On November 29th, Boston City Council unanimously passed a plastic bag ordinance that aims to reduce our reliance on disposable plastic bags. Stores will charge a 5-cent fee for each paper or sturdy plastic bag that they sell customers who come without a reusable bag. Despite eloquent statements by councilors Ayanna Pressley (at-large) and Tito […]
Adventures in Sustainability on a Budget
I began to eat organic after witnessing first-hand the effects of pesticides on migrant farm workers. I tried to stop using electricity from coal-fired power plants after I watched my students in Washington, DC struggle to breathe on “red-alert” air quality days. I read about the permanently disabling effects that some glues have on workers […]
Being Indebted Is My Real Wealth
I’m distressed that academic conventions seem to preclude, or at least discourage, acknowledgment that the work I will present to my dissertation committee is not, properly speaking, mine. “My” project involves spiking seawater samples with methyl mercury. My background is environmental health, not analytical chemistry. I don’t have the skills to handle methyl mercury safely. […]