Category: blog

World Ocean Day 🌊

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June 8th is the world ocean day. Everyone knows the importance of the ocean – the hypothalamus that maintains the homeostasis of the globe. Not only does the ocean currents regulate climate, but it also keeps a healthy balance of elements in the air and is one of the providers of freshwater in the water cycle. In addition, the ocean hosts an unimaginable value of biodiversity, the lowest estimation of about 230,000 species (Brahic). Each specie plays a crucial role in the food chain. Even just planktons alone contribute approximately 70% of the world’s oxygen (“Save”).

What is the biggest pollution in the ocean? According to NOAA, the main source is runoff such as chemical leaks from “farms,” “tanks,” “cars,” and “boats,” etc. 

What can we do about it? 

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Minimalism Project: Week 1

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This week, I worked on: paper products

Trashed: 

  • Old Notecards
  • Old Notebooks
  • Old books that I know won’t sell for sure

For future sales/donation: 

  • Old textbooks
  • Old leisure reading books. 

I just read about the price that humans have to pay for making paper this morning in the book “The Story of Stuff” by Annie Leonard and the price is ridiculous. 

I’ve always had the misconception that paper are made from mostly plants, it should be fine in terms of decomposing and environmental effects. Sadly, it is a whole different story. 

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Some Fun Facts about Bamboo & Sustainability

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Bamboo is golden in the sustainable-life community. It’s qualified as an eco-friendly material due to its fast-growing speed and indomitable vigor like grasses (technically, the bamboo species is classified as grasses). Bamboo requires no chemical fertilizer to grow “3 feet in 24 hours” as a result of a simple elongation of their cells rather than division (“The Incredible”). It releases at least “30% oxygen in the atmosphere and absorbs more carbon dioxide compared to other plants” (“Bamboo Facts”). Compared to other trees with the same fiber strength, bamboo is a productive and cheap substitution if the cost of transportation is excluded. Bamboo is pretty much a versatile wild card, especially to the Asian culture.

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Tips for using Air Conditioning in Summer!

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The demand for air conditioning is rocketing with the climate being warmer and warmer. Currently, it makes up around 20% of the electricity usage in buildings. By 2050, space cooling will take up around 37% of global electricity demand, according to IEA.

Space Cooling will make up 37.0% of global electricity demand by 2050.
IEA, Share of global electricity demand growth to 2050, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/share-of-global-electricity-demand-growth-to-2050

As the demand for electricity increases, the Greenhouse gases emission will also increase as we try to generate more electricity, which in turn makes the earth warmer. 

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Introducing the Minimalism Project

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Minimalism is a lifestyle that emerged recently. It stresses the elimination of excess in physical/worldly possession and living with only what you need. The purpose of living a minimalist lifestyle is to “remove the distractions from life and realizing the valuable aspects of our lives”. Minimalism is not necessarily associated with environmental protection, but from recent years, people discovered the overlap between them.

One of the factors that contributed to climate change is Consumerism. Yes, the interests of the consumers should be protected and people have the right to own whatever they have; however, Consumerism now is deviating from the rational consumption and are gradually turning into accumulation of excess and useless things. 

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“Earth Protection is Scientists’ Job”

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I hear these comments a lot – earth conservation is unrelated to high school students; it’s an ambitious goal for “common” people to do. At a certain degree, yes, politicians and scientists usually make those striking progress in Earth preservation such as “Clean Power Plan” or “New alternative clean fuel,” but eventually the majority makes these policies and products successful instead of that 5% of the population; the ultimate determination still lays in “common” people’s hands. Continue reading ““Earth Protection is Scientists’ Job”” →

The Letter From Chief Seattle

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The Letter From Chief Seattle

I deeply remember that in my 4th grade Chinese textbook, we learned about Chief Seattle’s letter that was written to president Franklin Pierce. This letter was mind-blowing to me and still is. “Whatever befalls on earth befalls on the son of earth,” Chief Seattle’s vivid words inscribed in my head and influenced me considerably as it’s my initial inspiration of putting actions in earth protection since 4th grade. I hope his words can bring more people into environmental conservation. (Although Some people are skeptical to the authenticity (a few sources state it’s an undocumented speech), I think what matter are the words and ideas in this letter instead of whether Chief Seattle really said this or not).

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