Sustainability and Society – Tigers Go Green

Incorporating Sustainability Into Campus Dining Operations

Written by: Ella Villacorta

Princeton University’s Campus Dining is doing its part to make the campus more sustainable and help fulfill the University’s Sustainability Action Plan. Campus Dining has implemented many green-friendly initiatives into its daily practices and infrastructure in order to help reduce the campus’s net carbon emissions. For starters, they have conducted an energy audit of every dining facility on campus to evaluate the energy usage of their buildings. This allows them to assess which locations and equipment are using the most energy so they can target energy-saving practices and protocol. In a similar vein, Campus Dining has also started to move away from gas products and towards electric equipment. While there are costs associated with this transition to electric appliances in terms of money and availability of products, Campus Dining is committed to becoming more sustainable with their cooking practices. They have even implemented certain design standards for dining halls moving forward, such as working to include more electric appliances in the current Hobson College construction project and replacing old kitchen appliances with electric alternatives in existing facilities. Even small changes, such as adding aerators on sinks and shutting exhaust hoods when not in use, can reduce the water and energy consumption of dining facilities.

In addition to incorporating green-friendly equipment into dining halls, Campus Dining chefs also take sustainability into consideration when cooking and preparing meals. For example, the kitchen staff implements ways to cook that consume less water, such as by using steam ovens to cook and roasting vegetables to avoid boiling and wasting excess water. The Yeh and New College West dining staff also find ways to use the seeds and stems of produce when cooking, like how they make their own hot sauce with zero waste produced. Campus Dining and the dining hall staff are taking steps to stay conscious of their water and energy usage in day-to-day operations and maintain sustainable practices when cooking. Campus Dining chefs also take into consideration the carbon impact of their menus. Most notably, the dining hall cooking staff has been working to reduce beef and red meat use and to instead replace red meat with other protein alternatives. For example, the blended burger available at the grills in the dining halls and at Frist is only 60% grass-fed halal beef; the other 40% is local mushrooms. The kitchen staff are also looking for ways to cut out palm oil and other high carbon-footprint producing products from their menus.

Aside from the green-friendly equipment and cooking practices implemented in the dining halls, Campus Dining also takes great strides in trying to source food locally. Whether that be by buying fresh produce locally when in season (like tomatoes, frozen blueberries, beans, vegetables), using dairy products that are from a company that works with local dairy farms, or providing bread from local bakeries, Campus Dining keeps local farmers and businesses in mind when it comes to sourcing ingredients. Even the honey, ice cream, pasta, and tofu are bought from local businesses. Sometimes, Campus Dining even partners with vendors from the Princeton University Farmers’ Market to source food, as is the case with the peanut butter served in the dining halls, which is from the local business Nutty Novelties. Campus Dining also serves baked goods (like cakes and cookies) that are made in-house in the Campus Dining Bake Shop located on the lower level of Madison Hall. Despite these efforts to source food locally and support local rather than conventional farms, there are growing difficulties in buying ingredients locally.

An image from the Campus Dining stand at the 2025 Farmers Market featuring local asparagus, pea shoots, micro greens and mushrooms.

Campus Dining has committed to using cage-free eggs since 2006. However, shell eggs have become increasingly difficult to procure in recent times. Rather than returning to conventional eggs, Campus Dining has instead transitioned to using cage free liquid eggs while shell eggs are not available. Similarly, Campus Dining historically served domestic orange juice in the dining halls, but Florida’s Natural, the brand served on campus, does not use all Florida-based oranges anymore. Thus, it is getting harder for Campus Dining to serve only nationally grown produce. Sometimes, in spite of Campus Dining’s efforts to support more sustainable businesses, there are uncontrollable issues that can become roadblocks in the path to sustainability.

Sustainable practices outside of the dining hall

Aside from incorporating sustainable practices into the dining halls, Campus Dining also maintains a sustainability-forward mindset for their non-dining locations. In the Frist Food Gallery, for example, they close down certain food stations for dinner service to prevent food wastage. Campus Dining decides which stations should stay open for a given meal period based on historical data for that station at that meal time. They also repackage leftover food from different stations to further reduce wasted food. Campus Dining also collaborates with SCRAPPY and a First Year Seminar to conduct post-consumer collection of compostable disposables and food waste in the Food Gallery. Using these data, they can do research on the effects of using plant-based compostable disposables to evaluate their effectiveness as sustainable practices. Reusable bowls are also now back at Frist and Campus Dining satellite locations, further reducing unnecessary waste.

