this time instead of opting to buy the most on-trend eyeshadow color, i decided to buy with the intention of living a little bit more sustainably each day. some brands made my makeup bag’s renovation way more difficult: from high price points to low performance … and don’t even get me started on greenwashing. 

other brands were a glimmer — or should i say sparkle — of hope in the midst of what i like to call the cosmetics crisis. this name is fitting to describe the global beauty industry as it is now not because of the alliteration, but because of big cosmetic’s contribution to destroying 18 million acres of forests every single year. not to mention the fact that nearly 90% of the 10,500+ ingredients used in personal care products have not been evaluated by any safety or regulatory agencies. 

kirsten kjaer weis, ceo and founder of kjaer weis beauty, sat down with me to discuss a holistic approach to makeup and skincare. the danish makeup artist — whose work is no stranger to the pages of vogue magazine — champions the idea that all makeup should be expected to both perform well and be sustainable. 

kjaer weis is known for their products which all have organic and natural certifications, supply chain transparency and refillable packaging. they use almost no single-use plastic, and instead rely on creativity. 

in learning about kirsten’s background, personal definition of clean beauty and opinion on the future of the beauty industry, i felt a spark of inspiration. 

solutions may not be waiting for us, but innovators like kirsten and her team have restored my faith that we can make these solutions… and do it in style.

i consider myself a rather environmentally conscious 20-year-old: i eat plant-based, contemplate my clothing sources, despise single use-plastic, bring reusable bags and bottles—i even tried the whole zero waste thing. despite my efforts, living sustainably as a student in rapidly changing, business-centric cities like new york and washington, d.c., has been more than challenging. 

moving to copenhagen has made me realize that instead of constantly evaluating my personal habits, perhaps i should be more critical of the systems which ultimately shape society’s collective impact because real improvements will only transpire when we collectively take action.  

in 2020 denmark was ranked as the most sustainable country by experts from yale and columbia universities, according to the 2020 environmental performance index (epi). reasons for this high ranking include denmark’s reduction of co2 emission by more than half since 1996, and that 47% of electricity was sourced from wind power in 2019.

furthermore, as identified by the united nations, these high ratings likely correlate to the fact that denmark is a front runner in other aspects of sustainable development. the danish government provides citizens with universal health care and education, there is high gender equality, a generous social safety net, personal freedom, and more.  

these high rankings are also largely thanks to the shared philosophies of sustainability and minimalism which are upheld in the home, and beyond. this collective mindset is often neglected when discussing global sustainability methods, but i believe it should be emphasized. 

to find out more, i decided to talk with other students who have also recently moved here, to see what they’ve noticed living in copenhagen and whether these differences have impacted them too. these conversations have left me with a freshly optimistic outlook on how sustainability within cities can not only improve the health of our planet but also improve people’s mindsets and happiness overall. 

i’ve come to think that perhaps we are looking too far into the unknown for solutions to our biggest climate challenges. rather than waiting around for another ambiguous statement from our world leaders, or some unidentified technological solution, let’s examine the cities who have already implemented tangible and effective sustainable systems into daily life. 

it all started with a mirror. 

this recent incident with my father perfectly illustrates the first major difference i noticed when moving to denmark: the absence of online shopping.

my dad needed to acquire a full-length mirror. after days of careful window shopping around town, he finally picked one out online and reserved it for same-day pickup. as my dad insisted that everything was transportable via the holy bike lane, he and i cycled out to the store and purchased the mirror. realizing that it was indeed far too large and heavy to cycle with, even for a full-blooded determined dane like my father, we resorted to balancing the mirror on one of the bike pedals and walking it all the way home, fighting the wind as we went. yes, this entire fiasco could have (and would have) been avoided in new york city with the ease of a click on amazon prime. but, this would have also come with an environmental cost, going against danish values of minimalism—as well as the notion that everything is possible on a bicycle.

it feels strange that purchases do not involve the corporate monstrosity that everyone in the united states hates and loves all at the same time: amazon. online shopping here is virtually unheard of. 

some people may do it occasionally, but the presence of amazon and its associated delivery services are nothing like what i am used to. another university student who moved to copenhagen from london six weeks ago, calum kendal, 21, has noticed stark differences in online shopping here too. 

“if you want to use amazon you have to go through the u.k. or germany, so it’s much less accessible, certainly to me,” he said. 

furthermore, things you would normally order online are often accessible in shops only a bike ride away.

when calum searches for items online, he’s found that they are available within biking distance of his apartment. this allows him to pick goods up conveniently and sustainably, rather than having them delivered via amazon as he did in london. 

minji suh, a 22-year-old from montreal, canada, who moved to copenhagen in january, says she noticed the collective support for local products and an emphasis on minimalism right away. 

