The Trail- Vol. 13 Issue 4

The Trail Volume 13, Issue 4 March 2021

Photography by Micah Gartenberg

Rutgers University Department of Human Ecology

To Our Readers…

We hope you had a wonderful spring break and that you are enjoying the longer days and the warmer weather! We sure are, as we work to bring you new articles and issues throughout the semester. We now move onto our final issue of the semester where you can look out for shout-outs to our graduating seniors, more of our wonderful staff articles, and a feature piece about the new climate commitment made by Rutgers University in the past few weeks.

Interested in writing, editing, or designing for our publication? Come along and join us on The Trail! Email us at epibtrail@gmail.com if you are interested in joining us for the Fall 2021 semester.

Best wishes, Micah & Marissa

The Trail Staff…

Editor-in-Chief: Micah Gartenberg Head Graphic Designer: Marissa Guzik

Authors:

Editors:

Gayatri Anguloori

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Micah Gartenberg (lead)

Sarah Arif

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Natalia Binkowski

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Natalia Binkowski

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Rebecca Bright

Sarah Ekẹnẹzar

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Carina Hawryluk

Anna Forsman

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Basil McQuade

Sucheta Gandhi

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Angelica Rojas

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Jeremy Lewan

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Angelica Rojas Mia Weinberg





Marissa Guzik (lead)

Olivia Woodruff

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Sarah Ekẹnẹzar

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Carina Hawryluk

Designers:

Table of Contents * Tip: For quick access to an article click on the title of the article.

Environmental Impacts of Growing Weed Olivia Woodruff ….……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………...……...………… 1

Lab Grown Meat: Ethical or Not? Natalia Binkowski ………………………………………....…………………………………………………………………..…….………... 4

Canada has Banned the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Angelica Rojas …..…………………………………………………………………………………………..………………………..……….….. 7

Air Pollution in Spain Sucheta Gandhi ..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…….…...….

9

A Clean Revolution Sarah Ekenezar ..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..….……......…12

Bucket List for the Traveler: Experience a Total Solar Eclipse Jeremy Lewan …..…………………………………………………………………………………….……………………..……………….….

15

Poetry Anna Forsman ………..….……………………………………………………………………..……………………………..….…...…….… 21

Shopping Hauls’ Impact on Fashion Sarah Arif ..………………………………………………………………………………………………………..………….…………….......…. 24

Menstruation’s Troubled History: How Did Periods Become Unsustainable?

Mia Weinberg ..…………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………………....…......…. 27

Trail Mix ……………….………………………………………………………………………………………...…………………...….....…. 31

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Environmental Impacts of Growing Weed By: Olivia Woodruff

N

ear the end of February, Governor Murphy signed a handful of bills that made recreational marijuana use legal for New Jersey citizens over the age of 21. Within these bills, they established the Cannabis Regulatory Commission which will oversee the 37 statelicensed cannabis growers through 2023 (Barcott, Downs 2021). Currently, there are already 12 medical marijuana growers in New Jersey and the remaining 25 available spots are expected to have thousands of applications.

This made me wonder: where will these growers farm? If there is going to be 25 new cannabis

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farms in New Jersey, that will definitely have effects on the environment, right? The Pacific Northwest as well as parts of California produce the majority of the country’s cannabis plants (6070%); this is where it is the easiest to see the environmental impacts of this industry and what New Jersey growers will likely experience.

Water consumption from agriculture has the biggest negative effect on the environment.

According to Ari Kelo, an editor and writer at The Rising, “In one growing season, just one square mile of outdoor marijuana plants can use up over one billion liters of water.

That’s about six gallons of water per plant,

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per day for every day of the drainage summer” (2020). To filling up help visualize the wetlands, and amount of square even removal of feet for a massunder bush has producing farm, led to erosion and the one in worse water Boonton, New quality in nearby Jersey is 16 acres streams (Judge or 696,960 square 2021).

These feet (Gomez 2020). practices are not The amount of just applicable to water needed is those who farm not only costly for cannabis, the environment however, they are Indoor Farming Setup but also for the important effects farmers. Due to economic to know regardless of when hardships, illegally diverting there will be a big increase of from rivers and streams has land use. Luckily, with the been an issue in California and increase of regulation of these the Pacific Northwest, which crops illegal practices will be on has been correlated to a decline. worsening droughts (Judge When analyzing the 2021). effects of growing cannabis, it Other illegal farm practices, like the use of banned pesticides and rat poison to keep deer and other animals from harming the crops, have had lasting effects on wildlife. Illegal razing of forests has led to increased landslides, unpermitted

is important to include indoor farming as well.

