Composting vs. Reducing: Finding a Happy Medium for Food Consumption

 Social Value  1 Response »
Jul 202011
 

by Kathryn Cai

Part of the reason why I love the summertime is that I’m so happy and carefree. I can bask in sunshine all day long and play outside surrounded by growing things. It would be silly to overlook, however, the contribution that food brings to my happy, healthy mentality. In the summer, I happily admit my  consumption of alarmingly large quantities of fresh fruit and produce. I am among the fortunate, however, when it comes to getting enough to eat, and furthermore getting enough that is healthy for me to eat.

The Food Security Assessment of the USDA (measuring food security in developing countries for the coming decade) estimates that Continue reading »

Bringing Sustainability to the Printed Word

 Social Value  1 Response »
Jul 062011
 

Can books survive e-books?

by Kathryn Cai (UG ’11)

As a reader I cherish the complete experience of reading a book:  the weight of it in my hands, the smell of the pages, the permanence of the words, and most especially, because every good book claims a little part of me, the knowledge that I can reopen the same pages and return to the self I was when I was first so captured by its words. Even in light of my (creepy?) love affair with print books, the advent of e-book readers made me briefly wonder if I should abandon paper and ink for a more sustainable way to feed my literary habit. As it turns out, however, there seems to be a solution, as booksellers are becoming increasingly aware of sustainability and many are going a step further to integrate both social and environmental concerns into their business models. Continue reading »