“people are willing to pay a little more because they want to support their community,” she said. 

overall, minji feels that in copenhagen the mindset of having and spending less is celebrated, so that when you do purchase an item, it is one of high quality and necessity. 

minji is passionate about sustainable fashion, incorporating predominantly second-hand and homemade clothing into her wardrobe. she explained to me how the attitude around clothing in denmark has inspired her to think more consciously, and creatively, about her clothing purchases.

“a lot of danish people i’ve met have this very minimalist mindset, where it’s not about having as much or showing off, but it’s about being comfortable and presentable,” minji said.

minji explained to me that the societal differences of life in copenhagen versus in north america contributed to the amount of clothing she felt was needed to fit in.

“back home i lived such a fast-paced life, it felt like i had to have a big wardrobe, with lots of different options, to fit all my parts. so, unfortunately, as a student you gravitate to fast fashion,” she said.

“there is also more pressure to assert your personality through clothing in the states,” minji continued. “but coming here, and seeing people be so mindful about how they dress and how they consume, made me think that i don’t actually need to buy all these things so quickly. i know now that i can live a happy life just having a select amount of clothes.”

this shift towards minimal, yet quality items did not just manifest in her clothing choices, either.

“it translated into other things too, like me wanting to own a nice set of kitchenware” she said. 

i too, have recognized this emphasis on owning quality material things, and its effect on me has certainly been positive. danish design is popular all over the world for its simplicity, durability, and usefulness. minji therefore justifies purchasing a few expensive items that will last her years.

“i know that if i take care of it, it will last me way longer than scrappy ikea stuff. already i see the changes it has had on me.”

another friend of mine, christina hermanson, 19, who is originally from samoa, has been living in copenhagen for the past two years. 

“we have four trash cans,” she begins. “there’s one for trash, the second is divided into two—half for hard plastic, half for aluminum— then there’s the biodegradable bin, and the last bin goes to cardboard boxes.” 

when christina was living in samoa and new zealand, she only had two: one for trash and one for compost.

“if you had a compost bin in new zealand people would comment and say, like, ‘oh you really are one of those people, so environmentally friendly,’” she said.

the miniature size of trash bags in copenhagen also took me (pleasantly) by surprise. forget your mammoth 13-gallon glad bags; here, the average trash bag is barely bigger than a supermarket plastic bag. this subtle difference makes so much sense. not only does a smaller size insinuate less waste, but people are no doubt more conscious with their waste, having to maximize the space in their trash cans. on my second day in copenhagen, my dad was quick to criticize me for “wastefully” throwing out my trash.

“you need to fold it really small, otherwise it takes up too much space in the bin,” he said. 

the differences in trash disposal goes beyond the physical act of sorting, however. there is an additional shift in people’s attitude toward trash too—that we have a collective responsibility to do our part. if you fall short, you feel poorly, because everyone else is doing it.

 “there is more shame in not properly throwing trash away here. and it’s just normal—you don’t even question it,” christina said. 

i do feel my actions subtly changing because of this collective attitude of responsibility. i would never, ever, spit my gum out on the street here, for example. whereas in new york city, or d.c., i probably would without guilt, simply because it is so normalized. 

christina could relate to this feeling, too.

“i actually just experienced that last week,” she said. “i had a half a drink left and i threw it in the trash can and my danish friend was like, ‘why didn’t you just leave it on the bench? someone would have just come along to recycle it for pant.’” 

it is evident that every individual in copenhagen holds great responsibility for their personal environmental footprint, and also, that people feel as though they have a joint responsibility to contribute to larger sustainability measures, such as the recycling system. 

christina works in a sushi restaurant, and notices how even people who aren’t dining come in to ask for a tray to properly dispose of their cigarettes. 

“it’s also a standard thing with cigarette butts,” she said. “in other cities i’ve been you just leave them about, but here, even working in a restaurant, people come in to ask for a cigarette tray.”

the ‘pant’ recycling system, which successfully recycles over 50 million bottles and cans every year, is another widespread eco-friendly approach found in denmark. this was the first noticeable difference that came to calum’s mind when i picked his brain about sustainability in copenhagen. 

the system is based on a small deposit being paid on every bottle when it’s purchased, which you then get back when you return the bottle to a ‘pant’ machine, which are located at most supermarkets. danes return an average of 3.8 million bottles and cans daily. 

something else slightly different about living in copenhagen is the way natural light is used as a replacement to electricity. alex groth, 22, has lived in copenhagen for six months since graduating from university college london. one difference we can both agree on is the sparing use of bright lights in homes. instead, people rely on sunlight and candles.

