

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By Fredrica Syren: Let’s be honest about plastic. And I mean inconveniently honest. Plastic is found in everything these days: food, hygiene products, phones, computers, cars, even gum. Here is the harsh truth: plastic never goes away and most of it — like grocery bags, micro beads, straws and bottles …

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By Fredrica Syren: Cotton is one of the most common and popular textiles; however, what most people don’t know is that cotton is of the world’s dirtiest crops due to heavy use of pesticides. The really scary part is that every conventional cotton product — clothing, personal care items, bedding …

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By Larraine Roulston: Utilizing timber, plastic, steel, aluminum and glass, as well as expensive metals that are found in electronic equipment, come at a cost to the earth and should be reused as many times as possible. As our planet’s resources are limited, recycling has become one of the many environmental efforts that we …

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By Larraine Roulston: Pentatonic, a company that designs household furniture, is entering the field of crafting home furnishings by upcycling plastic trash. Their abundant resource is gathered from post-consumer plastic such as water bottles and old smart phone screens. Usable items are being created through Trashpresso which is a mobile solar-powered recycling plant built by …

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