Forget Fast Fashion

Fast fashion creates fast paced damage to so many aspects of society. Quickly made and distributed clothing has lead to the expansion of four seasons of fashion to an average of 52 "micro-seasons" in the industry. Designers and companies like Forever 21 push out new collections as quickly as possible at extremely low prices. As a result masses of consumers cycle through the cheap clothing quickly and ditch their old apparel for the newest styles. So, is the quick turn over worth the rippling effects it causes? No, not really. Here's why.
The most immediate reason that will affect the consumer themselves, is the low prices, at an even lower quality. As a result of the rushed production there is a significantly less intensive look over for quality control of the products. Merchandise is sent out that are missing buttons, don't tie correctly, or tear after one wear.
Outside of the consumer's personal experience, there is the person who is making the products life to consider. The manufacturing process is a  modern example of a blatant human rights violation. Long hours and harmful exposure to chemicals, paired with a lack of quality pay all add up to a low quality of life for workers creating various garments.
The common factor between consumer and manufacturer is simple: Earth. We all live on it, and all of us partaking in the consumption of fast fashion are participants in speeding up the Earth's death as fast as fashion is made. Since so much of the clothing purchased through fast fashion suppliers is cheaply made and goes out of style so quickly, the majority of it is thrown away. In fact, in the U.S. alone throws away 11 million pounds of clothing a year. Clothing that is made up out of countless toxic chemicals which are released into the environment as they break down. The fast fashion industry alone accounts for 10% of all of humanity's carbon emissions, along with the fact that it is the world's second-largest water supply consumer. The damage that is caused is extensive and vast, yet most don't see beyond the "cute" trends that turn over every week.
There is hope for the clothing industry though, as a move toward slow fashion is progressing. As more people become aware of the fast fashion epidemic, consumers are beginning to follow a "Quality, not quantity" mindset. Slow fashion encompasses a focus on mindful manufacturing, fair labor, and natural, lasting materials. Items like pineapple leather purses and jackets to recycled plastic threads are all better and sustainable options for those looking to avoid the fast fashion industry.
All in all, sustainability is soon to be the newest and longest lasting trend.

Dr. Toew's Wart Ointment Wholesale

Plastic bags float through every part of the world, in every person's life. They float into streets, beaches, and oceans. Recently, one plastic bag was even found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. The deepest accessible part of the world, closest to the Earth's core, was afflicted by a man-made plastic bag that will not biodegrade for at least 500 years, if not significantly longer. The damage that plastic bags bring to the environment as a whole is extensive, and unfortunately, many people still choose to carry 15 plastic bags of groceries into the house rather than 1 large reusable bag to replace all 15 of the plastic ones.
Unlike the United States, many countries around the world are making an effort to change this though. Canada is one of those countries, and the owner of the East West Market has taken an...interesting approach to discouraging the use of plastic bags in his store. To start, any customer who would like to use plastic bags instead of reusable bags is charged $0.05 per bag, an increasingly common practice around the world. This was not enough though. A more creative approach to the deterrence of plastic bag use was necessary. Something that would simultaneously spark a conversation would be even better.
Ah ha!

Dr. Toews' Wart Ointment Wholesale

Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium

The Colon Care Co-Op

Yes, that'll surely get the job done. 

The owner of the Vancouver Market decided to print these slogans on their plastic bags in an effort to slightly embarrass their customers into using reusable bags, or at the very least not a plastic bag for fear of walking down the street with a produce filled bag emblazoned "Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium". That may turn a few more heads than expected. As silly as the slogans are, they do serve a real purpose. In a smaller font underneath the slogan are the words "Avoid the shame. Bring a reusable bag." Unfortunately, the cheeky idea backfired, and people began to come in just to purchase the bags for their funny slogans. Although the original plan may not have worked out, the conversation was still started and the owner plans to print the same slogans on reusable bags to encourage their use just as much.  

This creative approach has the ability to make a big splash, especially as Canada has announced their goal to ban single-use plastics by 2021. At the very least, these bags are a great proponent of the conversation as they are not nearly as easily forgotten plastic is thrown out. 

Are the Red Cups Really Green?