“the architecture here is a lot more about having natural light—we barely have lights on in the summer because it’s just so bright,” he said.

in contrast to the 24/7 fluorescently lit cities of new york and london, danes often disregards the use of lights completely. 

“half the time when i come home at night, my house is only lit with candles,” he said. 

maybe it was because i grew up mostly in big, bright cities that made this shift especially obvious to me. the popularity of adjustable lights was a subtle way i observed that likely contributes to the fact the danes consume far less energy per person when compared to the other nordic countries (sweden, norway, iceland, and finland). this practice holds true even during the winter months, and when it is dark at night, according to alex. 

 “most houses i know use adjustable lighting, and even at night we never put it up all the way,” he said. 

a contributing factor to utilizing natural light whenever possible is that the price of electricity in denmark, as of march 2020, was the third-highest in the world. to avoid staggering prices, many households adopt led lights, which are up to 80% more energy-efficient, too.

all this is not to say that denmark is perfect, and that american ways of living and consumption are inherently bad. only that in many cases, we can do better, and we should be trying harder to. as i discussed with minji, it’s difficult to directly compare the sustainability practices of two vastly different places.

while the wealth of denmark certainly aids in its ability to run these operations smoothly, the sustainable lifestyle is one that’s firmly chosen by the individuals and local communities. alex, who has grown up with family in denmark, tells me how local communities in denmark have far more influence over people’s actions than the government. at the end of the day, it really comes down to the decisions of individual families, neighborhoods, and communities. this gives me hope that with a shift in mindset and responsibility, these kinds of changes are possible elsewhere, too.

the key to creating sustainable cities isn’t extreme—we don’t all need to go zero-waste. as young and adaptable people, we can set an example through subtle and collective changes. if we all take the time to sort our trash, recycle our bottles, if we chose to dim our lights and only purchase long-lasting items when necessary, we will mutually reap the benefits.

once a week, rain or shine, i — as well as groups of students from 12 high schools on the lower west side of manhattan — would spend three to four hours in a boathouse on pier 66 at hudson river park. for the first 30 minutes students would catch up with fellow sailors and instructors before conducting various water quality tests. we would check the ph level, confirm change in temperature, and record the direction and speed of the current in order to prepare for a sail. feeling the brisk and fresh air of the hudson river shoot by you while sitting at the bow is a rush, not to mention the various other sailboats, tourist vessels, and barges trailing off the port and starboard sides we had to keep in mind! 

these simple, yet impregnable, moments on and around the hudson river, and the long island sound in my third year, left a permanent, venerable impact on my relationship with the natural world. the combination of environmental and engineering sciences coupled with live experiences with nature and water systems in an urban setting established my passions for science communication, community activism, and environmental governance.

what is hrcs?

the sailing program i joined, hudson river community sailing (hrcs), is an educational nonprofit that partnered with several high schools in lower manhattan to teach sailing and maritime skills and offer for-credit classes.

to be honest, hrcs was one of the reasons why i went to my high school, lab high school for collaborative studies. i had always struggled with math throughout my childhood even though i was very passionate about science and understanding the natural world. even though other schools had better facilities or more class options, i wanted an interdisciplinary program that would foster a sense of community while encouraging an appreciation of stem fields.

so when i learned that i had a chance to sail in my spare time while receiving academic support for math, i knew that this would be an incredible opportunity.

skills and lessons 

hrcs is structured in three stages: sailing by numbers, ocean literacy, and first mates. as a first year, the course sailing by numbers delves into basic mathematical concepts in algebra and geometry while incorporating on-water sailing and boat-building components. the year ends with a sailing trip to dyckman marina, another hrcs port in inwood park. students in this program earn 1 math credit and 1 gym credit. 

as a second year, the course ocean literacy focuses on ecology, environmental science, and meteorology, while implementing this knowledge on the water through more advanced sailing navigation. at the end of the fall, students will sail past the statue of liberty. my trip to the palisades was truly an eye-opening experience in that it made me realize the built environment (e.g., new york city) and the natural environment (e.g., the palisades) were co-equal parts of the human experience. at the end of the spring, students sail to palisades park and engage in water quality testing. running my fingers through the water while the sailboat maneuvered the hudson river coast for other vessels and marine debris reinforced this notion that humans are just one part of the earth, and yet our impact was far more intrusive and toxic than it should be. picking up litter and trash throughout the palisade trails while interacting with a baby raccoon, deer, and other wildlife convinced me of the direct, positive impact humanity can have with fellow lifeforms if we set the intention and take action.