An image of the composting compactors in the Frist Food Gallery.

For their catered events, Campus Dining incorporates green-friendly practices by composting rather than disposing uneaten and leftover food. They also do not provide any sort of plastic at their events, including plastic water bottles and utensils. Instead, they opt for more recyclable alternatives, like metal water bottles and compostable silverware and plates. Occasionally, there is difficulty in keeping the catered events plastic-free, though, because event hosts will sometimes provide plastics themselves, but Campus Dining makes it a point to not contribute to single-use plastic usage through their catering services.

The future of Campus Dining Sustainability

As Campus Dining looks towards the future, the next biggest sustainability hurdle to tackle is the issue of wasted food. While Campus Dining has already taken steps to reduce wasted food from cooking, like through certain cooking practices, as previously mentioned, the greatest concern currently is reducing student wasted food. This past April, Campus Dining, along with students from the EcoReps program and the Undergraduate Student Government Sustainability Committee (USG Sus Comm), rolled out the first phase of the reducing student food waste campaign. New napkin inserts promoting students to think about their own wasted food were implemented into all of the residential college dining halls, the Center for Jewish Life dining hall, and the Frist Campus Center eatery. These napkin inserts also include a QR code to a survey, run by the USG Sus Comm, that asks students why they wasted food at a given meal and how Campus Dining can improve for the future. Campus Dining is hoping to take the information gathered from this survey and incorporate it into future work to address this problem. Stay tuned for the fall to hear more about this issue and how Campus Dining, in joint efforts with the EcoReps program and the USG Sus Comm, are trying to counteract it!

Thank you to Sarah Bavuso and Lauren Belinsky from Campus Dining for their guidance in writing this post. You can take the food waste survey here.

Financing Sustainability: A Princeton Alumna’s Perspective on Shaping a Greener Future

Authors: Sunrit Panda ’25 & Jason Luo ’25

In an enlightening conversation, Amber Mahone GS ’07, a Princeton alumna and managing partner at the environmental consulting firm E3, shared her insights on the critical role of finance in steering the world toward sustainability. As members of the Office of Sustainability and EcoRep leaders at Princeton University, we had the opportunity to explore with Mahone the intricate relationship between financial mechanisms and environmental goals.

Image Credit: E3

Understanding the Finance-Sustainability Nexus

Mahone passionately describes the intersection of finance and sustainability, emphasizing its indispensability by expressing “In order to achieve a more sustainable future, we need money to finance that transition.” She underscores the challenge posed by the initial capital required for clean energy and sustainable solutions. Despite long-term savings and broader societal benefits, these initiatives demand financial backing to transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a greener future.

Strategic Projects Paving the Way

Mahone’s recent work with the state of California exemplifies practical approaches to sustainability. “I recently supported the state of California in developing their plan … to a net-zero future by 2045,” she shares. This project required a comprehensive evaluation of strategies across the energy sector, focusing on solutions for low-income customers and financing for renewable energy and transmission infrastructure. Her work highlights the complex layers involved in realizing a net-zero emissions target.

Image Credit: Tom Swinnen

State-Level Progress and Comparative Analysis

In discussing the progress of various states towards sustainability, Mahone discussed some other states that share California’s ambitious goals. “Well, New York state is right up there with California. They are neck and neck in terms of ambition,” Mahone acknowledged. Her experience in supporting New York’s scoping plan, alongside other states and universities like Princeton, reflects a growing national movement towards sustainability. “I really see this accelerating in terms of corporations, private institutions and states taking action to fill the void where the federal government hasn’t been able to do much,” Mahone observes, while highlighting a shift in responsibility towards smaller entities.

Global Aspirations for Clean Energy

When asked about her hopes for clean energy globally, Mahone emphasizes the urgency of the situation. “We need to achieve net zero and climate stabilization,” she asserts. It’s more than a hope; it’s an imperative. She acknowledges the challenges, particularly the existing system’s inertia around fossil fuels. “It’s going to take a lot of capital, a lot of policy, a lot of individual actions to make that transition,” Mahone explains, calling for widespread involvement from all societal sectors.