Lighting, water supply, ventilation, humidifiers, and even heating are all needed to simulate what it would be like to grow outside, however the amount of energy this takes is shocking. For this sped up way of growing

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regard to cannabis farming. It is in any state’s best interest to legalize cannabis use in order to avoid harmful and illegal farming practices.

marijuana, it adds up to one percent of the US total annual consumption of energy; comparable to the amount of energy that is consumed by the use of every computer in every household in the US annually, producing 17 million tons of carbon dioxide a year (Kelo 2020).

With the recent legalization of marijuana in New Jersey, it will force environmental regulations on farming to be updated. As more states begin to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, we will definitely see an increase in sustainable and renewable energy practices in

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Works Cited

Barcott, B., & Downs, D. (2021, February 22). Here's what's legal under New Jersey's Updated marijuana laws. Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https:// www.leafly.com/news/politics/heres-whats-legalunder-new-jerseys-updated-marijuana-laws

Gomez, J. (2020, November 11). Legal weed: NJ marijuana farm gets ready for first harvest. Retrieved March 01, 2021, from https://www.dailyrecord.com/ story/news/2020/11/06/legal-weed-nj-marijuanafarm-gets-ready-first-harvest/6167161002/

Judge, M. M. (2021). Environmental considerations for the cannabis industry in New Jersey. Retrieved February 25, 2021, from https:// www.flastergreenberg.com/practicesEnvironmental_Considerations_for_the_Cannabis_Industry_in_N ew_Jersey.html

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Lab-Grown Meat: Ethical or Not? B y N a t a l i a B i n k ow s k i

I

n our last issue, I wrote an article called, “Meet This New Type of Meat!”, in which I introduced the topic of lab-grown meat, how it is created, and talked about a company, GOOD Meat, that has created the first lab-grown meat to be sold in Singapore. While further researching lab-grown, or in vitro, meat for this article, I thought a

lot about the ethics and morality of this type of meat. I am open to the idea of lab-grown meat, as I do think it has its pros, in regards to animal cruelty and the environment, but it does also have its cons, in regards to morality and the potential for unknown effects over time.

A potential major benefit of in vitro meat is that it is supposed to stop the cruel practices that animals must endure. It is supposed to eliminate the need for killing animals, and “therefore, some scientists consider this new (artificial) meat as a vegetarian product” (Chriki and Hocquette, 2020). As a vegan, I’m still not sure how I personally feel about consuming a product derived from an animal, even if it was not harmed in the process. It is very conflicting.

One thought-provoking point that Carlo Alvaro (2019), author of “LabGrown Meat and Veganism: A Virtue-

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Oriented Perspective” provides is that: “Whether painful or painless, animals must be reared so that their cells can be harvested to produce in vitro meat.

Consequently, lab-grown meat still involves animal exploitation, which is what the proponents of ar tificially grown meat want to avoid.”

Alvaro has a good point; although labg row n meat is supposed to be a better alternative to killing animals for meat, it does still involve us using animals for our own personal gain. However, it is also important to consider that there will always be people that want to eat meat, so creating meat that is cruelty -free and more sustainable seems like a better option that might push us in a more environmentallyconscious direction.

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Another interesting thing I do want to bring up is that labgrown meat will open up a whole new realm of possibilities possibilities that most of us have probably never even thought of. This might include growing meat from “endangered species, difficult-todomesticate animals, extinct animals — and, perhaps most disturbingly, humans” (Schaefer and Savulescu, 2014). This might seem crazy, but with these new ways of growing meat, there will likely be curious people that want to experiment. Lab -grown meat will “raise the spectre of a new, easily-produced human flesh for the consumption of a small minority who might want to engage in or experiment with c an n ib alis m ” ( Sc h ae f e r an d Savulescu, 2014). To many people, including myself, this is very uncomfortable to think about or imagine, but to some, it might be an exciting new “food” to try.

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This is a big ethical question. It is true, no people would be killed for this, but at the time, eating human flesh does not sit right with me personally. What do you think? At what point do we cross the line? I think this will be interesting to ponder further as lab-grown meat advances and gains popularity over time.

Sources: Alvaro, C. (2019). Lab-Grown Meat and Veganism: A Virtue-oriented perspective.

Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 32(1), 127-141. doi:10.1007/s10806-01909759-2 Chriki, S., & Hocquette, J. (2020, January 20). The Myth of Cultured Meat: A Review.

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2020.00007 Schaefer, G., & Savulescu, J. (2014, May). The ethics of PRODUCING In Vitro meat.

Retrieved March 05, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4419201/

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Canada has has Canada Captivity of By: Angelica Rojas

Whales & Dolphins

C

anada has passed the “Free Willy” bill, banning captivity of whales and dolphins for entertainment.

Bill S-203, or Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, was passed in 2019 with the help of animal rights activists and the House of Commons.The bill bans the breeding of whales, dolphins, and porpoises and includes a fine of up to $200,000 for lawbreakers.

Those currently in captivity in amusement parks or aquariums are able to be kept by the business as

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long as they are being cared for and receiving rehabilitation after any injury.

The bill bans the marine animals from being used for entertainment and restricts importation and exportation of the marine animals (Howells 2019).

The act of using the animals for entertainment has been labeled cruel and has streamed platforms of social media with hashtags reading #FreeWilly and #EmptyTheTanks (Held 2019).

People have found it to be abusive, unethical, and inhumane to force intelligent mammals to perform acts out of their nature.

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all Canadians who want this to be a more humane country,” said activist and coalition organizer, Rebecca Aldworth (Howells 2019).

Fortunately, jurisdictions around the world have found this movement inspiring and influential in their own countries. Countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Chile, India, and the United Kingdom have responded by passing laws to ban animals in captivity (“Canada Bans” 2019).

Some businesses were not as compliant or convinced by the rules of the bill. Marineland promised that their use for marine animals was strictly for educational purposes only. Whales and dolphins roam around in tanks while instructors give educational information to visitors. Therefore, the company wanted to continue their use of the species as it vowed to be compliant with the law, since the animals are not forced to perform actions. Marineland carried about 55 beluga whales, 5 bottlenose dolphins, and one orca (Held 2019).

After much backlash from the public, Marineland finally agreed to no longer hold whales and dolphins as display.

Consistent letters to Congress and continued support from thousands of Canadians spearheaded the movement that resulted in passing the “Free Willy” bill. This is one step closer to protecting animal rights and influencing people to fight for animal rights around the world.

Works Cited (5 Sept. 2019).Canada Bans the Captivity of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises for Entertainment. World Animal Protection, , www.worldanimalprotection.org/news/canadabans-captivity-whales-dolphins-and-porpoisesentertainment Held, A. (11 June 2019). Canada Bans Keeping Whales And Dolphins In Captivity. NPR, NPR, , www.npr.org/2019/06/11/731570415/canadabans-keeping-whales-and-dolphins-in-captivity.

Howells, L. (11 June 2019). Canada to Ban Keeping Whales, Dolphins in Captivity | CBC News.

CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/whales1.5169138

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A i r Po l l u t i o n in Spain By: Sucheta Gandhi

A

ir pollution occurs when pollutants are released into the atmosphere, presenting a danger to human health and the environment. The long-term exposure of air pollution due to traffic can lead to detrimental health issues such as cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. Additionally, the exposure to air pollution can lead to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of these diseases. The two most common types of air pollution are smog and soot. “Smog, or “ground-level ozone,” as it is more wonkily

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called, occurs when emissions from combusting fossil fuels react with sunlight. “Soot, or ‘particulate matter,’ is made up of tiny particles of chemicals, soil, smoke, dust, or allergens, in the form of gas or solids, that are carried in the air” (Mackenzie 2016). Both smog and soot come from cars and trucks and anything that combusts fossil fuels such as coal, gas, or natural gas. The miniscule particles found in soot can be d a n ge ro u s because t h e s e particles can enter the lungs a n d

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bloodstream and can ultimately lead to heart attacks and death.

In Barcelona, Spain there are public transportation strikes, which can lead to an increase in the use of private vehicles, thus resulting in an increase in air pollution levels. A study was done to analyze the respiratory effects of the strikes. The study confirmed that these strikes have led to increases in pollution levels. Specifically, a “14% increase for particulate matter and 4% increase for nitrogen dioxide); and an 11% increase in hospital admissions for re s p i ra t o r y causes in children” (Basagana 2017). There

are several factors that have been known to cause air pollution. Pollution due to car and vehicle use is the most common cause of air pollution in Spain.

