Notice the changes we’ve made? A new design, a new logo? Is that significant? You betcha! For 11 years, I’ve kept a general sustainability focus: if it’s green, it works. Now that doesn’t mean we’ve always done the same things: the early years were definitely reflective of my timeΒ in academia, and more recent ones have focused on living a more sustainable lifestyle (and reaching a broader audience). Of course, we’re always checking the numbers to see what resonates with people. After a lot of consideration, and a month of testing and transition, I’ve decided to focus sustainablog on the topic of waste.
Why waste? I’ve always been fascinated by the innovations surrounding the things we’ve usually thrown “away.” Whether poop to power, or crafty upcycling, or throwing food scraps into a methane digester, I’m intrigued byΒ the innovations surrounding our waste streams, and how we find use for these materials that would’ve gone into a landfill (or the ocean, or to a village in Africa, etc.) just a few years ago. Of course, many of these materials still go into landfills, or the ocean, or villages in the developing world, and we’ll dig into those stories, also. But, mostly, we’re really interested in how “waste” spurs the imagination, at the individual, community, and corporate level.
So, what does this mean for you? It does mean you’ll see more business/industry posts: we’ll be keeping an eye on developments in the waste industries. But we’ll also stick with ways that individuals and households can minimize their trash streams through reduction, reuse, recycling, and upcycling. If it involves keeping materials out of landfills, or our water and soil, or poor developing world communities, we’re interested… We’ll focus primarily on solid/material wastes, but won’t ignore things like water and energy… we’ll often pass those along to sister sites in the Important Media network better able to cover them, though.
So, come along with us: if you know of a good story along these lines, share it. Or just check in every day to see what we’ve found, and tell us what you think about it.
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