Our Changing Climate
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Our Changing Climate is a video essay series dedicated to examining our relationship to the natural world.
Season 1
25 Episodes
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I take a look at how recycling works and where recycled items go after they hit the recycling bin. Specifically, I follow a plastic bottle that makes its way from a recycling truck to the processing facility. That plastic bottle finally makes its way across the sea to a recycling plant. The main question this video seeks to answer is whether recycling works anymore and whether it's still environmentally friendly.
2. Is The North Face worth your money?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look whether the search engine Ecosia is legit. Specifically, I figure out if Ecosia is real when they say Ecosia plants trees for every web search you make. Because there are no Snopes pieces on the Ecosia, I figured it would be important see if Ecosia is actually planting trees as they claim, as well as try to figure out whether switching from Google to Ecosia makes sense.
3. Climate activists clash with Senator Feinstein over the Green New Deal. | OCC News
In this week's OCC environmental news video, I take a brief look at the growing struggle over the Green New Deal. Specifically, how climate activists have clashed with senators like Representative Dianne Feinstein and Representative Mitch McConnell over the Green New Deal resolution. Also in the news, NASA released a study that shows that the earth is greener with more trees and vegetation than it was 20 years ago.
4. Climate strikes inspired by Greta Thunberg are on the rise. | OCC News
In this week's OCC environmental news episode, I look at the student climate action protests and walkouts ignited by Greta Thunberg. I look at how Greta Thunberg has created a movement of students that has now built momentum and is pressuring world leaders to act on climate. I also look at a new study that shows the effect of the Endangered Species List on marine animals, specifically sea turtles. The study found that sea turtle population grew quickly when their habitats were conserved and protected.
5. Why is Fjällräven so expensive?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at why Fjällräven is so expensive. Specifically, I look at the sustainability and environmentally-friendly aspects of products like Kånken backpack in order to understand whether Fjällräven is worth the price. In the end, the price really comes down to the company's environmental and workplace ethics, the quality of its materials, and the upcharge a brand can incur.
6. Could insects be gone by the end of the century? | OCC News
In this Our Changing Climate News episode, I look at a newly released study on the sharp decline in insect populations over the past 30 years. According to the study, all types of insects might face extinction within the century. I also look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey's recent Green New Deal resolution. The Green New Deal proposal calls for an ambitious transition to 100% renewable energy by 2030 as well as universal healthcare and jobs for all.
7. Is Tesla actually sustainable?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at whether Tesla cars are actually sustainable. Specifically, I dig into the environmental impact of the life cycle of Tesla's electric cars. Elon Musk's Tesla models like the Model 3 or Model X initially have a higher environmental impact than gas-powered cars but seem to be more sustainable in the long run.
8. Are dockless scooters environmentally friendly? (Bird and Lime)
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I investigate the environmental impact of dockless scooters like Bird and Lime. I ask a simple question: are dockless scooters environmentally friendly? Unfortunately, the answer is not as simple, and the dockless scooter companies like Bird's sustainability depend on their context. They could have a low carbon footprint if they are replacing a car ride, but if not the scooters' environmental impact could be large. Basically, the environmental impact depends on the way we use a dockless scooter like Lime's.
9. How Maggie Rogers uses nature to create irresistible pop music.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I analyze the nature-based samples of Maggie Rogers' work including her hit song Alaska. I break down the lyrics and production of songs like Split Stones and Dog Years in order to understand how Maggie Rogers imbues her electronic pop songs with a natural feel. Ultimately, Maggie Rogers has created a new sound that can only be described as electronic-nature pop.
10. The truth about online shopping.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at online shopping's environmental impact. Specifically, I look at how the carbon footprint online retail stores like Amazon can differ widely depending on the shipping method. I also compare the environmental impact of different forms of shopping, as well as the influence packaging has on the environment.
11. Why weed isn't sustainable.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at why the indoor weed industry isn't sustainable. Part of the reason why weed has such a large environmental impact and carbon footprint is that most growers farm weed indoors. Indoor growing operations require a large amount of energy, which ultimately means more greenhouse gasses in the air.