“Man-made pollution is the main contributor: the burning of fossil fuels and vehicle emissions; industrial processes and use of chemicals; agriculture and waste trea t m en t management.

Meteorological variability and transboundary air pollution also explain Europe’s poor air quality” (Marcos, 1). Additionally, the release of gasses from air pollution and industries is another factor that causes air pollution. Air travel can also be a contributing factor. Most of the contributing factors of air pollution in Spain are humancaused.

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A study that was done “examined the changes in air pollution levels for 208 days affected by public transport strikes in the city of Barcelona.

The city-wide concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, and

particle matter were between 4% and 8% higher dur ing public transpor t strikes” (Basagana 2017). Levels of air pollution have increased as t h e re a re m o re p u bl i c transportation strikes. This is because of the increase in automobile use by individuals, since public transportation strikes caused a decrease in public t ra n s p o r t a t i o n ava i l a bi l i ty.

Ultimately, there are several factors that contribute to the rise in air pollution in Spain. This rise can lead to detrimental health issues in the humans that reside in Spain.

Works Cited Basagaña X;Triguero-Mas M;Agis D;Pérez N;Reche C;Alastuey A;Querol X;. (2017). Effect of public Transport strikes on air pollution levels in Barcelona (Spain). Retrieved March 08, 2021, from https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28847101/.

Mackenzie; November 01, 2. (2021, March 04). Air pollution: Everything you need to know. Retrieved March 08, 2021 from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/air-pollution-everything-you-need-know Marcos A. (2011). Air: When breathing is a threat - World Health Organization. Retrieved March 8, 2021, from https://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/147656/WHY_Newsletter4.pdf.

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A Clean Revolution By: Sarah

I

Ekenezar

magine that you are at your favorite beach with your eyes closed. You feel the wind tickle your face and enjoy the smooth stones under your feet.

When you open your eyes again, you quickly realize that it was actually a plastic wrapper that grazed your face, and that you’re standing on bottle caps. After taking in your surroundings more carefully, you notice a couple toss their empty soda bottle in the sand in frustration and think about how you can address this mess.

To make a long story short, beach pollution has become a common issue in recent years.

“Every year, five million to 14 million tons flow into our oceans from coastal areas. Sunlight, wind, waves, and heat break down that material into smaller bits that look—to plankton, bivalves, fish, and even whales—a lot like food” (Royte). Researchers have

found that the growing presence of plastic on beaches has seriously hurt marine life as the creatures often eat the waste or get trapped in it (Royte). Besides being an eyesore on beaches and a threat to marine life, plastic can also devastate the health of the ocean water itself, since it “contains a wide range of additives—pigments, ultraviolet stabilizers, water repellents, flame retardants, stiffeners such as bisphenol A...and softeners called phthalates—that can leach into their surroundings” (Royte). All of the mentioned additives can disrupt the natural pH of ocean water and eventually make their way into people through the food chain in more heavily polluted areas (Royte).

Many beaches suffer, as a result, like the Versova Beach of Western Mumbai, India once did. A few years ago, it was covered in

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over 12,000 pounds of trash (Great Big Story). That was the case until a man named Afroz Shah, a local lawyer with a passion for oceans, decided to launch what the United Nations declared to be the world’s largest cleanup at the time (Great Big Story). The beach used to be a common dumping site up until 2015 as it was accessible and convenient for waste dropoff.

“There were five and a half feet of plastic, and when you see so much plastic juxtaposed to the ocean, it’s scary, it’s very scary” (0:43-0:51 Afroz Shah, GBS). Shah reflected on his early childhood when he used to play on the beach as motivation to continue the cleanup when he felt hopeless. He eventually convinced other people to join him in his noble effort. Over time, hundreds of volunteers from around the world gathered at Versova Beach to clean up the waste every weekend. Their collective efforts removed roughly 18 million pounds of garbage from the shore (Great Big Story). Afroz importantly noted that, though the beach cleaning was a significant preventative measure, he wanted to work with local people and educate them about carefully disposing of their waste and the benefits of recycling. Simply put, he understood that education is a powerful tool to enact change and

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Versova Beach pre-cleanup

felt that “every citizen on this planet must be in for a long haul” to help maintain the only Earth we have (2:54-2:56 Afroz Shah, GBS).

Shah’s story is inspiring as no one thought that Versova Beach could

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Afroz Shah

beaches clean by reducing our waste. “...Reducing your waste means that there are fewer items for the beneficial waste management systems to bring to landfills, which are already overwhelmed with massive amounts of trash” (Sunrise Sanitation Services).

