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Category: Social and environmental issues

These posts cover social and environmental issues most relevant to ethical consumerism – from corporate ethics to climate, population, agriculture and us.

Social and environmental issues related to our food chain are covered here, including slavery, organic agriculture, and deforestation. And an homage to cooking – the most fundamental form of activism.

Controversial ingredients, from palm oil to microbeads, as well as packaging travesties, from bottled water to disposable coffee cups, are also covered here.

There are also a couple of posts on the key issue of human population growth, and how it’s tied to ethical consumerism.

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.
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The carbon footprint of Christmas

The carbon footprint of Christmas, graph from How Bad Are Bananas. The graph shows his estimates for the carbon footprint of Christmas (per person) in three scenarios: low-, average- and high-waste. The carbon footprints are 0, 0.3, and 1.5 tonnes of CO2, respectively.
November 24, 2022November 22, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 2 Comments

As COP27 wraps up and we get closer to welcoming 2023, it seems appropriate to talk about the carbon footprint of Christmas. I think that most of us would actually like to not destroy the planet and yet seem to forget about what’s really important during the holiday season (Christmas in particular).

New ethical consumerism site

Ethical Bargains site logo - the letters EB are shown in green and blue, respectively.
November 20, 2022November 21, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 2 Comments

An ethical guide and an exploration of the Food Tech industry – specifically new developments in the plant-based food space.

Re-Up Refill Shop in Oakland

September 25, 2022September 23, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ Leave a comment

The Re-Up Refill Shop, based in Oakland, California, offers zero-waste solutions for most of the stuff that you need for your home. US residents dump more than their own body weight in plastic every year. Half of it is packaging.

Wake Up! Extreme heat will worsen

July 20, 2022July 19, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 13 Comments

Temperature in London reached 40°C (104°F) for the first time ever; Ireland set a 135-year heat record; fires burn across Europe; one third of Americans are under heat advisories; this will get worse; the way to prevent it is known.

Dairy vs vegan butters in Europe

June 11, 2022October 4, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 6 Comments

Supermarket shelves are dominated by two kinds of butter: conventional dairy-based butter or plant-based vegan butter made from palm oil. Vegan butters are more sustainable than dairy butter, but ideally should be palm-oil free. I found two that I like.

The ethical issues with dairy farming

May 22, 2022May 17, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 3 Comments

Still undecided whether to choose dairy or vegan butter? Using cow’s milk as an example, here’s a list of the three most basic ethical issues with dairy farming. Solutions are also explored.

Last word from the IPPC before things really heat up

April 24, 2022April 18, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 1 Comment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working group 3 (wg3) released its sixth assessment report (AR6) at the end of March, 2022. This post will summarize that report, which is likely to be the last major report from the IPCC before we all start melting like popsicles.

IPCC AR6 wg2 report summary

March 6, 2022March 8, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 6 Comments

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) working group 2 (wg2) released its sixth assessment report (AR6) at the end of February. Here are some key points from the Summary for Policymakers and the Technical Summary.

Energy sanctions against Russia

February 26, 2022March 4, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 13 Comments

The US should impose energy sanctions against Russia. Reduced Russian oil imports may lead to an increase in prices, but this is long overdue and provides the best incentive to transition to renewable energy. This post outlines some ways you can help.

A realistic guide to recycling

January 22, 2022January 22, 2022 ~ jkaybay ~ 14 Comments

I think it’s best to be pragmatic about recycling, rather than "wish-cycling" and then patting yourself on the back. Recycling rules vary by region (look them up for your city / county) but this post provides some generally applicable guidelines.

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