A Personal Path to Bridging Finance and Sustainability

Reflecting on her journey, Mahone credits her undergraduate experiences and her time at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) as formative in her understanding of sustainability’s financial aspects. “I saw how much fossil fuels and the need for fossil fuels drove the future of these companies,” she recalls. Her reading of Daniel Yergin’s “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power” during high school was a turning point, helping her grasp the profound impact of energy on global politics. “If we can change, you know, that narrative, we’ll have a very different world that is hopefully more sustainable,” she reflects.

Conclusion

Amber Mahone’s perspective as a Princeton alumna and environmental consultant offers a unique lens into the complex relationship between finance and sustainability. Her experiences and insights underscore the necessity of innovative financial solutions to support the global transition to a sustainable future. This conversation not only highlights the critical role of finance in environmental efforts but also serves as a call to action for institutions, states, and individuals to contribute to this vital movement.

Read the full interview transcript below:

In your own words, how do you describe the intersection between finance and sustainability (ESG)?

So, in order to achieve a more sustainable future we need money to finance that transition. Clean energy and the more sustainable solutions, they often come with an upfront capital cost. Even if there are savings over the lifetime of the equipment, even if there are long term societal benefits, there’s still an upfront capital cost that requires a financial solution. And so financing is essential to transition us away from a fossil fuel economy to a sustainable future.

What is a project you’ve worked on recently and how did it lead to cleaner energy and a more sustainable future?

I recently supported the state of California in developing their plan, they call it their scoping plan to a net zero future by 2045. And that involved looking across the entire energy economy to evaluate what are the strategies and solutions needed to hit that net zero target. So, there’s a lot that goes into that. But um, coming up with solutions to support low-income customers is part of that transition. Coming up with ways to finance the renewables, finance the transmission, those are all necessary to achieve net zero in California, and that’s something we looked at closely.

I imagine California is pretty robust and they are ahead of many other states in terms of getting to Net Zero carbon emissions. Is that statement true?

Well so, New York state is right up there with California. They are neck in neck in terms of ambition. And, we supported New York in their scoping plan. There’s actually a lot of states that are taking action and a lot of universities as well. And, it’s great to hear that Princeton is a part of that effort. I really see this accelerating in terms of corporations, private institutions, states, taking action to fill the void where the federal government hasn’t been able to do much.

What hopes do you have for clean energy in our global future?

We need to achieve net zero and climate stabilization. It’s not a hope as much as it is an imperative. There are a lot of challenges though to get there, and a big one is the inertia in our existing system around fossil fuels. And, it’s going to take a lot of capital, it’s going to take a lot of policy, it’s going to take a lot of individual actions to make that transition. But it’s every company, it’s every person, it’s every individual has a role to play in that transition. That’s my hope that more people and more companies get involved.

How has your personal journey led you to a career that bridges finance, consulting, and sustainability?

Yeah well I think it started when I was in undergrad. I did a program where I traveled around the world to different countries, and we were spinning sustainable development. And I saw how much fossil fuels and the need for fossil fuels drove the future of these companies. And when I worked at the IMF that was a big theme there as well, just the role of fossil fuels in developing countries’ financial outlook. And so that brought around the idea that the U.S. can play such an important global role in changing that trajectory. So, that’s maybe the other thing I will add actually is when I was in high school I read this book called “The Prize” by Daniel Yergin… It’s excellent, you should check it out if you haven’t seen it. But it’s all about how energy has shaped the history of the world, and that was an ‘aha’ moment for me when I realized, okay, energy is such a power force in global world wars and the shaping of global geopolitics. If we can change, you know, that narrative, we’ll have a very different world that is hopefully more sustainable. You should really read “The Prize.”

Tracing Traceability

Author: Aditi Desai ’24

Traceability is the process of identifying and tracking a product’s creation process from raw material to finished goods. Conveying traceability data is an extremely useful tool to communicate information about the product as it moves through the value chain. Traceability is a particularly impactful tool for advancing sustainability objectives, but it still has a long way to go before it is an integral part of sustainable supply chain management, and before it is widely used by companies.

Image credit: Bhushan Suryawanshi

[Part 1]: How does traceability advance sustainability in global supply chains?

Although traceability schemes have slightly different definitions, they all reference a process by which a product moves from its original raw material extraction and production phase to the final customer. The original ISO definition of traceability is “the ability to identify and trace the history, distribution, location, and application of products, parts, and materials.”

