our trip west began in lincoln, where we first met a group of environmental and science journalists working with net nebraska. they shared stories of the characters they’ve interviewed. the environmental challenges faced by agriculture in the area. and the unique storytelling projects they led. 

inspired and with open minds — and ready to get to know each other — we hopped on i-80 in two vans, one driven by planet forward director dan reed, and the other by nebraska native and global consumer engagement leader at monsanto, holly butka, who also was the inspiration and lead coordinator for this trip. our trip would take us to gothenburg, and to sutherland — butka’s hometown.

we left early in the morning on our second day, with a bit of a drive still to go to get to the monsanto water research learning center in gothenburg. in true nebraskan fashion, the early morning air was already warm with the sun breaking through the clouds, promising a dry and sunny day. as the drive began, a glance to either side of the road revealed only endless fields of green and gold, scattered with the occasional house and barn. this sea of soybeans, corn, and wheat was periodically broken up by the establishment of rural towns and small watering holes.

prior to this trip, our experiences and perspectives of agriculture — and even rural areas — were varied. personally, primarily growing up in an agriculture-heavy state like nebraska, and involving myself in an agriculture college and major, this is not an area i am uninformed about. but just a handful of other students had similar backgrounds, like kansas state university student topanga mcbride, who was raised in a family working in the dairy and beef sector, and continues to pursue a degree and career in the field.

while others knew only so much, knowledge primarily influenced by movies and books.

“before this trip i had a more traditional view of agriculture from what i had seen in ‪’field of dreams‬,’” george washington university student ilana creinin said.

in what she now realizes to be a rather old-fashioned interpretation of agriculture, creinin said, “i thought only men worked long hours in the field with very little technology. i had also seen documentaries about big ag, but otherwise i didn’t know or experience much else.”

getting to hear directly from producers, exploring their family farms, and interacting with researchers from one of the world’s largest agricultural companies, all helped to inform and help many of us shape new outlooks on agriculture. mcbride stated she has always has a positive attitude toward agriculture, and getting to visit farms in nebraska has continued to help her understand the diversity and challenges that differs regionally in the industry. an experience like this helped many of the group put a face and name to what goes into producing their food.

“i am much more interested in agriculture now. i have much more appreciation for the hardships and discrimination they face in agriculture and their ability to manage the farm operations. i feel like i just have more background knowledge in the field than i did before the trip,” creinin said.

the stories that came out of this trip stemmed from the people we met, and the experiences they shared with us — from the large part technology plays in ag to the view of women in agriculture. for myself, that was learning more about the sustainable practices many farmers use today and how industry leaders are introducing new technology to help producers move forward as they are challenged by decreased resources and even just the personal pressure to be a good environmental steward. 

many of these students are taking this experience and lessons learned back to their schools and applying them to classes, work, and their daily lives. this trip helped all of us better understand some of the issues facing agriculture in nebraska — and also have a better appreciation for farmers and rural life. 

said mcbride: “i see agriculture as one of the noblest jobs one can pursue, as it is a thankless job that every single person relies on. it takes a strong person to do so successfully and humbly.”

according to the environmental protection agency, in 2014, in the united states, about 90 million tons of municipal solid waste, out of the 258 million tons generated, were recycled or composted. this equals a 34.6% recycling rate, not even close to half the total. recycling and composting however are not the only ways to reduce waste. an increasingly popular option for recyclable materials is to repurpose them; that is exactly what the charitable organization, soon to be nonprofit, alumin8 is doing.

noticing a flaw in the current recycling system, co-founders of alumin8 decided to do something to help in their local community of lincoln, nebraska. out of the 34.6% of recycled materials, metals such as aluminum or tin contributed only 9%, and in nebraska specifically that total was less than 4%.

university of nebraska-lincoln (unl) college of engineering junior and alumin8 executive director, dominic nguyen, explained that all aluminum cans have the potential to be recycled. the first time that the cans are, generally they are transformed back into more aluminum cans, which can result in the possibility that the cans will not be recycled again after this. alumin8 hopes to help solve this problem by repurposing aluminum cans and then donating these repurposed objects to local shelters.