for the remainder of their time at hrcs, students have the opportunity to choose a series of specialty tracks — skipper, exploring, racing, and building — in first mates. during my two years as a first mate, i was a skipper, explorer and builder because i wanted to gain a broad understanding of what i could learn about environmental problems, solutions, and their impacts.

as a skipper, most of the time is spent on nautical skills and operating various forms of on-water-vehicles, including catamarans, dinghies, j24s and j40s. j24s and j40s are classic sailing boats with one main hull/body, with the numbers referring to the length of the boats themselves. a catamaran is a boat with two parallel-sized hulls and a wide-beam connecting the two. meanwhile, a dinghy is a small vessel that allows sailors to get to and from the docks and the sailboats. one of my favorite pastimes while on the water was practicing emergency maneuvers around a substantial piece of marine debris (e.g., car tires, rotten wood with nails or metal, plastic bins, etc.) because i knew that it would have a direct impact on the health of marine life, as well as prevent any unnecessary accidents for other vessels. in other words, the notion of the gaia hypothesis principle — living and non-living organisms interact in a symbiotic manner that perpetuates life as we know it — was instilled before i even learned about it in an academic setting.

the explorers are responsible for understanding the logistics of sailing expeditions and carrying out one themselves. there are instructors present during the preparation of and the trips themselves, however it is the explorers’ responsibility to know what supplies to pack, which courses to set, what the weather forecasts will be (in real time), among other things. during one of our trips into new york city, we split up into groups along the gowanus canal in brooklyn — one of new york state’s 87 superfund sites — to conduct water quality tests and monitor oyster growth and health. gowanus was marked as a site in 2008 and restoration began in 2013, approximately two years before we went on this trip. even though the gowanus canal was an environmental and public health disaster for a long time, it was inspiring to see the rejuvenation of wildlife and revitalization of the built environment around it.

builders have plenty of creativity to utilize woodworking and engineering skills to build a myriad of projects. in the past, students have built dinghies of varying lengths and shapes as a way to supply more vessels for the program. i worked in a group that brainstormed and prepared a self-catching marine debris contraption that we planned to place in the hudson river right next to the hrcs boathouse.

the impacts

i had the incredible opportunity to explore my passion for social and environmental issues during my time at hrcs. more than that, i also learned practical skills while bonding with other high school students that i probably would not have met otherwise.

i had the opportunity to be a skipper, explorer and builder during my four semesters in the first mates program. as a skipper, i gained my new york state boat operator’s license which gave me permission to operate any aquatic vehicle less than 65 feet in length. moreover, i acquired plenty of experience on the water through hours of sailing, rigging, and derigging j24s. 

as i mentioned earlier, as a builder i worked with a team that designed a rudimentary, pulley system device, made of twine and pcp rods, that would hypothetically catch marine debris in a passive way. even though it never made it further than various models, the combination of physically designing and creating these models coupled with determining an environmental impact assessment encouraged me to take on a holistic approach to multi-faceted problems such as marine-debris collection in an urban environment. as a city kid, it was incredibly profound to have constant interactions with wildlife because it instilled a kinship to the natural world which, i believe, mirrored that of transcendentalist thinkers like ralph waldo emerson and henry david thoreau. the fluttering wings of geese and seagulls wavering over the  mirage of blue and green waves on the hudson reminds me of a quote by the former: “every natural action is graceful.”

chad devoe, a high school environmental science teacher, shares his reasoning as to why he chose the earthship and how it can impact, not only his life, but other people’s lives as we head into a future involving the climate crisis. he recognizes some barriers people face when deciding to build green, alternative houses and provides some solutions to overcome these barriers. 

when proposing ideas for this video project, many of my classmates had wonderful ideas, ranging from interviewing experts on palm oil in indonesia to experts on ape conservation in africa. my idea felt small in comparison: to interview a professor at our own university. however, after speaking with him and hearing his expertise on environmental health and sustainable living, my eyes have been opened to innovations happening in my own backyard.

professor lapuma has been involved in a variety of environmental areas, including researching fossil fuels and teaching environmental health, but what amazes me most about him is his personal lifestyle and how seriously he applies the concepts he teaches in the classroom.