In the context of sustainability, traceability is a tool to assure and verify sustainability claims associated with commodities and products, ensuring good practice and respect for people and the environment all along the supply chain. The value of traceability with regard to sustainability comes from the realizability of information coming from a traceable system. For example, schemes ensuring that minerals are not sourced from conditions of armed conflict (known as “conflict minerals”) aim to address the human rights abuses in conflict areas and avoid purchasing materials that can directly or indirectly finance and increase the intensity of those conflicts. Programs that certify the use of products that are grown in sustainable cultivations, whether they relate to food (e.g., cocoa, nuts, or coffee) or to other commodities (e.g., cotton or wood), can have numerous effects on the environment, from the reduction of carbon footprints to the prevention of deforestation.

[Part 2]: What does traceability look like today?

With current technology available to trace each raw material that goes into a product and follow how a product is used and where it is discarded, traceability has emerged as both a feasible and effective front. In fact, digital traceability enables companies to meet and balance a broader set of business objectives, including efficiency, resilience, responsiveness, and sustainability. Across most industries and sectors, we are already starting to see companies with traceable supply chains. For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, WHO estimates that around 11 percent of medicines in developing countries are counterfeit and that “anywhere from 100,000 to a million people die each year due to falsified drugs” (World Economic Forum). Recalls of medications are often unavoidable when a product is contaminated or deemed unsafe. Thus, traceability provides a potentially life-saving informational perspective on pharmaceutical products, such as status confirmation and expiry date.

[Part 3]: How do we make traceability more transparent? [Case study in the menstrual industry]

Companies are rushing to more closely track materials across their supply chains (due to new regulations and environmental laws). To dive into an industry-specific example, over the past few years, feminine hygiene products have been turning up contaminated by PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. These “forever chemicals” are ubiquitous and persistent manufacturing chemicals that have been linked to a range of health issues by the EPA. In a series of analyses commissioned between 2020 and 2022, it was found that 48 percent of sanitary pads and liners were found to contain PFAS. Thus, there has been a major push to develop cleaner and more sustainably made period products, such as menstrual cups and underwear.

In the realm of menstrual products, the company August has demonstrated the power of traceability and digital communication to its users through its online platform. Moreover, Aisle is another sustainable period product company that prioritizes traceability as demonstrated through its partnership with the B-corp certification. This allows a third party to run a comprehensive analysis of Aisle’s supply chain, the sourcing of their materials, and their after-life product management. Having a non-biased standardized source means more transparency between the companies and consumers and accountability for said companies.

Image Credit: Aisle

For Aisle, sustainability means that the company’s products are made using traceable raw materials verified by their cradle-to-grave tracing processes. In other words, it’s not just about the textile that period garments are made of, but the process that gets the products to the consumer.

Traceability, while a technical term, allows consumers to track the cycle of a product. This comprehensive insight helps those wanting to support sustainable companies, and “vote with one’s dollar.”

EJ implications of the Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

Author: Jayla Cornelius ’23

On February 6th at 4:17 am, destruction hit both the south-central Turkish city of Nurdağı and the Syrian city of Jinderis. Tectonic plates stretching eleven miles underneath this city began moving side by side in opposite directions which, in geological studies, is referred to as a strike-slip fault. The Arabian and Anatolian plates moved past each other and weakened the structural integrity of ten neighboring cities in the area. In the middle of the night, the fault yielded and the crust began to crack, releasing stored energy that was the equivalent of “roughly 8 million tons of TNT.” 23 million people have been directly affected and 7,000 of those residents have been declared deceased. Those near the epicenter of this 7.8 magnitude earthquake stood by in mourning, some of which took shelter in their cars, and waited for the possible aftershock of this already gruesome natural phenomenon. For those unfamiliar, aftershocks commonly take place after the main quake but as time passes and the earth begins to settle, they become increasingly rare. You can think of an aftershock as a reverberation in the earth’s crust as seismic waves (which dissipate the further you are from the epicenter) travel in a curving path due to changes in composition, pressure, and temperature within the layers of the Earth. The most dangerous period after the quake usually takes place within three days of the main shock for inland earthquakes such as the one in Turkey and Syria. For earthquakes occurring in the sea area, they can be seen as much as ten days later.

On February 15th, Sean Kivlehan, assistant professor of Global Health and Population at Harvard, spoke about his Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) and how shelter remains a huge concern in multiple areas of Syria which was already going through a separate humanitarian crisis. The health system was deemed fragmented and inadequate even prior to the earthquake and the level of aid required only skyrocketed further. The interruption of work and limited/nonexistent access to education force people to relocate to unknown and possibly more dangerous environments. These sensitive events surrounding Turkey and Syria have affected people all over the world and the uncertain future of both the infrastructure and economy leaves many people restless and worried.