Coffee is easily the most popular beverage on Earth; over 400 billion cups are consumed per year around the world. As someone who contributes to that massive number just about everyday, I'm very aware of how many plastic Starbucks lids are thrown into the landfill as a result of this. Starbucks alone sells 4 billion cups of coffee (not including tea and other drinks) annually. A large portion of these sales are a result of the holiday drinks and kick off of the famous red cups. November 7th marks the start of the holiday drink season, and with the purchase of any holiday drink you also receive a free reusable holiday cup. I myself succumbed to the marketing and convincing argument of my coffee-addicted friend and hurried to Starbucks on the 7th to make it before the last of the reusable cups were gone. While waiting in line I watched the cashier hand each customer an empty reusable cup with each purchase, and thought how ironic it was to give a reusable cup yet put the actual drinks in a single use cup to be thrown away later.
This lead me to the question: is the incentive of the free reusable cup in hopes it is used at the next purchase (for $0.50 off) worth all of the extra cups and plastic that will be sold in the same day? Historically, the only debate over the Starbucks holiday design cups is over whether they are deemed to Christmas-y or if the patterns are stylish enough. However, more attention should be given to the fact that the simple designs on the cup causes a dramatic increase in the number of drinks purchased, leading to the increase in plastic deposited into landfills. In my opinion, the debates should take more of a focus on whether the reusable red cups are worth the extra paper cup purchases.
All things being considered, Starbucks has set goals to become significantly more eco-friendly through reduce, recycle, and reuse-ability by 2022 and has had a focus on sustainability since the beginning of the company according to their website. The famous cups were the first in the United States food sector to be made of 10% post consumer recycled fiber, and have additionally made efforts toward a more recyclable plastic lid. Straws are planning to be completely phased out and replaced with a recyclable plastic lid by 2020, but the benefit of that versus the straw is still disputed.
So the question remains, is the one-day offer of a free reusable cup worth the extra sales and waste produced in exchange? There are countless factors to consider when deciding the answer to this, but regardless there is a significant need to find better methods of reducing material waste, and reusable cups are the best solution to this.

Keep the Planet Clean While You Clean Yourself

Every year 300 million tons of plastic is created. 10% of that plastic is recycled, while the rest is left in landfills, streets, oceans, and nature to biodegrade on its own over the course of the next 500 years. I'm sure you can picture the warning of Wall-E becoming reality as 300 million tons of plastic are created, and it takes 500 years for just one to biodegrade completely.
Unfortunately, plastic has become an unavoidable part of life. Or has it? Well, Jonna Breitenhuber is challenging this concept. Breitenhuber, based out of Berlin, has designed a line of shower and soap products that are entirely plastic free. She began the design process in 2017, and has ultimately succeeded in creating the most innovative soap I have seen. This product is even more plastic free than Lush's product line, as every product is plastic free where Lush's are not. The bottle itself is made of a slow dissolving soap, and the inside is filled with the gel or shampoo which can be poured out and recovered after use.
Each product has a hole in the center so it can be hung if so desired, so the lack of stabilizing plastic is  not a problem. The products are completely made out of natural ingredients so they are 100% biodegradable. On top of that, the entirety of the product is usable, even the small leftover slivers or the whole bottle can be used as hand soap so nothing is wasted. The Soapbottles have a variety of smells and appearances to choose from as well! One of the most interesting aspects of the Soapbottles is that their appearance changes as you continue to use the soap. To top it all off, each bottle also comes in different sizes.
You may be thinking, "That's great, but I don't actually use that much plastic in my toiletries". In reality, the average person uses about 11 bottles of shower gel and 10 bottles of shampoo a year. And that's just one person! Imagine how many additional bottles are used by the hair salon in every strip mall. So, the bottle problem is much larger than you may imagine. Any small step that we can make a big difference to the Earth; this one, only a small difference to your life. As far as I can tell, the Green Product Award winning Soapbottle is not yet available for worldwide purchase, but innovative ideas like these are what pave the way for a cleaner future.

Let's Go Lego!

