7 Tips to Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe
7 Tips to Creating a Sustainable Wardrobe

Less than 1% of all clothing material is ever recycled, ~82 million tons of greenhouse gas is emitted by the fashion industry every year, the fashion industry consumes 79 trillion liters of water, the EPA estimates that 5% of all landfills in the U.S. are made of textiles, and of the clothing that is donated every year, only a fraction of it gets resold. More often than not, the clothing we donate ends up in countries like Ghana. From there a small fraction of our old clothing is resold at resale markets like Kantamanto Market, but more often than not, our old clothes end up in the landfills there.

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Amanda Seale
How is Litter Dealt with in Knox County Communities?
How is Litter Dealt with in Knox County Communities?

Many of us have noticed an increase in litter in our beautiful community over the past year. You might be wondering why that is and who’s responsible for cleaning it up.

First of all, reduced capacity due to the pandemic certainly has its place here, but also Knox County and the City of Knoxville have separate means of dealing with litter, which means that it can be a little confusing about who to contact. We’ll go over how each litter system works, how you can report particularly bad litter areas, and how you can get involved. We also have many wonderful organizations, such as our own, who help to keep Knoxville clean.

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Amanda Seale
Beavers: Pest or Ecological Powerhouse?
Beavers: Pest or Ecological Powerhouse?

When Europeans reached what would become the United States, they encountered an environment that was largely shaped by beavers. At the time, beavers were considered a pest species because of their penchant for “chaos.” In fact, they were hunted to extinction in Great Britain at roughly this time. Beavers pull down trees, causing streams to flood, which can be a nuisance if you’re trying to work the land. From the 1500s, Beaver populations gradually diminished in the United States partly due to their nuisance status, but also due to high demand for fur hats and coats.

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Amanda Seale
Oceans
Oceans

Ocean acidification and warming has far reaching impacts on our marine ecosystems and the planet at large. Join us to learn more about what ocean acidification and warming are and how these processes impact our planet.

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Amanda Seale
When it rains... it pollutes?
When it rains... it pollutes?

Rainfall can impact our environment in multiple ways. Stormwater doesn’t just end up back in our waterways only to continually contribute to the water cycle. It can have far ranging impacts on the health of our water and water ecosystems, and it can cause major headaches here at home in the form of flooding.

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Amanda Seale
Plastic Recycling
Plastic Recycling

Have you wondered what has happened nationally since China banned the import of our used plastic? And have you thought to yourself that it’s not worth it to even try to recycle plastic anymore because of that? Well, we’re here to tell you that recycling plastic in Knoxville is very much still alive and well! And our recycled plastic helps to stimulate our local economy by being used right here in the Southeast.

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Amanda Seale
Organic Agriculture
Organic Agriculture

When we think of sustainability, our minds often go to things like fossil fuels and plastic. We don’t instantly consider food, which is why we’ll be taking two parts to talk about organics and genetically engineered foods!

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Amanda Seale
Zoos, Aquariums, + Conservation
Zoos, Aquariums, + Conservation

Conserving the animals that we have here on Earth is proving to be quite a challenge. For this post, we’ll delve into all of the nitty-gritty details about extinction, animal conservation, and the role zoos + aquariums play.

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Amanda Seale