References Listed

Versova Beach post-cleanup, with rare sea turtles that returned

ever become as clean as it once was, and he envisioned it in a better state because of his positive attitude. We can all take a page from his book and remain encouraged to keep our local

24 Jan. 2018. The Man Clearing 9,000 Tons of Trash From Mumbai’s Beaches. Great Big Story. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=JtGsdiYdObQ 9 June 2020. Why Reducing Is Important To The Environment.

Sunrise Sanitation Services. https:// sunrisesanitation.com/whyreducing-is-important-to-theenvironment/ Royte, Elizabeth. 2018. We Know Plastic Is Harming Marine Life. What About Us? National Geographic. https:// www.nationalgeographic.com/ magazine/article/plastic-planethealth-pollution-wastemicroplastics

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By: Jeremy Lewan

As

an umbraphile (Latin for “lover of shadows”), I am dedicated to

chasing solar eclipses around the world (Wright, 2017). My first solar eclipse was the Great American Eclipse in 2017, which I witnessed from the banks of the Cooper River in Charleston, South Carolina. On July 2, 2019, I had the privilege of experiencing a total solar eclipse in La Serena, Chile. The celestial spectacle was breathtaking, to say the least.

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But for pre-scientific people, an apparent swallowing of the Sun during an eclipse was a totally disruptive event, one that caused great dread and alarm in those who witnessed it, one that demanded explanation. The ancient Incas, who inhabited the area around La Serena and other parts of South America from approximately 1100 AD to 1535 AD, worshipped the omnipotent Sun god, Inti (Cartwright, 2014) (Mingren, 2017). The Incas attempted to make sense of eclipses by attributing them to Inti’s rage and dissatisfaction.

After an eclipse, the Incan spiritual leaders would endeavor to determine the reason for the Sun god’s fury and My mother and onfrom the beach Theme view the topinofLa theSerena, Jaguar Chile, Temple,wearing portions appease him by of the New Belize Rivereclipse visible glasses. special sacrificing gold, silver, llamas, and even young children (Mingren, 2017).

But for pre-scientific people, an apparent swallowing of the Sun during an eclipse was a totally disruptive event, one that caused great dread and alarm in those who witnessed it, one that demanded explanation. The ancient Incas, who inhabited the area around La Serena and other parts of South America from approximately 1100 AD to 1535 AD, worshipped the omnipotent Sun god, Inti (Cartwright, 2014) (Mingren, 2017). The Incas attempted to make sense of eclipses by attributing them to Inti’s rage and dissatisfaction. After an eclipse, the Incan Table of Contents

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spiritual leaders would endeavor to determine the reason for the Sun god’s fury and appease him by sacrificing gold, silver, llamas, and even young children (Mingren, 2017).

Like the ancient Incans, we umbraphiles also worship the Sun and even sacrifice (our time and money) to travel to see eclipses. However, we welcome eclipses with applause, cheers, and tears of joy, rather than placate them with llamas and gold.

Despite popular misconception, solar eclipses aren’t rare; they occur about every 18 months somewhere on the The Incan Sun God, Inti planet (Rao, 2017). Solar eclipses can only occur during a New Moon phase when the Moon moves between the Sun and Earth, at which time the three align: Sun–Moon–Earth (Shoemaker, 2018). This stellar synchronization causes the shadow of the Moon to be projected onto the Earth, generating a period of darkness over those who fall within the umbra (inner shadow) (Shoemaker, 2018).

Three different types of eclipses can occur: partial, annular, and total. During a partial eclipse, the Moon aligns with the Sun and Earth, but they do not form a straight line. Instead, the Moon is either above or below the plane that contains the Sun and Earth (Shoemaker, 2018). Thus, the Moon doesn't completely block out the Sun, the inner shadow of the Moon fails to make contact with the Earth, and only the outer shadow makes land-(or sea!)-fall. This results in a Sun that appears to have a

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"bite" taken out of it, resembling a crescent.

An possible orbit is instead

annular eclipse is made by the fact that the Moon's not a perfect circle and is elliptical, exhibiting eccentricity (Espenak, 2021). This phenomenon materializes when the Moon is at or near its furthest point from the Earth, called its apogee (Espenak, 2021). This causes the Moon to appear smaller than the Sun, completely covering the center of it but leaving the edges uncovered. The result is a clear "ring of fire" around the Moon (Shoemaker, 2018). Finally, a total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely covers the Sun because it is at or near its closest point to Earth, known as its perigee (Espenak, 2021).