In keeping with last week's blog, "The Building Blocks of Education: Plastic?", which discussed the use of eco-bricks, this week's focus is also on eco-friendly bricks, on a smaller scale. Additionally, the title of this blog "What You're Missing Missing About the Climate Crisis" is fitting as this news was released in 2018 and I missed it myself, just as you may have! So, if you haven't guessed by the title yet, the topic of the week is Lego's new line: Plants from Plants.
Lego released their line of Plants from Plants Legos in 2018 as the first of many steps for the company to reach a completely sustainable status for core products and packaging by 2030. The plastic used to create the Legos has been verified as 98% plant-based by using sugar cane plants as the base. Wait, it gets better! The sugar cane plants are sustainable as they grow at the same rates, or faster, than they produce the plastics for the Legos. Lego has also partnered with the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) for guidance on how to best source the sugar cane plants.
The plastic does not taste or smell like sugar, and is not any visually or textually different than other Legos. So that means kids can pair their old Lego bricks with the new plant based ones for seamless creations. Even the most loved of plant Legos will not be damaged as they are not biodegradable (I suppose you can't have it all...yet), so they are just as durable as the previous plastic ones.
There must be a catch, right? Wrong. The price of these Legos will not be affected by the fact they are sustainable and plant-based. If you still aren't convinced to reach for these over the old Legos because of their sustainability, and fair price, they're also perfect for boys and girls, so you can't go wrong! There are kits available including complex tree houses and countless creatures. Even though a kid may not understand the value that these eco-friendly toys pose, they'll sure understand how cute the botanical characters Shy Marvin and Woody Wheel are.
For the parents or purchasers who do understand this value, there are very few reasons to reach for any other toys. Lego is setting a great example for every other toy company on the market by proving sustainable products at equal prices are possible. 60 years ago, the first plastic Lego brick was created, and in less than 20 years the classic plastic will hopefully be completely replaced by modern and sustainable materials. Lego has already made other great strides toward sustainability and encouraging kids to help rather than harm the Earth with toys like the model wind turbine, and are continuing this with their plants from plants line. Changes like these coming from large companies make big differences and encourage many other companies to do the same. They are heading in the right direction and hopefully many others will follow their path.
Find Plant From Plant Legos Here:
https://www.lego.com/en-us/campaigns/plantsfromplants

The Building Block of Education: Plastic?

In various regions of Latin America, schools and classrooms made out of used plastic bottles are continuously popping up as a result of Hug It Forward. Hug It Forward is a non-profit organization which defines itself as a "multicultural organization operating at the grassroots level in the region of Latin America, with an emphasis in Guatemala". The organization works to construct classrooms by using plastic bottles filled with inorganic waste, or "eco-bricks" as walls. First, they stuff the bottles and stack them, (filling gaps with plastic bags), and then surround them with chicken wire to keep the frame in place. Finally, the chicken wire is coated with cement and painted. The finished product looks just like a regular school and shows no signs of the plastic frame.

To make all of this construction possible, Hug It Forward focuses on community effort, so as much of the construction is as local as possible. In addition to this, they also focus on education and consciousness regarding proper disposal of waste in the future. By doing so while building the classroom, they are physically showing their volunteers how much damage is caused when it is not properly recycled, as plastic is sometimes retrieved from nearby rivers and countrysides.  The sense of pride that the volunteers are left with after not only cleaning up their area, but taking part in building something leaves the community with a sense of pride which is carried on into other aspects of life. 

Between the community efforts, and use of simple materials, the cost of each bottle school only reaches about $7,000. However, the reward that each bottle school brings to its community such as a sense of empowerment and resilience, but most importantly access to education are priceless. In just 3-4 months a full school is built and changes the lives of so many young kids permanently, as each bottle school is estimated to last roughly 100 years. 
So, these bottle schools are a great way to reuse plastic, reduce building costs, and give children the opportunity to receive an education, but what does it have to do with the climate crisis? Well, since 1950 humankind has created roughly 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic. In addition, a whopping 91% of that plastic has not been recycled, both according to a recent article in Science Advances. Plastic is detrimental to the Earth in so many ways; its production generates greenhouse gases and uses fossil fuels, damages ecosystems and harms wild/marine life, biodegrade to micro plastics, and so much more. The best solution is to stop creating more plastic at all. However, the plastic that is still presently degrading at a rate incredibly slow cannot all be incinerated, as that emits massive amounts of CO2. Additionally, not all plastics can be recycled quickly or easily. Reuse of plastic on the other hand, has a less damaging effect. The bottle schools are able to set an example and be an inspiration to future construction problems outside of just schools. This building method has the potential to take massive amounts of plastic waste out of communities and landfills to be put to use rather than incinerated or left to biodegrade. 
The innovative thinking behind bottle schools has potential to go much farther than just school buildings and aid the massive problem of excess single use plastic products. 