As an environment-related blog, we hope to not only inform students about the events occurring all over the world but also emphasize the emotional toll that such events take on a number of us. The devastation ravaged on these Turkish and Syrian cities can be mitigated with more effective enforcement of building code regulations that require infrastructure plans to meet a certain standard before beginning construction. While we cannot change the past, we can learn from these events and require that both politicians and developers in cities all over the world provide an adequate level of diligence when attempting to sign off on plans that may not be up to standard for the area. This post is not meant to dive into the structural reasons of why more buildings than necessary collapsed during this event, but it is important to know that you can also help by focusing on the engineers tasked with building these structures as a way to advocate for environmental justice. For the Turkish and Syrian aid relief specifically, organizations seeking to provide aid should be in correspondence with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA). As always, please visit the links below and/or explore articles on your own to stay informed.

Helpful Links:

The Turkey-Syria earthquake’s humanitarian challenges

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1154913148/turkey-earthquake-fault-lines-syria#:~:text=This%20was%20a%20%22strike%2Dslip,sliding%20past%20the%20Anatolian%20Plate.

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/11/1156305956/earthquake-survivors-in-northern-syria-already-ravaged-by-war-are-unable-to-rece#:~:text=Ghaith%20Alsayed%2FAP-,People%20walk%20past%20collapsed%20buildings%20on%20Thursday%20in%20the%20town,massive%20earthquake%20devastated%20the%20region.

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2023/02/turkey-earthquake-death-toll-seismic-waves/672978/

Black Women and the Inherent Racism of Redlining

Author: Jayla Cornelius ’23

The textbook definition of redlining is “the discriminatory practice of denying services (typically financial) to residents of certain areas based on their race or ethnicity.” Very commonly in the world of mortgage lending practices and homeownership, people of color are denied loans and renting contracts because of preexisting stereotypes amongst realtors that often deem them as incapable of keeping up with the property and/or making timely payments. This is, at least, what they claimed was their reason behind denying millions of African Americans access to certain neighborhoods across the country. But, as we dig deeper, we can uncover a long history of discriminatory practices that have strategically and effectively pushed Black Americans into certain areas, usually more decrepit ones, and creating a distinctive “red line.”

If we were to dive into historic records and search for obvious instances of redlining, we would have a pretty unsuccessful turnout. The reason why this modern form of segregation has been able to persist for so long is because of its slightly elusive nature. Minority neighborhoods were stigmatized by being labeled as “High Risk” or “Hazardous” from supposedly credible sources like the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) that has created residential security maps of America’s major cities. Appraisers, loan officers, and real estate professionals then use this as evidence to funnel white homeowners into the more affluent, better-kept neighborhoods. Notably, this strategy not only works to keep white homeowners away from minority neighborhoods, but as you begin to associate certain areas with hazard, you begin to label the people as hazardous also.

Because the rabbit hole of bad housing practices is never-ending, I will now focus the rest of this article on specific instances where black women have been such targets of these bad housing practices. Since the 1970s, many real estate agents have taken advantage of the financial barriers and hardships that Black women endure to sell them mortgages on homes with inhabitable conditions. Yolanda, for example, is a homeowner in New Orleans’ predominantly Black 7th Ward who was backed into a corner and forced into a high-interest loan. The area is riddled with constant noise from the nearby interstate and higher rates of pollution than the adjacent neighborhoods. Many homes in this area are ladened with leaky roofs, broken pipes, and numerous other health and safety code violations. Climate change has continued to exacerbate this issue as increased rainfall and extreme temperatures will cause things like mold and mildew to fester in already unclean environments. Doris, a homeowner in Chicago, notes that “…so much water came in the basement that my washer and dryer was floating up on the water.”

This practice of selling homes to Black women that are in need of obvious repair is just one way that redlining can expose this demographic to unsafe environmental conditions. Things such as rotten wood and improper ventilation systems can cause various respiratory diseases and related health issues. The government has acknowledged their responsibility to help people suffering from housing discrimination but even this aid is “uneven and hard to obtain.” Through these findings and interviews from local residents such as Yolanda and Doris, we can recognize the disrepair of homes in certain areas as environmental racism that must be addressed in our environmental justice efforts.

