All sorts of numbers frame and convey our triumphs in life, but my time as Editor in Chief of GreenHawks Media can best be encapsulated by just one: 139.
Hello everyone!! It is so bittersweet that I am writing my final ~mind food~ piece for the semester. As I reflect on the last three months, I am incredibly thankful for the creative outlets that I have maintained despite the circumstances: writing bi-weekly for GreenHawks Media has been a prominent one of mine, which is a ~quarantine sanity~ activity for me in it itself!
Una Hrnjak-Hadziahmetovic is a Miami alum with an impressive resume - having held corporate sustainability positions for two Fortune 500 companies, an extensive history of volunteer work and many honors and recognitions for her achievements. Having just transferred to her new position with Starbucks mere weeks before we spoke, I am certainly lucky that Una was able to fit me into her busy schedule and honored to have gotten to speak with such an inspiring woman.
Over the past few months, the Associated Student Government (ASG), the Infrastructure and Sustainability (I&S) committee and the Student Sustainability Council (SSC) worked on a variety of issues, with administrators and on behalf of the student body, to promote sustainability at Miami University. This semester gave them an opportunity to promote sustainability despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Plastic is a synthetic or a semi-synthetic organic compound created from petrochemicals, chemicals produced from petroleum or natural gas, that can be molded into various shapes and products. Recently there has been some push back on the use of plastics, more specifically single-use plastics. The term “single-use plastics” refers to products that are made to be tossed out after one use like food packaging, straws, bottles, bags and more. The issue with these types of products is the negative impact they can have on the environment and wildlife.
Amid the political and social turmoil of the last decade , it is of little surprise that a movement centering around nature and off-the-grid living has emerged. About 81 percent of Americans own a smartphone, and teens spend more than seven hours a day on their phones. Corporate messages have seeped into our culture – and therefore our personal identity – by creating a burnout culture that contributes to declining mental health and our overall quality of life.
Copenhangen, Denmark has long been my dream city to visit, live in, and experience. This will not come as a surprise to my closest friends; in fact, it may be met with an eye roll because I talk about the subject so frequently. But who could blame me? How could I not be fascinated by a country that consistently tops the list as one of the happiest and most sustainable in the world?
I’ve spent this fall semester doing volunteer work with Miami’s Institute for Food for my service project as part of the WST 341 class, Synthesis into Action. Every Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. I went to Miami’s CSA Farm where I picked, sorted, washed, or bagged produce. The main produce harvested while I was there ranged from tomatoes, to greens, to squash, to beets, but it varies by season.
President-elect Joe Biden has already declared his climate reform plans just days after it was reported he won the 2020 presidential election on Saturday Nov. 7.
As we near the end of a tumultuous and challenging year, many of us are looking forward to the comfort of the holidays and enjoying special traditions. However, the environmental implications of the foods that make it onto our table can leave us wondering about ways to make Thanksgiving dinner a bit more sustainable. No matter what diet or lifestyle you follow, choosing to swap out a few Thanksgiving classics with plant-based alternatives can have a positive impact on the environment.
Climate change and the need for conserving natural resources has caused many corporations to realize the importance of reducing wastes, their carbon footprints and protecting the environment. Here are four large companies that have been initiating sustainability goals and plans:
Hi again, guys!! It’s been so much fun writing two posts now for GreenHawks Media each month this semester, especially because I am writing about very different, but intertwined and related, topics: ~quarantine sanity~ and sustainable shopping/eating. I am especially excited because this week is perfectly fitting for a ~quarantine sanity~ activity due to the anxiety and stress that I am sure a lot of you are feeling as you try to balance the election’s insanity with keeping up in school, work and other obligations. Finding balance feels particularly tense and difficult this week, making it all the more evident how beneficial it is to be mindful and intentional of finding balance in our everyday lives.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but in 2020, that almost seems impossible. Still, either out of habit or hope, many people have already begun buying gifts for the coming holiday season. But in the midst of this unprecedented historical moment, we should ask ourselves: what exactly will the season of giving look like?
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country, and this world.”
According to the World Health Organization, there are 4.2 million deaths worldwide caused by air pollution. More than 90 percent of the world’s population is breathing in unhealthy air on a daily basis. We often hear about how human pollution is affecting Earth, causing climate change and global warming, and how this will affect the next generation. New studies, detailed below, show that the quality of air you breathe in is not only affecting your lungs and respiratory system, but is now affecting your brain function.
The City of Oxford uses Rumpke as its source for disposing trash and outsourcing recycling. Recyclables can range from normal household goods to Christmas trees and leaf pickups. If you are looking for drop-off options, you should check behind Miami University Police Station or even behind Oxford’s TJ Maxx. Between the storage materials used at move-in to all the packages received by the end of a semester, it’s important that you know where your disposed items are going.
Autumn is here, and Mother Nature is making sure that we know it! The ground is peppered with the fallen leaves from trees that don gorgeous warm tones. Autumn has also brought along with it more than a few cold and dreary days, which I’ll have to admit I wasn’t too eager to welcome. However, past the soggy shoes and the temperatures that chap your lips, it is possible to catch a glimpse of the little treasures that even the grayest of days leave for us to discover. I went on a walk one rainy morning and was able to capture some of these moments for myself, and now I am glad to share them with you! Happy autumn, everyone!
On Aug. 13, Donald Trump visited the Royal Dutch Shell’s Petrochemical Complex in Pennsylvania to give a speech about energy. While there, he claimed that wind power destroys property and “kills all the birds”. He then went on to say that “Someday, the environmentalists are gonna tell us what’s going on with that,” so as an environmentalist I took it upon myself to accept his challenge and examine this claim.
According to The World Counts, we dispose of a massive 2.12 billion pounds of waste each year. If all that waste was loaded onto standard garbage trucks, stacked up, those trucks could circle around the globe about 24 times. This waste can be toxic to the environment and our health, especially waste containing arsenic, lead and dioxins.