Really, Google?

No one could’ve seen this one coming. Now Google, beloved Google, has joined the growing list of companies who are not making enough effort to aid the climate crisis, despite their previous claims to want to aid the problem. News broke this morning that Google has reportedly made “substantial contributions” a multitude of other companies that have made their disbelief of climate change incredibly well known. This leaves many wondering the question, if Google has historically been concerned with the climate crisis and attempting to help those fighting against it, why are they supporting deniers? Perhaps the company thought that the addition of these companies would go unnoticed amidst the expansive list of other companies they contribute to, but it did not.
When the United States left the Paris Agreement, we set a terrible example for other nations and allowed ourselves to continue killing our Earth. One company which played a large role in swaying this decision was Competitive Enterprise Institute. CEI has been a known conservative company, who aided the anti environmental climate change policies of the Bush administration years ago. Again, CEI has played yet another part in the Trump administration’s decision to leave the Paris Agreement. The question still remains, why would Google support such an open climate change denying company? Who knows. CEI is not the only beneficiary of Google’s new contributions though.
Other companies such as the Heartland Institute who have infamously criticized Greta Thunberg’s efforts to stop the climate crisis. It’s interesting that one company that is not afraid to blantantly criticize an intelligent teenage girl, but at the same time that teenage girl is absolutely fearless in the face of insult (as her famous death glare shows). The list goes on for about a dozen other companies supporting the removal of climate saving regulations and laws.
Google’s response to the public outcry? Weak. They say that despite their contributions, they do not endorse their agendas, rather agreeing with their technology policies. Google’s spokesperson has also said that the company wants to be open with their users regarding their polictical involvement, yet decline to answer how much they actually contributed to each company.
To say that you agree to disagree on a debate with a friend or coworker, but to do so on an international platform as one of the world’s most well known companies is an entirely different thing. Something that never should and never should have happened. Although Google is not the first to do so, it does not excuse their actions. If anything, it makes the entire situation significantly worse because they argue what they are doing is ok because other companies are too. This thinking is what helped lead the climate crisis to the point where it is at now: next to irreparable.

Ocean Cleanup Device is a Success

There is officially some hope to be found for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch's removal. First, let's start with some background information.

• What is the garbage patch though? 

It is exactly what it sounds like. It is a massive island of various trash created from everything from plastics to baking pans. Its located between California and Hawaii in the pacific ocean and spans more than 600,000 miles, twice the size of Texas. 

• How did so much trash end up in a swirling vortex of the Pacific Ocean?

Humans. The majority of the trash found within the Garbage Patch is from North American and Asian land. Additionally, some trash is contributed by boaters who lose or discard of their garbage into the ocean. On a larger scale, offshore oil rigs and large cargo ships also contribute through the same means as well as through the lose of equipment in the water.

• Is this the only garbage patch on Earth?

Sadly, no. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest out of the five main patches. The other four main patches are found in the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Oceans. There are more smaller patches in addition to the main five all around the world though.

• What's the big deal?

The Garbage Patch is a major problem for the environment for countless reasons. For brevity's sake, I'll only name a couple The marine life in the ocean is consuming this plastic and becoming extremely sick or dying, which has its own set of repercussions. Additionally, the plastic naturally degrades as it does in landfills. Except in the ocean, those micro plastics are absorbed and eaten by the fish living in the ocean. The fish we humans love to eat. Some studies have even found micro plastics in humans, likely partially caused by seafood consumption.

• So, what is this new device?

It is simply called the System 001/B. It is the first major success of its parent The Ocean Cleanup Project, created by Boyan Slat. The device works in a fairly simple yet effective manner, which aims to collect 50% of the total garbage in the next 5 years. The device is made of a giant C-Shaped ring, a skirt so marine life can pass underneath, and a sea anchor. The C-Shaped ring is pulled around the ocean by the wind and collects garbage as it moved through the water. Simultaneously, the sea anchor slows the device's movement so that the surrounding garbage can keep up with it and be collected. The device is emptied after a few months by a boat that comes to retrieve the garbage which finds the device through its satellites and sensors. So, after several revisions and reattempts to the design of the boom, its creators are hopeful it will be successful enough to collect at least half of the Patch.

So, what happened at the Climate Summit?

