ECOSPIRED

  Plastic pollution is a huge environmental issue that is affecting every corner of the world. This past month I heard many shocking statistics and facts about how plastic has taken over. Specifically, I was listening to the “ Green and Gritty ” podcast  where they talked about  Greenwashing .  One host mentioned how when the “plastic straw revolution” occurred Starbucks decided to replace their dome lid and straw with a sippy cup, a great way to reduce plastic waste! Or so we thought. She continued to explain that the new sippy cup contained more plastic than the previous straw and lid combination, so in reality, it was a step backwards. Hearing this news was shocking to me, hence I decided to do some digging into the plastic kingdom the earth has become and why we cannot escape it.      The current state of plastic pollution on this planet is horrifying. We produce 381 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly (this is expected to double by 2034), there are 5.25 trillion macro and micro

In the past month, the 1300 feet long Ever Given got stuck in the Suez Canal for six days. This event caused a huge setback in shipments and international exports, but how did it affect the environment? More generally, is the Suez Canal “eco-friendly”? After reading some articles about the environmental impact of the Suez Canal, I came across mixed opinions and captivating information which had to be shared.  The building of the Suez Canal began in 1859 when Ferdinand de Lesseps , a French consul to Cairo made an agreement to build a 100-mile canal to connect the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The canal allowed a direct shipping route from the East to the West which significantly decreased the maritime travel time as seem in the image below. However, ships were not the only ones taking advantage of this shortcut. The construction of the Suez Canal created an invasive corridor, it acted as a passage for foreign species from the Red Sea to enter the Mediterranean Sea. Once organisms from t

As an environmental advocate, I generally side with the greener options as I believe that they are an investment for our future. However, we must not forget that environmental justice and social justice go hand to hand. Not every pro-environmental decision is an advantage to society and the economy. The controversy following President Joe Biden 's decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline was related to its social and economic effects. Many were happy for his commitment to the environment, while others believed it was a financial mistake. For this blog, I decided to see this event through the lens of both sides in order to fully understand the controversy. As environmentalists, we want people to hear our thoughts, so we must also listen to the opposer. The Current Keystone Pipeline The Keystone Pipeline transports tar sand oil from Alberta to the middle and end of the United States. Alberta gets these large amounts of crude oil from the Canadian Boreal forest and has been d

  During my first year as an Environmental Engineering student, I took a course called "Earth Engineering." It was mainly about soil mechanics, yet the first lesson discussed the natural resources left on this earth, and how humans use them everyday. The most surprising fact was the amount of freshwater on our planet, which is barely anything!! As the years go by, experts keep warning us about the arising water scarcity problem. We have already heard many horror stories like the Flint water crisis, and there are many more to come. To learn more about our current situation, I wrote about the present water issues and their unknown future. As the planet continues to warm and the world population endlessly grows, the need for water is increasing at a dangerous pace. Majority of the planet is water, however fresh water is the main source of drinking water for humans, and it only constitutes about 1/10,000th of one percent of the total water; of this minute amount, 68.7% is loc