Author: Emily

I Didn’t Fly in 2022

The last time I flew was September 4th, 2021, to get to college for the start of my senior year. That’s 479 days ago. That fall, I made the decision to stop flying for at least one year. Why? Because flying airplanes emits emits a massive amount of greenhouse gases. I’d been vaguely aware for… Continue reading I Didn’t Fly in 2022

What’s the Plan for Plastic? (Pt. I)

I’m excited to share the first part of a deep dive I’ve been working on for the past two months (hence the lack of #content lately). Enjoy! The ubiquity of plastic is hard to overstate. You might wake up, squeeze some toothpaste out of a polyethylene tube onto the nylon bristles of a polypropylene toothbrush,… Continue reading What’s the Plan for Plastic? (Pt. I)

The State of U.S. Energy in 5 Graphs

I wanted to make a version of my previous post but focusing exclusively on the US. So, here’s the state of energy in the United States in 5 figures. All charts are made by me unless otherwise cited, and data sources are cited. Primary energy consumption by source and sector Primary energy is the energy… Continue reading The State of U.S. Energy in 5 Graphs

The State of Energy in Five Graphs

I think it’s important to know some basic facts about energy. Here are the five favorite figures I’ve collected for this, some made by me. 1: Global primary energy consumption by source[1] World energy consumption has increased dramatically in recent history, a trend that’s more exponential than linear. There’s an ~800% increase since 1950, mainly… Continue reading The State of Energy in Five Graphs

Mini-Review: All Possible Views…Are Wild by Holden Karnofsky

This is a response to “All Possible Views About Humanity’s Future Are Wild,” a blog post by Holden Karnofsky. In this post, Karnofsky explains why he thinks “all possible views about humanity’s future are wild.” The argument is a little winding. He says that it seems “wild” that humans will eventually colonize the galaxy, but… Continue reading Mini-Review: All Possible Views…Are Wild by Holden Karnofsky

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World Vegan Day 2021

I was polishing off the last bits of my dinner, scrolling on my phone, when I noticed that today was November 1st, World Vegan Day. I thought back to what I’d had today, and decided to write a quick post about it to show an easy day of vegan eating. This morning was off to… Continue reading World Vegan Day 2021

Review: Motivating Pro-Environmental Behavior with Self Determination Theory

Social change is necessary for a sustainable society. But how can we best make this social change? This is the question that the pro-environmental behavior (PEB) area of psychology tries to answer. This paper combines two types of psychological theories to propose a refreshed theory of PEB and strategies to go with it.

Review: The Magical Thinking of Degrowth

This is a review of the blog post Degrowth: Solving the Impasse by Magical Thinking by Branko Milanovic. An exciting new activity—my first blog post about another blog post. Am I a degrowther? Maybe. I don’t think I’m well-versed enough yet on these matters to label myself with a position. But from what I’ve written… Continue reading Review: The Magical Thinking of Degrowth

Review: OECD Decoupling Indicators and Decoupling for Ecological Sustainability

The OECD defines “decoupling” as ” breaking the link between ‘environmental bads’ and ‘economic goods.’”1 To put it more vividly, this is generally understood as having economic growth happen without increased resource use and its associated environmental damage. An economy could get more decoupled by selling a more fuel-efficient car instead of an inefficient one,… Continue reading Review: OECD Decoupling Indicators and Decoupling for Ecological Sustainability