The U.N. Climate Summit and Global Climate Strike both took place at the end of last week, but there hasn't been much coverage on its results yet. It is difficult to get an exact number of participants in the Global Climate Strike, but estimates are suggesting there were around 4 million participants. About 1,000 of those participants were from my hometown of Pittsburgh, while in contrast Germany contributed a staggering 1.4 million protesters. Many people are shocked by the massive turn out, but personally, I'm disappointed. There are over 7.5 billion humans on Earth, yet only 4 million participated. Out of the 7.5 billion people on Earth every single one relies on it to live, yet 4 million came out to protest for its savior. We can do better. 
The idea that we can and need to do better was fiercely conveyed by Greta Thunberg's "How Dare You" speech. Thunberg placed blame on the politicians of countries who have made promises to improve their standards by 2050, but haven't. In her speech she said: "For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away and come here saying that you're doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight." 
Thunberg is absolutely right. We should and need to be doing more to at the very least slow this crisis. Why should everyday citizens of Earth expect our world leaders to care about the climate crisis when we act like we don't? I am not suggesting that the 4 million of us who did protest, or more who would have liked to protest, have failed completely in our attempts to save ourselves. We should be proud of the fact that we came together around the world to protest. However, it is not enough. It is not enough we talk about change but don't make it. It is not enough that world leaders simply talk and take small steps toward greener production yet major changes have yet to be followed through with. 
So, if the Global Climate Strike was fairly successful in its organization, impact, and turn out, what happened at the Climate Summit? The answer: a lot of promises without a guaranteed follow through. It is well known that Guterres places much value on giving the climate crisis the attention it deserves. At the Summit, he only offered the stage to countries which are making serious efforts to decrease the amount of harm they produce. Obviously, the U.S. was denied the opportunity to speak. Many other countries gave updates on their efforts to reach their long term goals, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) which were set out in the Paris Agreement. Some coountires, like India and China are doing well to reach their NDC but still struggle to end their use of coal. The common theme for all participating countries though, is that everyone is struggling to make the changes. Countless countries have asked for more financial support in order to meet higher goals as well, which is difficult to provide.
Sadly, the current attention the climate crisis is recieving will likely be lost on Tuesday, once the UN General Assembly begins. Until the COP25 occurs in December, it is likely that NDCs and focus on the climate crisis will be forgotten yet again. For this reason, we have to do better.

The Global Climate Strike

Everyone has been buzzing about this Friday’s Global Climate Strike. There’s already almost 20k Instagram posts about it tagged, #globalclimatestrike. On Friday, September 20th, millions of people around the world of all ages are planning to walk out of school, work, anywhere in order to protest and demand a response from world leaders on climate change. Some businesses, like Amazon, Microsoft, Patagonia, and more have even closed or given their employees time off so that activists are able to protest to save the earth. Additionally, in New York City, the meeting place of the UN Climate Summit, over one million students have been given permission by their public schools to skip classes and attend the protests instead.

It’s truly amazing that what started out as Friday’s for a Future, started by Greta Thunberg, has grown into a world wide protest. Events like these give hope for those truly fighting for a future. They also inspire adults to follow in the footsteps of the historically young people who have started the climate strikes.

Despite all the buzz surrounding this event, you may have missed a few important details about it. 

The Global Climate Strike is actually more than just one Friday. Although it kicks off on September 20th, it will continue on until the 27th. 

The start date (September 20th) was chosen for a few reasons specifically:

1. The first UN Youth Climate Summit begins on September 21st and is a chance for young leaders, like Thunberg, to speak on climate issues.
2. UN Climate Summit begins on the 23rd of September and will be spoken at by multiple heads of government from around the world. 
3. To build off the already established Fridays for a Future

António Guterres, the secretariat of the United Nations, has ferociously backed the efforts of the young people organizing and protesting for the Global Climate Strike. Guterres has invited Thunberg to speak at the Summit, while contrarily denying Australia, Japan, and South Africa the opportunity to speak because of their continued support and use of the coal industry. Interestingly, China and India, who have the most planned and proposed coal power plants in the world are still allowed to speak at the Summit despite extensive pressure that has been put on them to reduce coal energy. The United States is also denied the opportunity to speak at the Summit as a result of President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Treaty in 2017. Despite practically every other country in the world being a part of the Paris Treaty, the United States does not plan on re-entering, and have likely inspired other countries like Brazil and Saudi Arabia to consider withdrawing as well since they have continually criticized the agreement. 