On Earth, the view during a total solar eclipse is awesome, but eye protection is imperative (Chao, 1997). Serious damage can be inflicted on the eyes and even A depiction of the 3 types of eclipses Table of Contents

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The Totality Phase of the Eclipse

blindness can ensue if one looks at the Sun without the aid of special International Standards Organization (ISO)-certified eclipse glasses (Chao, 1997). A total eclipse begins as if the Moon is taking a bite out of the edge of the Sun, and all kinds of extraordinary phenomena occur as it progresses. The Moon continues to move in front of the Sun, until only a small crescent of light can be seen and the sky begins to darken. As the crescent disappears, tiny specks of light are visible around the edge and wavy ribbons of light called shadow bands appear on Earth’s surface (Hocken & Kher, 2021).

Suddenly the sky is dark, but along the horizon a 360-degree reddish-yellow sunset-like glow is visible. Once the Sun is totally eclipsed, its wispy corona, the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, can be seen shining in all directions around the Moon (Hocken & Kher, 2021). Stars and planets are visible in the abyss of the umbra. The temperature drops by up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Lamentably, totality only lasts for a few minutes; before long, the entire spectacle is over and the process operates in reverse.

Now you’re wondering: “Where and when can I see one of these next?” It is extremely rare for total solar eclipses to be visible over the same area in two consecutive years, but it did occur! It took place on December 14, 2020 and was once again visible in South America and the South Pacific. The next one will be seen on December 4, 2021 in Antarctica. A second one will occur on April 20, 2023 over the

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A Close-Up of Totality: The Corona Was Visible

Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia’s Pacific island nations. A third, on April 8, 2024, will be a boon for those who do not wish to travel far to see a total eclipse. It will span across the entire United States from Texas up to Newfoundland, cutting right through New York State (Hocken & Kher).

So what are you waiting for, fellow umbraphiles? Buy your eclipse glasses and start planning your trips to Antarctica, Indonesia, or anywhere in the path of totality in the United States.

References Cartwright, M. (2014, September 15). Inca Civilization. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.ancient.eu/Inca_Civilization/ Chou, B. (1997, April). Eye Safety During Solar Eclipses. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/ safety2.html Espenak, F. (n.d.). Eclipses and the Moon's Orbit. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/ moonorbit.html Hocken, V., & Kher, A. (n.d.). A Total Solar Eclipse Isn't Total Everywhere. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https:// www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/total-solar-eclipse.html Mingren, W. (2017, January 06). Inti, Sun God of the Inca, Spawned the First Rulers of An Unforgettable Empire. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/inti-sun-god-inca-spawned-first-rulers-unforgettable-empire-007317 Rao, J. (2017, April 25). Total Solar Eclipses: How Often Do They Occur (and Why)? Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https:// www.space.com/25644-total-solar-eclipses-frequency-explained.html Shoemaker, A. (2018, January 03). The Different Types of Eclipses. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https:// www.rainbowsymphonystore.com/blogs/blog/the-different-types-of-eclipses Wright, A. (2017, August 16). Chasing Totality: A Look Into the World of Umbraphiles. Retrieved February 23, 2021, from https:// www.atlasobscura.com/articles/total-eclipse-of-the-heart

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Poetry

By: Anna Forsman

A patch of light on the horizon Like a spot of paint on my jeans Placed precisely with a purpose Similar to that of falling leaves No need to move or displace Only a sustaining need to create Inhabiting fragmented spots in space Above the ocean, light is running away

I’m not me, I’m you reflected across the sea Developed in places we’ve never seen The Summer would help keep the house clean They told me not to move so much I told them not to say too much But keep our plans in borrowed trust They'll meet me where the sands will touch

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Sun is restless, Moon is late Waves feel me following; I’m forgetting every day.

Wake me in one month, And tell me what to say, Getting tired of feeling inspired then getting in my own way.

Loud lights around us, Too many notes to read, Mixed messages, feeling forgetting things, Sounds fall at our feet.

