Environmental Sustainability & Studies

  The Hidden Truth About Man-Made Chemicals: Toxic Chemicals In the U.S  By: Kyanna Gonzalez In Kirsten Stolle’s exhibit titled Only You Can Prevent a Forest , Stolle used multiple art pieces to highlight the horrific acts major chemical companies commit upon the environment and its people. More specifically, the language and propaganda used by major chemical production companies were showcased in artistic ways, capturing the irony of how chemical agents advertise their products to consumers in the U.S. Positive pop art and bright colors in advertisements found in magazines continue to mask how deadly and problematic these chemicals are when used on a global scale. While research has shown that these chemicals are negatively affecting the environment and human health, these chemicals are still being distributed and used within the United States. Historically, the green revolution introduced the use of pesticides and fertilizers to produce higher-yielding crops and crops in areas that h

Urban Heat Islands: Political or Environmental Concern?      By: Kyanna Gonzalez      Political ecology can be used to illustrate how social inequality is tied to power, politics, and the environment on a global scale. For example, geographic maps of the U.S city of Baltimore depict contrasting levels of heat and income depending on the region in Baltimore, MD. The maps of Baltimore suggest that lower-income households experience higher levels of heat than wealthier households. This can be shown in the maps as areas with the least amount of income generated are correlated with areas that suffer hotter surface temperatures. The surface temperature is the hottest at the center of the map and gradually decreases as you leave the center of Baltimore. One possible explanation for this increased heat at the center of Baltimore could include that this is where the urbanized city is located. Cities are more densely populated than suburban areas and could contribute to the increased surface lev

  The Black Experience in America: Social and Environmental Racism By: Kyanna Gonzalez Environmental racism and injustice can be seen in many forms throughout the world. Environmental injustice refers to how the unequal distribution of land and its resources can negatively affect poor and marginalized communities when compared to communities with more generated wealth and economic status. Poor and marginalized communities are often negatively affected by the environment that they reside in due to an inability to escape hazardous areas of toxic chemical manufacturing, resource extraction, and other human-driven impacts on the environment as a whole. Systems and policies implemented by the government and its institutions are used to economically limit racial minority groups. These policies such as redlining can directly impact racial and ethnic minority groups within the U.S and their ability to obtain environmental justice.  In Louisiana USA, a town called Reserve is considered to be th

  Veganism: How a Vegan Lifestyle Is Beneficial to Humans and the Environment By: Kyanna Gonzalez Vegans: Are They Right? By Gimlet Veganism is a controversial dietary lifestyle choice that strives to eliminate animal products from human consumption. Animal products can be considered dairy, meat, or any products such as honey that were made by animals. Some vegans choose to make the switch in their lifestyle due to feeling morally wrong for consuming products made by animals kept in inhumane, mass-production farms. While some individuals simply make the switch to veganism to limit their environmental footprint as meat and dairy production on a mass scale requires a lot of resources and contributes to negative environmental impacts. Using information from the podcast Science Versus titled Vegans: Are They Right? , the question being considered in this blog post includes: Is veganism better for the environment and human health?  In terms of greenhouse gas pollution, a vegan diet is bette

 The Life History of a Sticky Note: Human Use and Environment Concerns By: Kyanna Gonzalez      Sticky notes tell a life history of humans that starts from their production and ends when humans dispose of them. Invented in 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist at 3M, was researching different adhesives when he accidentally discovered microspheres, particles within an adhesive that can be attached to multiple surfaces while still retaining their overall stickiness quality. Even more, the famous color of the original sticky note, yellow, was also by accident as this was the only color of paper available in the labs during the first rounds of testing and production. Dr. Silver’s invention of a re-stickable adhesive transitioned from a removable bookmark to a resource for communication by the 1980s allowing humans to produce, communicate and express themselves better. Sticky notes began growing popular in professional settings like offices, and schools where a lot of writing and tracking w

     Invasive Species: For the Better and For the Worst By: Kyanna Gonzalez        Invasive species, for the most part, have a bad reputation in regard to environmentalists and biologists. Interestingly enough, some invasive species can benefit native populations who are endangered by providing an abundant source of food. In the article “ Pigs to the Rescue: An Invasive Species Helped Save Australia’s Crocodiles” Anthony Ham writes how with over twenty-million residing in Australia, feral pigs are considered an invasive species and are estimated to contribute to the major loss of mammalian life as well as habitat loss. Arriving in the late eighteenth century with European settlers, the feral pig population expanded across Australia in the 1980s when the wild buffalo populations plummeted in part due to human efforts to contain the buffalo population growth (Ham 2022). With more available resources and land to grow, feral pigs grew to become an abundant source of food for a native ape