many ideas of sustainable living – such as natural insulation, complete solar power, and subsistence food production — often seem like high-minded ideals that we would use in a best-case-scenario, absent of realistic economic and physical pressures, but professor lapuma lives this ideal and enjoys it immensely. this intriguing interview ultimately gives me hope for the mainstream application of other ideas revealed and discussed in spaces like planet forward.

click on the photo below to learn more and see the full story about putnam:

rising junior grace jaeger said she was a freshman when she first noticed the transportation needs on northwestern university’s evanston campus. her first-year dorm was located roughly half a mile from her classes, and, as a result, she was frequently late. she found the campus shuttle system unreliable, and she resorted to calling uber to avoid tardiness. this, she said, was the inspiration for eo — northwestern’s first student-run subscription bike-sharing program.

jaeger with a team of four other northwestern students, officially launched eo this spring and expect to expand the campus service this fall. eo is a subscription-based service in which students pay $20 per quarter for unlimited rides and the ability to pick up and leave the easily identifiable purple and orange bikes almost anywhere on campus since the bike has a locking system triggered by a telephone app. 

within the first week, eo had over 100 memberships, more than 275 miles traveled, and — most notably — roughly 110 kilograms of carbon saved in uber rides and car commutes. by april 22, only three weeks after the company’s launch, that number had risen to almost 500 kilograms of carbon saved, according to jaeger. carbon — as in the heat-storing carbon dioxide greenhouse gas — is the thermostat for turning up global warming. 

“we want our system to decrease the environmental impact of students and community members by providing an affordable and accessible method of transportation,” jaeger said. “and [we want] to create a culture of sustainability on campus.”

thus far, eo has done just that, and the start-up is not alone. eo is just one of a growing number of bike-sharing programs that have been gaining traction over the last several years. just outside evanston, the city of chicago is helping lead the charge in encouraging residents to opt to use carbon-free or low-carbon transportation such as biking as a means to mitigate climate change and reduce carbon emissions.

most recently, the chicago city council, in tandem with the chicago department of transportation, approved a $50 million expansion of the city’s largest bike-sharing program that partners with divvy. as part of the expansion, divvy bikes will now be available and accessible in all 50 of the city’s wards. at a press conference introducing the expansion, former chicago mayor rahm emanuel explained part of his administration’s reasoning for supporting the investment. 

“my administration has made it a priority to create a variety of high-quality, reliable transportation options to get chicagoans and visitors where they want to go,” emanuel said.

under new chicago mayor lori lightfoot, support for green initiatives in transportation has continued. julia gerasimenko is the advocacy manager at the active transportation alliance, a lightfoot-supported non-profit advocacy organization whose goal is to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit, and engage people in healthy and active ways to be mobile. gerasimenko said the expansion of divvy bikes throughout the city is essential to ensure that all chicagoans have access to bikes and low-carbon mobility.

“at active trans, we definitely advocated for bike-share to come to chicago [in 2013] and we’ve been really excited to see the growth of divvy over the years,” gerasimenko said. “they will now be expanding to cover all of chicago, and we’re really excited to see that happen so that everyone in the city can have access to biking.”

chicago was recently named a winning city of the bloomberg philanthropies’ american cities climate challenge, based on city plans to expand bike-share programs to reach 100% of the city and policies that support car sharing and transit ridership while reducing vehicle ownership overall. in doing so, chicago joined 20 other american cities in sharing a $70 million grant from the organization to accelerate  efforts.

encouraging low carbon mobility options through bike-sharing is as important today as ever before. with more news every day unveiling the seriousness and pressing nature of climate change, the time for change is now. according to a recent report by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (ipcc), “global warming will likely reach 1.5°c between 2032 and 2050, causing massive increases in already life-threatening environmental changes if it continues at its current rate.” 

this means that during the next 12 years, significant change must occur in the amount of carbon consumed across the globe to deter the climate from changing, and the planet from warming to life-threatening levels. a huge step in reaching this goal comes from the reduction of carbon through low-carbon transportation options. according to data published by the environmental protection agency in 2017, 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the united states result  from transportation — the largest contributor of any one category. 

encouraging people to reduce their carbon footprint through low-carbon transportation options such as biking is a vital part of the ongoing fight. when asked of the importance of encouraging more people to use low-carbon transportation options as a means of decreasing chicago’s carbon emissions, gerasimenko said that it is absolutely vital.

