Redesigning Our Future

Recycling bins are in our homes, schools and all over the world; our minds are trained to recycle every substance that is possibly recyclable. We often point to recycling as a superhero- like throwing away our plastics bottles are slapping pollution in the face! One by one we are cleaning up the environment by making small lifestyle changes like using reusable water bottles, but some of our changes are actually hurting the environment around us. Five negative effects from recycling are: 1) Contamination is a huge problem in the recycling industry. For example, when lead paint from an aluminum spray can makes it through the recycling process, it usually ends up being buried in the new product- usually a soda can. Contamination causes a huge problem when hundreds of buildings in Taiwan , made from recycled steel, were giving people gamma radiation poisoning for twelve years starting in 2000. 2) Air pollution will always be an issue in our world. The proc...

By: Jumana Mograbi A stack of newspapers in hand and a couple of minutes on the clock, the campers creativity shone through during last nights Eco Olympics. The task assigned consisted off building a tower from the newspapers provided, the tower was judged based on creativity and height. The newspapers were folded, ripped into pieces and stacked on top of each other as the campers tried to keep the newspapers from falling apart. Communication skills and team work were shown as the campers worked together on building a tower, and as they tried to think of ideas that would help them win first place. After 10 minutes, time was called and the campers stopped working and stepped back from their creations. The focus groups towers were all different in shapes and heights and creativity. After observing all the towers the judges gave Invasive Species the award for tallest tower while Go Ahead Change Your Mind won most creative. The newspapers were then recycled and gathered up as th...