They Say / I Blog

Space junk: Iris Gottlieb on the growing problem of garbage in outer space

Trash is piling up around the globe, from overflowing landfills to plastic waste washing up on shorelines. However, this problem extends beyond Earth itself. In this essay, Iris Gottlieb highlights a newer and often overlooked dumping ground: outer space. Gottlieb describes the human-made debris orbiting the planet and littering the Moon, arguing that outer space is a “public resource” that should be protected.

Iris Gottlieb, "Elon Musk is Sending His Garbage Into Space (with All the Other Trash)" LitHub.com, 19 August 2024

 

The costs of free parking: Henry Grabar on the benefits of eliminating abundant parking spaces

Consider the expansive parking lots that surround buildings and the curbside parking spots that line many city and suburban streets. One study estimated that there are 3.4 parking spots per vehicle in the U.S. What could that space be used for instead? In this essay, researcher Henry Grabar examines the environmental, economic, and social costs of free or cheap parking in U.S. cities and communities.

Henry Graber, "How Parking Reform Is Helping Transform American Cities" Yale360.com, 31 January 2024.

 

Turning off the tap: Daniel Jaffee on the long-term effects of relying on bottled water after a drinking water crisis

Plastic bottled water is both a boon and a problem: it is convenient, yet it’s also more expensive than public tap water, and the empty plastic bottles often litter streets and pollute waterways. Some households, though, are stuck relying on pallets of bottled water for their everyday basic needs. In this argument, Daniel Jaffee, an associate professor of sociology at Portland State University, explains what’s at stake when a community’s only guarantee of safe drinking water comes from plastic bottles.

Daniel Jaffee, "When Communities Face Drinking Water Crises, Bottled Water Is a ‘Temporary’ Solution That Often Lasts Years – and Worsens Inequality." The Conversation, 25 October 2023.

 

The air we breathe: Jan Victor Andasan on how polluted air from ports harms people in surrounding neighborhoods

The environmental and human impact of our global economy is visible in ports, where chemicals, oil, natural gas, and massive containers of goods are moved, shipped, and stored. In this video op-ed, activist Jan Victor Andasan describes how the pollution spewing from these ports, pipelines, refineries, and rail yards contaminates the air of nearby communities, causing long-term health problems for their family and neighbors. Andasan explains how organizations like the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice advocate for clean air, such as requiring ports to move to zero-waste operations.

Jan Victor Andasan, "Port Pollution Sickens My Family. That's Violence," Los Angeles Times, 21 October 2021.

 

“Growing trees for the long haul”: Benji Jones on the problems with mass tree-planting campaigns around the world

In November 2021, world leaders gathered at COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, and pledged to end deforestation by 2030. One strategy governments and organizations rely on to restore forests is mass tree-planting campaigns, such as the World Economic Forum’s “One Trillion Trees” initiative. Yet these campaigns, found across the globe, are not as effective as they may seem, which environmental reporter Benji Jones argues in this essay. Jones points out that addressing the underlying issues that contribute to forest loss and climate change are “never as straightforward as planting lots of trees.”

Benji Jones, "The Surprising Downsides to Planting Trillions of Trees," Vox, 22 September 2021.

 

Beyond doom and gloom: Dagomar Degroot on the taking action to curb emissions and solve the climate crisis

Sometimes, if a problem feels too complex or insurmountable, it’s easy to just give up. Dagomar Degroot, an associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University, warns against falling victim to this “doomism” when it comes to climate change. In this essay, Degroot contends that the news media often presents a false binary in how it covers the climate crisis: either we are powerless to stop the collapse of ecosystems, or the crisis is overblown. Degroot argues there’s a third way beyond doomism or dismissal: decisive, deliberate action to reduce carbon emissions, a key factor driving the warming of the planet.

Dagomar Degroot, "Our Planet Is Not Doomed. That Means We Can, and Must, Act." The Washington Post, 7 October 2021.

 

“When we protect nature”: Greta Thunberg on changing the ways we farm, eat, and treat nature

What does the COVID-19 pandemic have to do with the climate crisis and the worldwide loss of wildlife habitats? Activist Greta Thunberg argues that industrial agriculture, which supports meat- and dairy-heavy diets, plays a significant role in these interconnected crises. In this five-minute video, Thunberg challenges her audience—us!—to adopt a plant-based diet and change our fundamental relationship with nature.

Tom Mustill, director, featuring Greta Thunberg, "Our Relationship with Nature Is Broken," 22 May 2021.

 

“Hemp is the way”: Winona LaDuke on the hemp industry and climate justice for Native communities

After decades of being banned due to its close genetic relationship with marijuana, hemp was legalized through the 2018 Farm Bill. Winona LaDuke, a Native writer and activist, argues that Native tribes, which have historically cultivated the crop, should lead and benefit from the growing hemp industry. In this February 2021 essay, LaDuke explains how hemp could be the cornerstone of a new, “post-petroleum” sustainable economy.

Winona LaDuke, "Tribes Revive Traditional Hemp Economies," YES!, February 16, 2021

 

Lunar landings: Alexandra Witze on protecting the Moon by regulating scientific exploration

Scientists and space explorers face a conundrum: What if upcoming scientific missions to the Moon end up contaminating the very ice researchers are so eager to study? In this January 5, 2021 Nature article, Alexandra Witze explains how experts are determining ways to balance their scientific goals with their responsibility to act as stewards of the Moon for future generations.

Alexandra Witze, "Will Increasing Traffic to the Moon Contaminate Its Precious Ice?" Nature, 5 January 2021

 

Reduce, reuse, recycle: Jim Robbins on looking beyond bioplastics to reduce plastic waste

The evidence is clear: the world’s waterways and landfills are clogged and crammed with plastic waste. Scientists, governments, and producers are looking for ways to curtail plastic pollution, which is largely driven by the disposal of single-use plastic packaging and items. One possible solution is using bioplastics instead of traditional plastics. However, as writer Jim Robbins argues in his August 31, 2020 essay, this approach is far less impactful than developing ways to recycle more plastic waste and reducing our reliance on single-use plastics.

Jim Robbins, “Why Bioplastics Will Not Solve the World’s Plastics Problem,” Yale Environment 360, 31 August 2020.