These posts cover social and environmental issues most relevant to ethical consumerism – from corporate ethics to climate, population, agriculture and us.
I spent a good amount of time researching the plight of the bees and you’ll find four posts on that subject here (start with part 1). It says a lot about the lengths (and depths) that certain industries will go to in order to keep selling their products.
There are also a couple of posts on the important issue of human population growth, and how it’s tied to ethical consumerism.
Controversial ingredients, from palm oil to microbeads, as well as packaging travesties, from bottled water to disposable coffee cups, are also covered here.
Social and environmental issues related to our food chain are also covered here, including slavery, organic agriculture, and deforestation. And an homage to cooking – the most fundamental form of activism.
There are also a few posts about how to hold it all together and keep your cool with all of the above going on – from Eckhart Tolle to mindfulness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic tourists, the carbon footprint of the short flight is roughly equivalent to a 25-year carbon footprint for the average person. The money spent on a couple of minutes above the clouds could be used to save around 100 human lives.
This is part 2 of my ethical review of Amazon, and it will broadly examine the topic of Amazon’s ethics and social responsibility. (Part 1 focused on the Amazon Dash program.) I think the best way to start is by looking at what Amazon has to say about itself in its latest sustainability report. Amazon’s … Continue reading Amazon ethics and social responsibility
Hey Folks. I think we all have different ways of dealing with the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. The first thing for me was to start looking back – to Rodney King in LA, 1991, Oscar Grant in Fruitvale station in Oakland, 2009, Eric Garner in New York, 2014, and Michael … Continue reading Racial equality and ethical consumerism
It’s already three months since I asked you to vote in the poll: How Ethical is Amazon? In this post I’m going to show the poll results and also ask myself that same question. I came to realize that Amazon simply doesn’t value sustainability. I had a growing feeling of unhappiness with Amazon that spanned various topics but the last straw was the introduction of Amazon Dash buttons.
Bayer’s imidacloprid is one of the most widely used insecticides and belongs to a group of pesticides known as neonics (or neonicitinoids), which target insects’ nervous systems. Following extensive research I present a risk/benefit analysis for imidacloprid. Neonics are often used by default, for example as seed coatings, and yet offer no benefit in many cases. The risks, on the other hand, are sobering and demand immediate action.
Earlier in March, USA Today reported that bestselling Seresto flea collars have been linked to 1700 pet deaths in the US – and that’s just going by the number reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the actual number is expected to be higher. The story originated from Johnathan Hettinger at the Midwest Center for … Continue reading Seresto flea collar & imidacloprid
Canada and the US have recognized China’s treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as genocide. Up to 1.8 million Uyghurs have been detained in camps for “re-education” under brutal conditions. At least two investigations have found that Uyghurs are subjected to forced labor in companies that supply and manufacture electronics and textiles for major multinational companies. Three of them, Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola, have been lobbying to water down the proposed Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Carbios, a small French company that specializes in green chemistry, announced yesterday the recycling of waste polyester clothing into clear water bottles. This is exciting news because options for recycling of polyester or mixed-fiber clothing are very limited – usually limited to down-cycling rather than true recycling. I’ll get to the technology in a moment, … Continue reading Ethical Investing – Carbios recycles polyester clothing
Cars have been honking and people cheering all day today here in Berkeley since the election result was announced, and there's a general feeling of optimism and elation.
The top reason to vote against Donald Trump is his character. There, I've said it. And I mean character in the broad sense to include both his personality/temperament and character traits (here are two Psychology Today blog posts explaining the difference between personality and character and where temperament fits in). Voters: Consider this possibility, that … Continue reading The top reason to vote against Trump