“our cause helps minimize the metal waste generated by removing aluminum from this flawed sustainability cycle and transforming it into more permanent forms,” nguyen said. “we want to alumin8 [illuminate] the world one can at a time by promoting sustainability in an interactive way, while also giving back to the community.”

while an intern with nasa in silicon valley during the summer of 2016, nguyen met a fellow intern who had started his own company while still enrolled in college. intrigued, nguyen started thinking of founding his own company. shortly afterwards, in august of 2016, alumin8 was established. the idea for alumin8 was always in the back of nguyen’s mind, he recalled that even as a child he would find new uses for everyday objects such as boxes, cans, and even toy objects such as legos.

“i enjoyed turning simple objects into something more valuable,” nguyen said.

various entities of the university such as the unl college of engineering and the nebraska innovation studio have helped alumin8 in their sustainability efforts, through open-endorsement, can drives and other similar activities.

one of the leading contributors to alumin8 is the unl association of students of the university of nebraska’s (asun) green fund. the green fund is a student-funded grant program designed to provide funding and guidance for student-led environmental sustainability projects at the university. alumin8 is one of the first organizations to receive funding from the green fund. approximately $9,000 will be allotted to the organization; all of the money provided through the green fund is collected from the university’s students as a part of their student fees. about $1 each semester, per student is collected to help support the green fund. alumin8 is also a registered student organization at unl; interested students can easily become a part of this organizations sustainable effort if wanted.

“the goal of the fund is to enhance the overall campus sustainability,” unl college of business administration senior and asun green fund committee chair, cale brodersen said. “the green fund is actually small for the size of the university, but it’s really big in terms of that this is what starts to change the culture on campus.”

nguyen and his associates at alumin8 decided on aluminum as their product focus area for several reasons; aluminum is available in many forms, mostly cans, making it easier to collect and produce a greater quantity of products, and aluminum has a much lower melting point compared to other metals.

the repurposing process after collection is to first melt the cans into aluminum ingots. then through a process called green sand casting they create their products. throughout this process members will 3-d-print their design with the help of the nebraska innovation studio, and then create a mold of the design. once the molds are created, the ingots are melted down again and casted. after the final polishing and any additional treatments needed, the repurposed aluminum products are donated to communities throughout the lincoln area. products the organization hope to make through this process include cups, nightlights, trophies and plaques, toys and more.

“alumin8 is different from other organizations because it benefits the community in two ways; one by educating the public about sustainability in a fun way and the other by giving back to the homeless community,” nguyen said. “additionally, every recycled product is made from the contributions of environmentally-concerned people. at alumin8, anyone can be a part of something bigger.”

to learn more about alumni8, please visit https://www.alumin8.org/, and to learn more about unl’s green fund, visit http://asun.unl.edu/green-fund.

1. nebraska, on average, annually warmed approximately 1.2 degrees fahrenheit, likely as a result of global warming, according to data collected from 1895 to the present by state climate director martha shulski.
    
2. shulski and others conclude the projection of nebraska’s future climate includes temperature rises between 4-5/8-9 degrees fahrenheit if climate patterns continue as they are currently.
    
3. plant species and the increasing distribution of vector born diseases have been shifting north because of climate change and the resulting new distribution of warmth in the northern regions, according to both dr. ali khan of the university of nebraska medical center and rick schneider of nebraska game and parks.
    
4. because of this northern shift of plant species there has been an emergence of new insects and different migration patterns in regions unseen by them before.
    
5. nebraska is losing plant species because of unsuitable land spaces as a result of climate change and the dramatic weather events that follow.
    
6. there have been notable changes in natural community composition in not only nebraska but globally as well; species are changing individually as an adaptation to climate change.
    
7. because of climate change, spring has been appearing earlier, causing greening and flowering sooner which has been a process agricultural production has had to adjust to, as stated by university of nebraska’s tala awada and terry mader.
    
8. dr. khan also discussed how diseases from southeast asia have been traveling to the pacific northwest because of warmer waters caused by the rise in atmospheric temperatures from climate change.
    
9. there has been an increase in mental health issues as well that could be correlated with the climates changes; for example, as the temperature rises, anger rises, according to research by unmc.
    
10. finally, a statement made by dr. khan at the end of his presentation that stood out to me was that climate change is more than just a scientific issue; it is also a moral, ethical and social issue.