Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.
Small changes make a big difference in how your laundry routine affects your health and the environment.
Category: Green lifestyle
Is Human Composting the Future of Urban Burial?
Read the full story in Pacific Standard.
Funeral practices hide death from view, often at the expense of the environment. Can we die with dignity — in a way that saves the Earth — simply by embracing death?
Grow food, not grass, to fight climate change
Read the full story at Mother Nature Network.
There are plenty of reasons why it’s smart to grow vegetables at home. You have easy access to nutritious local food, your immune system is boosted by soil microbes, and you get an array of health benefits like reduced stress and improved sleep.
And, according to a new study published in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, you’re also helping humanity take a bite out of climate change. The idea is similar to a 1940s victory garden, but for fighting pollution instead of fascism.
How to pack a litter-free school lunch
Read the full story at Treehugger.
Finally, schools are catching on to the fact that packed lunches generate far too much trash. Learn how to reduce waste, and your grocery bill will shrink, too.
People want solutions, not physical products: rise of the subscription model
Read the full story in the Guardian.
The subscription model is being adopted by suppliers of kitchen appliances, furniture and even toys. Could it one day dominate over traditional ownership?
“It’s Second Nature”: Sustaining Public Engagements with Addressing Climate Change at the Community Level
Axon, Stephen (2016). ““It’s Second Nature”: Sustaining Public Engagements with Addressing Climate Change at the Community Level.” Michigan Journal of Sustainability 4 (Summer 2016), 61-79. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/mjs.12333712.0004.006
Abstract: Whilst the number of studies focusing on strategies to engage the public with addressing climate change and sustainability are growing exponentially, little attention has been paid to the (multiple) ways in which individuals wish (or do not wish) to become involved, and to what extent. This is striking given that research indicates that community-based carbon reduction strategies struggle to turn initial excitement into sustained participation. This is a significant barrier to grassroots projects that need to be scaled up to address climate change on a wider scale. With reference to fieldwork carried out in the United Kingdom employing focus groups, this paper reports that individuals are willing to actively participate in public engagement activities and become involved (on a number of cognitive, affective and behavioural levels) with community-based projects that address climate change. In so doing, this paper illustrates that people want to take ownership and responsibility for sustainability in their communities. However, this transition towards sustainable living needs to be achieved in ways in which that stimulates (sustained) engagement. This paper is of particular relevance for academics and practicing communities in sustainability, demonstrating that higher levels of engagement with community-based carbon reduction strategies indicates a shift towards higher rungs of citizen participation in local sustainable development. The result of higher citizen involvement in local sustainability demonstrates a changing climate in the co-production, co-governance and co-delivery of a low-carbon sustainable future.
The Afterlife of Cheap Clothes
Read the excerpt from Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion in Slate. Reduce your consumption and find the book at a library near you.
Where do your Target bargains go when you get tired of them? The Salvation Army. Rag bins. And Africa.