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I chose to sit in the beauty of your song Sparse, and rich Unpredictable while constant Warm, and safe Perhaps I chose to hear your voice as I’m needing it most I’m always asking, rarely listening, sometimes speaking Now I’m a sponge Seeking wisdom from your sounds Visualizing your face Your place Your tree, your view Four, six, four times It is still And feels almost like the woods But you are much further in your geography I more easily access pavement here, And flooding Of an urgency A sense of our interdependency, and a need Not to escape from But to escape directly into, Into the Swell

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Shopping Hauls’

Impact on Fashion

By: Sarah

I

Arif

n times fueled by advertisements, sponsorships, and social mediabased outreach, it has never been easier to find and purchase products. Fastfashion, in particular, is an addiction many consumers have bought into, always needing to follow the latest trend and getting the best deals for it.

Sites like ROMWE, SHEIN, Forever 21, and Charlotte Russe fuel people’s desire to buy more clothes. According to the World Resources Institute, the fast fashion industry is responsible for releasing “1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide” (GASP 1), equivalent to 10% of annual global emissions. A new accessory to fast fashion trends is haul videos that intensify the marketed “need” for people to buy into the latest style. On Youtube or Instagram, it’s not

uncommon to see influencers promoting their lifestyles through haul videos of clothing they purchased, “thrifted,” or were promoted to advertise. The impacts of haul videos are worsening consumers’ shopping habits and using unsustainable practices to profit off this.

Consequently, haul videos are overtaking social media platforms and branding themselves to consumers as another needed purchase to be fashionable and in style. A haul video is “A recording of someone going over a collection of purchases” (Pillon 1).

Within this niche of videos, people simultaneously brand and feed advertisements and recommendations in an entertaining format. Youtubers will order dozens of packages from

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cheap websites and unbox their videos and show off their outfits, only for the same clothing to end up in landfills or never worn again. The videos are entertaining, and people buy into wanting to be like the YouTubers they idolize. The cycle repeats over and over with an endless amount of content to feed on. The darker side of this fad is that some YouTubers will buy clothes solely for one video, only to return them after. Unfortunately, a majority of returned clothing isn’t worn again because “they’re not new...This is damaging; plenty of our clothing returns are simply thrown out instead of donated” (Hall 1). The consequence of a short-lived 10-minute haul video is polluted landfills that have devastating consequences on the

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environment.

Clothes that end up in landfills take up to “200+ years for the materials to decompose” (Brown 1) and during this process emit methane gas into the atmosphere or release toxic chemicals into our groundwater and soil. Social media’s direct access to shopping and fast checkouts online influence people’s shopping habits. Shopping is an addiction that gives off dopamine and “encourages exploration by rewarding us when we stumble upon something salutary. This chemical response is commonly called "shopper's high”, (Dahl 1). With every click and successful purchase, there’s a boost of dopamine that reinforces an association between buying clothes and “gained” happiness. If consumers are influenced to feed into negative fast fashion trends, there can also be a positive response to reject falling for addicting haul videos.

As a countermovement to the wasteful fashion industry, individuals can use haul videos to promote thrifting as a trendy alternative attempting to bring thrifting into the

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mainstream. Buying at Goodwill, thrift shops, or thrift “flipping” hand-medowns/old clothes into cuter clothing are sustainable practices that don’t come at the cost of the environment.

The best way to fight consumeristic fast -fashion is to not buy into it. Stop watching haul videos and break away from the mindset that there needs to be “more” to be satisfied. There is a point where having a set amount of clothes is “enough”. Not only is there an environmental need to stop fast fashion habits of shopping, but an ethical dilemma to the poor treatment of the textile workers that are being paid next to nothing.

Bibliography Clothes & climate CHANGE: How a fashion Choice change could lead to better Air Quality: Group AGAINST smog and pollution. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://gasppgh.org/2020/07/28/clothes-climate-change-how-a -fashion-choice-change-could-lead-to-better-airquality/#:~:text=All%20that%20waste%20adds% 20up,that%20contributes%20to%20global% 20warming.

Published: Feb 27, 2. (2019, December 09). What is a haul video and should you still use them? Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https:// smallbiztrends.com/2019/02/haul-video.html Dahl, M. (2017, October 11). Yes, shopping can be addictive. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https:// www.elle.com/fashion/shopping/a41845/shoppingdopamine/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20Shopping%20Can% 20Be%20Addictive&text=As%20usual%2C% 20the%20brain%20chemical,pleasure%20of% 20shopping%E2%80%94is% 20dopamine.&text=This%20chemical% 20response%20is%20commonly,come%20with% 20drinking%20or%20gambling.

