Sustainable Education? Sustainability Education? Education for Sustainability?

Whatever it is – we need it! Environmental education has truly proven itself as an incredibly influential and successful tool over recent decades. Working within the field myself, I have found this practice to be incredibly rewarding for a variety of ways, particularly that I am able to simultaneously and positively impact both children and…

what is sustainability?

Sustainability is simultaneously a word, an idea, and a goal.  Basic semantics guide understanding the self-defining, compound word sustainability as the ability to sustain.  Critically thinking of the idea sustainability elicits an imaginary utopic concept of worldwide harmony, equity, bio-diversity, cleanliness, and peaceful co-existence.  Attempting to proactively live the goal sustainability has mushroomed from personal…

Microbeads: Alternatives and Activism

Microbeads are found in many common products on the market that claim to exfoliate skin. These beads are so common that they’re starting to end up in our oceans, lakes, streams, food, and even our blood. Thankfully, the issue of microbeads is gaining momentum in the mainstream media, as the United States recently banned the…

B-Corps Near You

B-Corps Across the nation, over 1,500 different businesses have taken a pledge to become more responsible inside the community and environment. B-Corps are leading a revolution in the way business is conducted around the world. They focus transparency, environmental responsibility, and giving back to the community. Pittsburgh has a unique ability to support some of these companies…

Bioremediation

Sustainable development places emphasis on meeting present needs without compromising the future. This can mean development of new technologies and processes, or alterations of systems that are already in place. In many cities with old infrastructure, wastewater treatment is a large issue. Conserving resources while processing tons of waste is not sustainable on a large…

Zero Fossil & Pittsburgh’s Sustainable Efforts

Trendy; very fashionable or up to date in style or influence. Too often people are turned off by this word (and with good reason sometime) because of things like Livestrong bracelets, popped collars, rapper’s personal clothing lines, minions, or supporting Donald Trump. There is an almost endless list of trends we’d all rather forget or…

The Ravenous Horde Munching On Our Biodiversity

The brazen assault of the tulips sitting on my kitchen windowsill was the last battle in a war that I have clearly lost. In spring of 2015 I placed my precious pink flowers on the kitchen windowsill imagining them safely cocooned closed to the house. The rhododendron on the corner of the patio had fallen…

Single Use Plastics

We live in a plastic society.  Consumption of single use plastics is so ubiquitous that few of us even notice our use of plastic anymore.  When you stop to consider how often plastic wrap, plastic utensils, plastic water bottles, plastic straws, plastic bags, or plastic cups cross your path, you may notice a trend. These…

Sustainable restaurants in Pittsburgh.

After watching an episode of The Chef’s Table on Netflix, I liked the idea of sustainable restaurants. The episode gave an example of a restaurant in the suburb of New York, the restaurant gets most of the ingredients from the farm right next to it. By doing so, the restaurant managed to apply the concepts…

USDA Organic. A Labeling Nightmare.

Many companies are now tapping into the “green” market to sell their products.  It is an extremely viable market with consumers becoming more aware of how their purchases affect their everyday health and well-being.  Companies often use claims that sound environmental.  These claims are often vague and may be false.  Consumers have now begun to…