“if we are able to make a substantial impact in the individual day-to-day choices that people are making in their transit,” gerasimenko said, “i definitely think it would lead to decreased emissions and to better air quality for everyone.”

while chicago was not the first city to launch a widespread bike-sharing service, the business of bike-sharing has expanded rapidly across the united states since divvy bikes debuted  in chicago in 2013. more specifically, motivate — the parent company that owns divvy — has expanded its efforts vastly in recent years. today, motivate owns city-wide bike-sharing operations in nine major american cities, including new york, chicago, boston, and san francisco, and has teamed up with major ride-sharing services like lyft. 

not only is motivate helping to promote sustainable and healthy low-carbon modes of transportation across the country, but the company is proving that doing so can be a profitable practice. according to a report from the bike-sharing service market, the global bike-sharing industry was valued at nearly $1.6 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $5.4 billion by the end of 2024.

at northwestern university, eo team member and co-founder grace jaeger also sees the profitability of bike-sharing, especially on college campuses like northwestern’s.

“we believe eo is economically profitable on a campus like northwestern,” jaeger said. “it’s a niche community where we are all close and have pretty uniform needs in terms of where we need to go” 

commuting to classes is a high priority and, at northwestern, eo fills that niche. further, as a source of profitability, eo team members say they believe investors will be attracted to their service, and invest in their program, subsequently investing in low-carbon transportation.  

“we believe that we can grow as a company by expanding to other campuses,” jaeger said. this summer, jaeger and the eo team say they plan to conduct research in order to determine which other campuses in the nation are marketable and open to eo’s expansion, as well as possible ways that they can best manage that potential expansion.

at a recent conference on sustainability held at northwestern’s kellogg school of management, valueact capital founder and ceo jeffrey ubben stressed the importance of encouraging business leaders to invest in sustainability. ubben said that, to change the industry, business leaders must work to make active investments and be a part of the change themselves, rather than giving their money to others as a way to promote change. 

“you can’t go into the system, take advantage into it, then come out and try to fix it through philanthropy,” ubben said. “you have to combine the two, and fix the issue from the inside and that’s what i’m trying to do…we are tomorrow’s company now and not yesterday’s.”

according to ubben, profitability in sustainable businesses is the key to gathering investors as well as maintaining progress in reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. in the greater chicago area, bike-sharing companies like divvy and eo are proving to be a profitable and sustainable business.

at a time when reducing the collective carbon footprint must be an ultimate priority for businesses and nations around the world, it is small businesses like eo, and larger corporations like motivate, that must lead the charge. by creating profitable business models anchored in low-carbon mobility, and specifically bike-sharing, eo and motivate are successfully doing their part. 

double majoring in political science and french at texas tech university in lubbock, texas, warrior is a political activist for climate change. today she is a part of the 2019 global climate march at one of three strikes held in lubbock. as i interviewed her in the park on the corner of a busy intersection adjacent to the college, chants from other marchers intermingle with the din of traffic in the background.

“what do we want? climate action! when do we want it? now!”

q: why are you here today?

a: i’m here today to support a strike and be a part of the movement to help the next generation live. i recently became president of the tech student democrats on campus and found out about the event through a speaker we met with. our future depends on being politically active and making changes.

q: do you think that climate change and environmental issues have a negative connotation in west texas?

a: (my hometown) has an oil-based economy. lubbock is the same. a lot of people rely on the oilfield as a source of income. we’re a part of that spectrum, but we need to go to other forms of energy. it’s hard for people to accept a shift away from it, but there are little things we can do like recycle and decrease the use of cars.

q: how long do you think it will be until we begin to see noticeable changes?

a: i believe that it will take at least 10 years to decrease carbon emissions, but i believe that with everyone on board we can get there faster.

q: when did you become politically active?

a: i became involved in politics during the last election and became more conscious of decisions in relation to the climate when i realized my own faults during my first year of college. i started realizing how much waste we produce as individuals and as an entire population.

q: what do you see as the most pressing issue in regards to climate change today?

a: the most pressing issue, in my opinion, is the rising temperature levels and extreme weather. 

q: how do you think we can help this particular issue as well as any others that we face?

a: we can start by taking on industries that control single use plastic. we can speak to our representatives and increase regulations that will fight to curb our effect on the planet.

the interview ended, and warrior touched up her sodden sign with a permanent marker. as she made her way back to join the other protesters, the sun began to peek through the clouds and the downpour weakened into a drizzle. adding her voice to the chants of the group, warrior held her sign up proudly.

chef dot and her team cook meals from scratch for hundreds of students every day using locally sourced ingredients to not only provide children with sustainable meals, but to demonstrate eating habits that are healthy for people and the planet.