This article’s main purpose is not to establish redlining as this new, harmful phenomenon. We have unequivocal proof that it has existed for decades. Our purpose is to keep this issue at the forefront of our minds as we continue the conversation around environmental justice issues. At face value, redlining may not seem to fit into the category of environmental injustices but if we continue putting Black women in homes with bad piping and non-potable water, it becomes an environmental issue. Instances such as the ones described above continue to put the health and safety of communities all over the country at an avoidable risk. Laws such as the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act that sought to combat redlining are still being maneuvered around in more discrete ways. While these elusive behaviors make our environmental justice efforts more difficult, the goal of creating equitable environments for all still remains possible. By engaging with this environmental justice series and keeping this conversation going, you are helping keep this issue at the forefront of this conversation so that, one day, we may all enjoy the feeling of safety and security within our respective communities in Princeton, and beyond.

Example of the original 1938 HOLC “Residential Security” map of Atlanta with color-coded gradation of neighborhoods by risk level. (Image Credit: Mapping Inequality Project, University of Richmond)

Sources:

https://theconversation.com/black-women-endure-legacy-of-racism-in-homeownership-and-making-costly-repairs-190881

HOLC “redlining” maps: The persistent structure of segregation and economic inequality

1977 Anti-redlining Law: https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/files/cra-npr-fr-notice-20220505.pdf

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/redlining.asp

Louisiana’s Slavery-Era Cemeteries Halt the Construction of a Petrochemical Facility

By: Jayla Cornelius

During the course of American history, many laws have been passed to help preserve historic sites and prevent large companies from unearthing sacred lands. The 1966 National Historic Preservation Act is an example of environmentalists’ attempts to require land developers to do adequate research and testing before obtaining approval for a construction site. The goals of this act were put into practice when Formosa, a Taiwanese industrial company, was met with swift backlash from community members living on the Buena Vista plantation in northern Louisiana. Residents hope to continue to formulate a political and legal case to prevent this facility’s construction, otherwise known as the “Sunshine Project.” In order to do this, they first had to dive about 200 years into past records to understand what truly took place on this plantation site that kept a long history of slaves in bondage.

Although there were many enslaved women, men, and children kept/kidnapped throughout the history of the United States, this case draws our attention to a particular young child named Rachel who died at the age of 11 in 1832 under unthinkable conditions. Although this is not the focus of this article, I would briefly like to acknowledge the “constant threat of disease, insufficient food, and rampant abuse” that many young children endured throughout all sections of America. Rachel’s name, amongst others, was uncovered fairly recently in a Louisiana archive and helps build the foundation to proving that this chemical facility may not only be of great environmental risk to surrounding residents but may also risk gravesite desecration.

Jane Patton, a campaign manager with a Washington DC organization, quotes that “the spiritual and religious significance of gravesites has been upheld by courts of law in the United States and in other countries over and over again.” Efforts from Jane and other members of grassroots organizations has continued to give voices and humanity back to people who had their identities taken away by slavery.

Fellow lovers of nature may understand me when I say that our environment often tells us all we need to know and speaks to us in various ways. In this case, nature tries to tell us the history of this terrain through various anomalies that might indicate gravesites. One of these anomalies is the clusters of vegetation still seen in otherwise flat and cultivated areas that could be remnants of past magnolia and/or willow trees that were often planted to celebrate the lives of those lost.

Telling the history of this land makes this story more real for people. The potential unearthing of Black residents’ ancestors and the potentially harmful chemicals being released from the site may be enough to halt the construction of yet another chemical plant inconveniently placed in a minority neighborhood. In this environmental justice series, I hope to provide short but coherent glimpses into injustices happening around the country. While I will continue to highlight environmental injustices that have negatively impacted many communities, I believe this story shows the brighter side of what can happen if we remain active on the front end to combat this harmful issue.

There is a long tradition, specifically in the South, of Black leaders doing their own extensive research and investigations to reclaim their land and, with that, their identities. This example in northern Louisiana shows how we as a community can combat the growing dangers of new fossil fuel infrastructure and work to protect any and all “descendants of men and women who were kidnapped from Africa; who survived the Middle Passage; who were transported to a foreign land; and then sold on auction blocks and enslaved.”