However, young people like Thunberg, and adult leaders like Guterres who do not and will not give up on the constant fight for climate change provide hope for change and a future for generations to come. The fight for climate change does not have to stop with government leaders and well known students though, anyone can protest for climate change. Every additional voice adds up and the more people who start demanding change the harder it is for leaders to ignore their cries.

Greta Thunberg: A World Wide Inspiration

So many people around the world, especially young people, are passionate about a cause yet don't act on it. More often than not this is because the average person feels like they can't make a change in the world because they're "just one person". While it is understandable why one may feel that way, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. Although you may not be able to snap your fingers and make policy changes or stop climate change all together, you do have a voice.
So often I comment around my friends on everything from climate change to plastic waste. Sometimes they laugh, sometimes they listen. I'm used to being the first and only to casually bring up topics like the climate crisis at dinner with friends, but to my surprise a friend of mine actually chose to before I did the other day. She told me that my constant climate crisis comments inspired her to purchase a reusable straw. While this may seem like a small action, for my friend, it was huge. After all this time she was the last person I would have expected to consciously make an eco-friendly purchase, let alone go out of her way to ask the Starbucks barista not to include a straw with her daily drink. Yes, I realize that one less person using a few less straws will not solve the climate crisis, but I am just one person who inspired another person to make a change. The mindset that comes with that kind of thinking is what matters. The fact that my voice, which at the time only reached a few friends, still made a small change. It is events like that that encourage people like 16-year-old Greta Thunberg to continue to work towards their goals and educate as many as they can on the climate crisis.
Despite Greta Thunberg's young age, her name is known internationally. Thunberg has already written the book No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference and has given fierce speeches at the UN, EU, and her own Ted Talk. Additionally, Time magazine has named her a "Next Generation Leader". Incredibly, these accomplishments have all been possible despite her young age and diagnoses of Asperger's, selective mutism, and OCD. Thunberg does not see these challenges as a hindrance, but rather her "superpower". Some may expect her diagnoses to tarnish credibility, as she says she doesn't understand the social games the rest of society plays. However, this works in her benefit, like a superpower, because she is not afraid to boldly say what so many leaders tip toe around.
In Thunberg's 2018 Ted Talk, she clearly and simply lays out the changes that must be made in order to slow the progression of the climate crisis. The question, "Are we evil?" is posed half way through her talk. Thunberg answers her own question and says we are not. Thunberg essentially says that humans are naive, and calmly but firmly criticizes the media for their lack of coverage on the climate crisis as people do not feel they are in a crisis if the news hasn't covered it as a headline or breaking news story. Thunberg makes a simple yet extremely valid point which is continuously overlooked. If society would panic over the climate crisis the way it had during the Ebola outbreak, and reduced their meat and dairy consumption as quickly as they purchased surgical masks to cover their mouths, then maybe international policy change would fall in line as quickly as the masks had. Unfortunately though, since nature does not bleed, does not cry, and cannot ask for help all while suburbs are consistently landscaped by man, the climate crisis will continue to go unnoticed.
It is because the climate crisis goes so unnoticed on a daily basis that we must speak for the Earth like Thunberg has and does, even if we are just one person. Every person has a voice, no matter how small.
Thunberg's Ted Talk:
https://www.ted.com/talks/greta_thunberg_the_disarming_case_to_act_right_now_on_climate?language=en 

The Amazon: From Lively to Lifeless

The Amazon Forest is an icon. Countless children's books, classroom decorations, and event themes are inspired by the breathtaking life that the Amazon supports. One can even find Amazonian creatures represented by Toucan Sam on famous Kellogg cereal boxes. So, if the hand of the Amazon can reach into most of the world's pop culture in a variety of ways, why are the majority of people more concerned with "2-Day shipping", than the fact that one of the most ecologically important places in the world has been burning nonstop for over three weeks? Could this be stopped if people demanded a response from the conservative Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro with the same amount of effort they demand appeasement from Amazon Customer service representatives?

These questions have been answered by the fact that the rainforest has been burning for over three weeks with little to no news coverage until now. Although it is easy to blame distractions on social media or simply just humanity's incredible vanity, it would only allow the crisis to be minimized and forgotten. Additionally, to accept defeat and consider the crisis hopeless would only create an image as dark as the smoke which is turning South American skies black. Somehow though, there is a small beacon of light shining through the clouds smoke.