Brown, R. (2020). The environmental crisis caused

by TEXTILE WASTE. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/textile-waste -environmental-crisis#:~:text=And%20when% 20consumers%20throw%20away,the% 20groundwater%20and%20our%20soil.

Hall, J. (2018, June 21). The haul video trend promotes the worst parts of fast-fashion. Retrieved March 06, 2021, from https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/ article/xwm39w/heres-why-haul-videos-need-tochange

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By: Mia Weinberg Menstruation’s Troubled History: How Did Periods Become Unsustainable?

By: Mia Weinberg

At

any given moment, some 800

million people are menstruating around the world, and every month, over 2 billion women and girls menstruate. That requires a Iot of period products simply to ensure the sanitation and health of a huge portion of the world population.

And yet, without thinking, most menstruators use single use plastic and cottonbased products like tampons and pads. The standard tampon comes wrapped in plastic, encased in a plastic applicator with a string made of plastic-containing synthetic materials. Pads typically contain even more plastic, as they are lined with a leak-proof polyurethane layer, and come wrapped in yet

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another layer of plastic. Some singleuse products are marketed as sustainable, such as cotton tampons encased in a cardboard applicator, or better yet, no applicator. However, cotton cultivation is very water intensive, severely degrades soil health, and typically requires heavy use of pesticides that pollute air and water. All of this resource degradation happens on a massive scale, as the average American woman uses 11,000 to 16,000 tampons in her life.

Regardless of the materials used, single-use period products create a staggering amount of waste.

So, how did menstruation become such an unsustainable sector of human health? Throughout most of

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history, menstruation has been seen as shameful, unhealthy, and even unnatural. As there were no convenient menstrual products available prior to the 20th century, most women used makeshift absorption devices made of cloth. During World War I, nurses began to use leftover medical bandages as tampons, and the practice was adopted by Kotex, which released the first version of disposable tampons to be sold in the United States in 1921. By the 1960s, more sophisticated synthetic materials had been developed that were used to create the plastic-heavy pads that are widely used today.

During the time when disposable, portable period products were first introduced, their disposability was seen as a luxury. Women no longer had to sneak bulky, reusable products into public places or worry about washing cloth pads throughout the day. In 2013, Kotex went as far as releasing tampons

whose packaging was marketed as silent— quite literally selling the idea that menstruation was shameful.

However, the convenience and discretion that came with single-use products was seen as a freedom that menstruating people previously did not have. It also conveniently occurred directly after World War I, when women were entering the American workforce in unprecedented numbers, and felt as though they needed the discretion that these products provided.

Exactly 100 years after Kotex released their first edition of tampons, single-use menstrualproducts are as commonplace as ever. Now, as a small group of empowered menstruators push for a more sustainable range of products to become widely used, many people are at a crossroads between convenience and sustainability.

Luckily, there are several period products that

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are unbelievably convenient, reusable, and could save menstruators thousands of dollars throughout their lifetimes.

Menstrual cups and disks are the most common sustainable replacement for tampons, while reusable pads are a budget and climate friendly alternative to single-use pads. As we reflect upon how periods products got to be so wasteful, it is important to remember the message that has long haunted menstruators: that menstruation is shameful. As we look to the future for solutions, it is important to normalize conversations about menstruation in order for people to realize the stigma that has long been embedded into it. If people were not ashamed of their own bodily functions, they would not have to be hidden from everyone else; whether that be through convenient single-use products, or the mountains of waste that they continue to create.

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References Borunda, A. (2021, February 10). How tampons and pads became unsustainable and filled with plastic.

National Geographic. https:// www.nationalgeographic.com/ environment/article/how-tamponspads-became-unsustainable-story-ofplastic Kounang, N. C. (2015, November 13).

What’s in your pad or tampon? CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/13/ health/whats-in-your-pad-ortampon/index.html Ryan, J. (2019, November 6). Sustainable Period Products: A Guide.

Ethical.Net. https://ethical.net/ guide/sustainable-period-products/ WWF. (n.d.). Cotton | Industries | WWF. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved March 4, 2021, from https:// www.worldwildlife.org/industries/ cotton

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Trail Mix Start here

AIR

POETRY

DOLPHIN

SHOPPING

LAB

CANNABIS

MENSTRUATION

FASHION

REVOLUTION

MEAT

CANADA

POLLUTION

ECLIPSE

WHALE

MARIGOLDS

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“Out with the cold,

in with the woo”

- E. Marshall

Spring is here!

Design by Carina Hawryluk