Here are some resources for anyone interested in exploring this issue further:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/20/formosa-sunshine-project-louisiana-rachel-buena-vista-plantation-taiwan

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/article_c58e7f22-3997-11ec-909f-9bdd7461a90c.html

https://www.reuters.com/legal/louisiana-judge-cancels-air-permits-controversial-plastics-plant-2022-09-15/

The Question Linking Countries Around the World: Should We Ban the Bag?

By: Jayla Cornelius

The permanent ban of plastic bag usage in commercial spaces has been an ongoing issue linking cities around the world. In countries like Australia, the conversation continues as the local government considers the institution of the “Plastics Reduction and Circular Economy Act.” This act, much like similar acts being proposed in other countries, aims to “protect the environment and human health … promote and support the principles of a circular economy (and) reduce the impact … of items, waste from items and waste material on the environment and human health,” according to Environment Minister James Griffin. This act took effect June 1, 2022 and these efforts are coupled with encouragement from businesses and local store owners for consumers to switch to reusable bags.

Image Credit: Anna Shvets via pexels.com

This conversation in Australia is just as important to the one that started in Bangladesh back in 2002 when it passed its landmark bill banning single-use bags. This was an interesting bill not only because it would go on to pioneer the plastic bag ban movement, but also because the punishments for violating this act brought an added seriousness to the issue. According to Rule 6ka of Clause-5 under Section-9 of the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, the penalty for using plastic bags/products made of polyethylene or poly-propeleyne was astounding. For production of these banned items: 10 years sentence of “vigorous prison” or a 1 million taka (10,750 USD) fine. For sale, store, distribution, transportation, or use for commercial purposes: 6 month sentence of vigorous prison or 10 thousand taka (107.50 USD) fine. Although this ban proved difficult to implement and enforce, it highlighted the importance and severity of the issue as it blatantly affected the surrounding ecosystems.

To bring this conversation back home, we can take a quick look at what is happening here, in the United States. According to the most recent report published on February 8, 2021 by the National Conference of State Legislatures, eight states—California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon and Vermont—have banned single-use plastic bags. The famous question of “should we ban the bag?” is coming under fire, however. Researchers at the University of Georgia found that specific California communities with this bag policy “saw sales of four-gallon trash bags increase by 55%, to 75%, and sales of eight-gallon trash bags increase 87%, to 110%.” The intentions of this ban seem to be backfiring as the demand for unregulated bags increased. Overall, the researchers deemed that the effects of the ban are a net positive but the data serves as a warning to all concerned that this will not be an easy issue to fix.

To wrap things up for now, I would like everyone to reflect on the detrimental effects that plastic disposal has had on our ecosystems for decades. A list of major contributors to plastic pollution have poisoned, starved, and killed over 100 million marine organisms each year. Over this time, many grassroots organizations have advocated for the removal of plastic sources ranging from plastic soda holder rings to plastic bottles and cutlery. I encourage everyone reading to join me in continuing this conversation and finding ways on campus, no matter how small, to help us move towards a cleaner world.

Here are some resources for anyone interested in exploring this issue further:

NSW plastic bag ban explained: How it affects you | news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site

Single Use Plastics Ban Burwood Council (nsw.gov.au)

The Biggest Contributors to Plastic Waste in our Oceans – How Everyday Australians Can do their Bit – Eat Pray Workout

Which Plastics are the Major Contributors to Plastic Pollution? | rePurpose Global Blog

Bangladesh: world leader in banning plastic bags – Ecospearbd

Are plastic bag bans backfiring? | TechCrunch

Good News Friday 5/6/22

Author: Camellia Moors ’22

Welcome to another edition of Good News Friday! Today, we’re covering the growth of wind power in the United States, a breakthrough in solar cell efficiency, and sustainability programs from cities around the world.

Image credit: Brett Sayles via pexels.com

Wind power becomes second-largest source of US electricity: According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity generation through wind power exceeded generation from coal- and nuclear-based sources to become the second-largest source of electricity nationally for the first time in American history on March 29. On that day, the combined wind turbines of the Lower 48 produced just over 2,000-gigawatt hours of electricity or 19% of the national energy mix. This follows a strong trend of growth in wind energy throughout the country. In the year 2000, for example, total annual US wind energy generation was approximately 6 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh); by 2021, that number increased to 380 billion kWh.

