The apocalyptic orange and hazy skies of the United States’ west coast serve as a reminder to the American public of the annual wildfire season, often peaking in September and October. To alert wanderers and provide relief to those affected, Google announced a plan to launch a new Google Maps filter that would show users the location of active wildfires surrounding them.
The Connecticut River Watershed flows from the New Hampshire-Canada border all the way to where it meets the ocean on the Connecticut coast. Towards its southern border lies Stony Brook, one of the river’s distributaries that flows through the Mount Holyoke College campus. The entirety of the Stony Brook Watershed has only four impoundments, or dams — three of which are located here on campus.
The lush botanical gardens, lakes and hillocks stitching together the buildings at Mount Holyoke provide spaces for students to decompress, take part in age-old traditions and build new memories — all integral parts of one’s academic experience. Green spaces, like those mentioned above, are recreational areas, which the EPA website says aim to “enhance the beauty and environmental quality of neighborhoods.” The Enrollment Services branch of EAB, a technology and research oriented firm formerly named the Educational Advisory Board, shows that green spaces affect students’ college decisions.
This past week, Sept. 20 to 26, was Climate Week NYC, an event that aimed to collectively pressure businesses and governments towards action in response to climate change. Last Wednesday night, seven talk show hosts participated in “Climate Night,” an event coordinated by veteran producer and writer Steve Bodow. The night brought together shows on various networks including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show With Trevor Noah and Full Frontal With Samantha Bee.
Vandana Shiva is a 68-year-old Indian environmental activist with a focus on food sovereignty. Shiva went to school for physics, later pursuing research in the intersection of science, technology and environmental policy. She has written over twenty books, with her first, titled “Staying Alive,” linking the abuse of nature with that of marginalized women living in rural India. This study lead to her future co-authored book “Ecofeminism,” which aims to show how gender, nature and oppression intersect.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the power dynamics that exist between countries with large tourism economies and the rest of the world. On Aug. 23, the governor of Hawai’i asked travelers to abstain from vacationing on the islands through the end of October in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. These concerns about the impacts of tourism extend also into an ethical debate about the negative effects that large influxes of tourists can have on local communities. As more attention is given to the roles and responsibilities tourists hold in protecting the health of vacation hot spot communities, there is also an opportunity to reflect on the environmental consequences of tourism.
Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, known to many as “Little Miss Flint,” is a 14-year-old activist based in Flint, Michigan. Her activism began at just eight years old, when she first became aware of the undrinkable water in her hometown, in which high levels of lead were detected. Copeny began to gain national attention when she wrote a letter to then-President Barack Obama to convince him to come to Flint and see the water crisis firsthand. This letter prompted Obama’s May 2016 visit to Flint. After his visit, he declared a federal state of emergency for the Michigan town and allocated $100 million in aid to address the issue.
