everyday life through an environmentalist lens
Becoming an environmental scientist completely changed the way I view the world.
Before, I moved through life, never giving much thought to what I was consuming or where it came from. A banana at the grocery store was just an afternoon snack. My phone was a way to connect with friends, or a distraction from doing homework. I could grab a bottle of shampoo from Target when I ran low.
Then I became an ecologist. Suddenly, every minute detail of everyday life took on enormous significance. That banana was a tropical fruit, being grown on a plantation in South America where the natural forest had likely been clearcut to make room for non-native trees. My phone represented thousands of hours of precious metal mining, which both ravaged the landscape and abused workers. A bottle of shampoo was made out of plastic that would realistically never be recycled, destined to break down into tiny pieces that poisoned our oceans.
I was horrified that I had never before considered where items originated from, who made them, how long it took, or what resources were being depleted in the process.
And I was incredibly overwhelmed. Target is no longer fun when you’re trying to calculate the carbon emissions it took to make all of their inventory (and we all know Target is supposed to be fun).
I know I’m not the only one to have these realizations. Sustainability is trendy right now. Influencers, brands, and corporations have all jumped on the sustainable bandwagon (some with more integrity than others), and it feels like the whole world suddenly developed a shared consciousness of plastic straws.
But it’s difficult to dive deeper. To understand the actual ecological impacts behind our everyday decisions. To think critically not just about products and practices, but about the way our entire society is structured. To inform ourselves enough to make lasting change for our planet and each other.
I don’t pretend to be the authority on ecology and environmentalism, but I have learned a lot, as a graduate student, as a field researcher, and as someone who just loves nature. I think about the environment constantly and I want to share my knowledge.
I want this blog to be a place to ponder our everyday lives, chat about news and culture, have some laughs, and challenge the norm, all through an ecological lens. I hope that with this humble little Substack I can encourage you to think deeply about the ways in which environmentalism can permeate your day-to-day.