2. Engineers create more efficient energy-producing cells: Engineers at MIT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory recently designed a thermophotovoltaic (i.e., capable of directly converting heat to electricity) cell with an efficiency of over 40%, which exceeds the efficiency of traditional steam turbines. The new design can generate electricity from a heat source ranging between 1,900 and 2,400 degrees C. For context, most commercial photovoltaic panels (i.e., capable of converting sunlight to electricity) have an average efficiency of 15% to 20%.

3. A review of global cities’ sustainability programs: Around the world, cities have made their own commitments to sustainability goals. Copenhagen, Denmark is on track to achieve net-zero by 2025, 25 years before the country’s national net-zero target. Mumbai, India recently accelerated its own net-zero plans, moving its carbon neutrality target up by 20 years from 2070 to 2050. And Paris, France is engaging in experiments about a “15 minute city,” or the idea that everyone living within a city should have access to essential urban services within a 15-minute walk or bike, limiting transportation emissions. For extra details on these cities’ sustainability efforts, visit the original article here.

That’s all for this week! Check back next week for more positive environmental news. In the meantime, if you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!

Good News Friday 4/22/22

Author: Grace Liu ’23

Welcome back to Good News Friday and happy last week of classes! We’ve compiled a list of surprising and promising initiatives involving artificial whale poop, wind farming, and rewilding projects.

Artificial whale poop aids carbon capture: Whale poop is fertilizer for the ocean because it is rich in iron which is vital for plant growth. This allows the growth of phytoplankton, which sequester carbon. Inspired by this mechanism, a research group at the Centre for Climate Repair at Cambridge is trying to artificially encourage phytoplankton growth using artificial whale poop. The feces imitation consists of a mix of nitrates, phosphates, silicates, and iron stored in rice husks. Using this method, they hope to increase ocean sequestration of carbon up to 50% from its current 30%.

Results of rewilding: Rewilding is a progressive approach to conservation with the goal of restoring the natural dynamics of ecosystems. The Global Rewilding Alliance and OpenForests have released a map of rewilding projects around the world, covering projects in over 70 countries and spanning 1 million square kilometers. For example, the recovery of the European Bison population is one of the success stories of these rewilding projects.

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Wind farms in Iowa: Hundreds of farms around O’Brien County have built wind turbines in their fields to generate renewable electricity. This trend takes advantage of the strong winds in Iowa and makes the state one of the largest producers of renewable energy in the US. In fact, 57% of the energy produced in the state in the past year came from wind. This arrangement is mutually beneficial for farmers because they can sell the electricity generated in addition to the crops grown on the land.

That’s all for this week! Check back next week for more encouraging environmental news. If you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!

Good News Friday 4/15/22

Author: Camellia Moors ’22

Welcome to another edition of Good News Friday! Today, we’re covering Apple’s use of low-carbon aluminum, the development of a solar cell capable of generating electricity at night, and the creation of a new project to better understand thawing permafrost and help Arctic communities.

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Apple sources low-carbon aluminum: Apple recently announced that it intends to use the “first commercial-purity primary aluminum at industrial scale,” produced through “the world’s first direct carbon-free aluminum smelting process,” in its iPhone SE products. This new aluminum is produced by ELYSIS, a joint venture by Apple, Rio Tinto, Alcoa, and the governments of Québec and Canada. While this might not sound immediately revolutionary, aluminum production is well-known as an extremely carbon-intensive process, with 11.5 tons of CO2 per ton of aluminum produced emitted on average. As a result, this innovation in the smelting process could have a significant impact on global emissions, not least because Apple is expected to sell 30 million iPhone SEs this year.

2. Engineers develop nighttime solar panels: Engineers at Stanford University have developed a solar cell that can generate some electricity at night. The cell, which “incorporates a thermoelectric generator, which can pull electricity from the small difference in temperature between the ambient air and the solar cell itself,” produces enough electricity to power some nighttime lighting and off- and/or mini-grid applications.

3. Major permafrost study to be launched: This week, a coalition of scientists, policy experts, and advocates announced a 6-year, $41 million project to “fill in gaps in monitoring across the Arctic of greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost, currently a source of uncertainty in climate models,” and to “develop policies to help mitigate the global impact of permafrost emissions and, locally in Alaska, assist Native communities that are struggling with thawing ground and problems that arise from it.” The Arctic Institute, for example, predicts that an increase in global temperatures of 3° C (5.4° F) could melt 30-85% of the Arctic’s top permafrost layers.

That’s all for this week! Check back next week for more positive environmental news. In the meantime, if you’d like to share some Good News with us, please feel free to get in touch!