The beacon is actually a Global Supertanker, hired by Bolivian President Evo Morales. The jet is originally from the U.S. and attempts to keep the flames from encroaching further into Bolivia's portion of the Amazon. Although it has been flying for over a week the fires are still furiously burning. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Brazil's largest state of Amazonas' declared state of emergency will be resolved anytime soon. Meanwhile, the homes of countless indigenous tribes and millions of species are being destroyed more and more with each passing day, despite the Supertanker's best efforts. It is suspected that the lack of response from President Bolsonaro is a result of his conservative policies and desire to open up Amazon land for mining and commercialization. These suspicions are what caused one tribe chief to refer to Bolsonaro's support for deforestation as a form of genocide.
Obviously, the Amazon Forest fires are causing extensive environmental damage to many species as well as humans, but what implications does this have on climate change? The answer is numerous. In short, the massive fires bring about a massive increase in greenhouse gas emissions, which increases the Earth's temperature. An increase in the Earth's temperature generally means melting glaciers, longer droughts, and other extreme weather events. As if that wasn't enough, the mass deforestation affects rainfall patterns which has its own set of ripple effects for those living in the Amazon's ecosystem. One cannot forget the extreme air pollution coming from the massive carbon monoxide plume which can be seen from space. Additionally, the general destruction of the ancient land that will take centuries to reforest and recover is yet another factor to consider. Assuming it is not sacrificed for commercial zoning and factory use of course, which will also only continue to pollute the Earth. The only Earth.
While it may seem like few realize that there is only one Earth and it is dying, many other governments and companies are stepping in to donate funds to save the rain forest, even if the G7 Summit Aid was originally rejected. Realistically, the average person cannot donate millions of dollars to Brazil, but the average person can do a number of other things to aid the Amazon.
~

• Reduce Your Meat Consumption
• Reduce Your Paper/Wood Consumption
• Buy/Look for Rainforest Alliance Certified Products at https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/ 
• Sign Greenpeace's Petition 
• https://act.greenpeace.org/page/39922/petition/1?_ga=2.65401002.547443292.1566484769-36951589.1566484769
• Sign Change.org's Petition for Investigation into the Fire's Cause
• https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-burning-of-the-amazon-rainforest

Purpose

Celeste Longinotti. That's me. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That's where I'm from. The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. That's where I go to school. It's also where I take a brand-new class called Writing for Social Change. To say that there was no need for a class like this in the past because there was no need for social change is absurd, but understandable why it was not previously considered a priority. 

I'm currently 19 years old and for as long as I can remember there were always problems with the world. There was controversy over the War on Terror, which started when I could barely walk. Then the media shifted its focus to the mass destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, and I remember my parents' relief because we weren't affected by it. Ultimately, the world moved on to the devastating effects of the Recession, when I remember my mom began to coupon a little more intently. The 2008 inauguration of Barack Obama was shown on the TV in my school's cafeteria, and I remember not understanding why so many people were shocked by the fact we had elected a black president. 

After Obama's election I had always thought the American society was taking steps in the right direction. After all the progress that was made, especially on the subject of social change, how could we, as a country, ever backtrack? It seemed impossible. Once news broke Trump was a running for office, no one I knew thought it would last. "He won't make it past primaries." "He's only doing it for the press, he'll back out." 

Here we are in 2019, and our sitting president, Donald Trump has been in office for almost three years. For the past two and a half years practically every social issue one could think of has been attacked or ignored by this administration. Gun violence, racism, mental health, education, and so many more. Yes, the majority of these social issues don't necessarily affect every member of the world's population, which is partially why they are sweepingly disregarded. However, the social issue which is continually ignored, yet never ceases to amaze me, is climate change. Every single creature living on every centimeter of the Earth can and will be affected by the results of climate change, but few do anything to aid the problem. So, my purpose has been stated. I hope to educate as many people as possible on the very real dangers of climate change.

There are so many social issues which call for social change, but how can we begin to fix any of those problems if humans are dying of heat stroke and diseases caused by pollution first? To idly say "I'll be dead before it's a problem for me." is to be selfish and lazy. To set low expectations for massive factories' pollution habits or even just for suburban homes who refuse to recycle is to let every living species around you down. 

Now is the time to make changes. Tomorrow comes and goes too quickly to wait.