12. Is fast fashion destroying our environment?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at the environmental impact of fast fashion. Specifically, I look at how fast fashion impacts climate change through the production process of polyester and post-consumption through waste. As a result, stores like H&M, Uniqlo, and Zara have huge carbon footprints and negatively affect the environment.
13. Can carbon offsets really save us from climate change?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I explain the issues of carbon offsets. Specifically, I look at how carbon offsets work to offset fossil fuel emissions, and whether they are effective in mitigating climate change. I also work through the moral implications of a carbon offset economy.
14. Why climate change makes extreme weather worse.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I explain the issues of carbon offsets. Specifically, I look at how carbon offsets work to offset fossil fuel emissions, and whether they are effective in mitigating climate change. I also work through the moral implications of a carbon offset economy.
15. Biomimicry is more than just good design.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I explain the issues of carbon offsets. Specifically, I look at how carbon offsets work to offset fossil fuel emissions, and whether they are effective in mitigating climate change. I also work through the moral implications of a carbon offset economy.
16. Did Whole Foods Market give rise to Industrial Organic Farming?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I explain the issues of carbon offsets. Specifically, I look at how carbon offsets work to offset fossil fuel emissions, and whether they are effective in mitigating climate change. I also work through the moral implications of a carbon offset economy.
17. Here's how plastic bags impact the environment
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I explain the issues of carbon offsets. Specifically, I look at how carbon offsets work to offset fossil fuel emissions, and whether they are effective in mitigating climate change. I also work through the moral implications of a carbon offset economy.
18. How Cuban agriculture went from industrial to sustainable
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at the history of Cuban sustainable agriculture and farming. Specifically, I look at why sustainable and organic methods, such as urban farms and market gardens, proliferated in Cuban farming, and what that might mean for farmers markets and local food systems in countries like the United States. Some of the principles of Cuban agriculture could be used to build a system in opposition to our current industrial food and factory farm system.
19. Was Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural vision sustainable?
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I look at Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings through his sustainable and green architecture in his designs for Fallingwater and Usonian homes. Specifically, I dig into his ideas of organic architecture, Usonia, and Broadacre City, and look at buildings like Fallingwater in order to come to grips with the balance Frank Lloyd Wright strikes between a love for nature (and green living) and a desire for embracing new technologies.
20. Father John Misty's Climate Change Revolution ft. Volksgeist
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay narrated by Volksgeist, I analyze Father John Misty's Things It Would Have Been Better to Know Before the Revolution in order to understand what a possible climate change revolution might look like. Father John Misty's album, Pure Comedy, presents an overarching worldview that presents more questions rather than answers. Things It Would Have Been Better to Know Before the Revolution offers us a chance to step back and reflect on what it truly means to mitigate climate change and "heal" our surroundings.
21. Sea level rise is getting worse. Here's what you need to know.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I take a brief look at the connection between sea level rise, sunshine flooding, and climate change. Specifically, I look at how sea level rise is getting worse on America's coastal cities by showing how they've been experiencing an increased amount of nuisance flooding as a result of rising oceans and climate change.
22. Federal lands, explained.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I explained how federal lands have become embroiled in a battle between federal and state's rights. I look at how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service, and the National Park Service are tasked with the difficult job of managing federal lands for multiple uses. As a result, this has led to events like the Sagebrush Rebellion and the struggle over Bears Ears National Monument.
23. Why we need more cultural landscapes.
In this Our Changing Climate environmental video essay, I take a look at the concept of cultural landscapes. I specifically look at how the integration of natural landscapes and human landscapes can create a deep tradition of reverence for the local environment. Cultural landscapes might just offer viable alternatives to industrial agricultural and cultural systems that often overlook the health of the land.
24. Here's why we need to rethink veganism
A brief climate change video essay on the environmental impacts of veganism, and how we can reframe going vegan less as a lifestyle and more as an aspiration. While eating a plant-based diet does greatly reduce your carbon footprint due to the meat industry's rampant fossil fuels use, going vegan is sometimes not accessible to all.
25. How masculinity shapes climbers on the world's highest peaks
A brief video focusing on what the mountaineering documentary Meru can tell us about the relationship between mountaineering and toxic masculinity. Specifically, I look at the writings of alpinists like Reinhold Messner and the actions of Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk to show how the high peaks have become a traumatic proving ground for hypermasculinity.
