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Tag: eco-philosophy

  • The Green Junction: Pandemic and Plastics by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    The heightened use of plastics over the past year of pandemic living is a consequence of necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), required throwaway plastics (i.e., syringes, medical packaging) many plastic items that are low cost and easy choices. The global number of disposable face masks used monthly is estimated at 129 billion, accompanied by 65…

  • Green Junction: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    In wearing face masks, practicing physical distancing, getting vaccinated, and following other public health measures, we live God’s commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Moreover, when we respect, value, and show gratitude for the gifts of others, their expertise, the services they provide, especially during difficult times, we live according to this law…

  • It’s all about measurements. By Julie Peller Ph.D

    Our ability to understand the health of our world is based on practical measurements. Often, stories emerge where measurements informing us of the effects of our material-based lifestyles are just not done. I have written and spoken about the weaknesses in water quality monitoring in the state of Indiana and other places. Indiana is divided…

  • A serious problem associated with factory farms By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    Food production has changed dramatically over the past decades, in part as a response to an increasing population. Meat production has more than tripled, and egg production has quadrupled since 1960. Farms have become more extensive and are now mostly corporate contracted to produce more and increase profits. In the United States, about 1.6 billion…

  • What is Religion?

    We are all historians to some degree. Arnold Toynbee wrote in his last book this statement: “Within the last two centuries, Man has increased his material power to a degree at which he has become a menace to the biosphere’s survival, but he has not increased his spiritual potentiality; the gap between this and his…

  • Green Junction: Clothes you wear could be pollution By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    The clothing industry is responsible for many different types of pollution. This sector creates more carbon pollution than the combination of international air and water shipping. The clothing and textiles industry is the 2nd largest industrial consumer of water and pollutes water, mainly from the coloring process. More than half of the world’s textiles are…

  • How healthy is this world for other living creatures by Julie Peller Ph.D.

    Green Junction How healthy is this world for other living creatures, those living on land, in the seas? The extinction rate of species on earth may be over 1000 times greater than the natural or background extinction rate. Last year, a team of researchers reported the loss of nearly 3 billion birds since 1970 (30%…

  • What we need is a little care and effort become part of life’s equation. By Julie Peller PhD

    The news on plastic waste continues to worsen. A research team led by the Woods Hole Institute recently released the outcomes of a study that evaluated plastic waste generated in the United States in 2016. In addition to many megatons of plastic waste illegally dumped in the United States, they discovered that nearly another megaton…

  • COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and racial injustice. By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    I wonder how many people make the connection between climate change and human health. A few weeks ago, I was part of a large remote audience for the National Academy of Medicine’s meeting. The prestigious science academy leaders outlined the three current, global, existential threats to human health: the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and racial injustice.…

  • It’s that time of the season. By Julie Peller Ph.D.

    Upon the passing of October, we become bombarded with advertisements intended to convince us to buy holiday gifts. The message is the purchases will lead to holiday bliss. Of course, gift-giving is admirable, but to what extent when it is intertwined with consumerism? Older holiday movies offer a view into a modest level of holiday…