When you see the USDA Organic label, what are your expectations? Do you trust that the product labelled was produced in a manner that is better for you, the planet, and the farmers that produced the product? The intention of labeling systems, like “organic,” is to quickly communicate the standards …
There’s always been something very appealing to me about waste. This interest has led me to investigate the inevitability as well as the unfortunate reality that is food waste. I am a current Master’s student at Bard’s Center for Environmental Policy (Bard CEP). All Bard CEP students are expected to …
In the South Pacific, it’s no surprise that coconuts are a big deal. Their usage is endless!–from a building material, to a source of healthy fat, to handmade virgin coconut oil that is used to prevent the spread of common skin disease such as scabies. The complimentary phrase “vanka …
I have always been enamored with the way farming unites people with the natural world. So it’s fitting that the internship I got to inform my graduate work at Bard College’s Center for Environmental Policy would be on a farm focused on maintaining synergy with nature. Hawthorne Valley Farmscape Ecology Program …
Over the last several weeks I have had the pleasure of working for New York City’s Department of Sanitation (DSNY) as an Organics Outreach Graduate Intern. Most broadly DSNY is concerned with the collection of all residential trash and recycling, street cleaning, and snow removal within the 5 boroughs. This …
All the hype about Alaska is real: it is BIG, BEAUTIFUL, and WILD. I don’t know how to begin to describe it after that. Adjectives fail at capturing whatever *it* is here. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to live, work, and play here for the summer. …
Election season has officially peaked, and with 7 candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in NYS District 19, voters are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the candidates’ various platforms. As a self-declared policy wonk, I think the differences are clear. However, I am also deeply biased and completely …
The United Nations (UN) is a leading organization addressing complex and interdisciplinary issues on a global scale. My key areas of interests focused on by the UN are conflict, disaster response, environmental security, peacekeeping, and cooperation. During my internship experience at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, …
On the west coast, fire season never ends. There is almost always some fire burning in California–as is shown on this map, provided by CalFire and updated in real time. When California burns, what happens to the people? This question becomes increasingly prominent as more people than ever flock to California …
Driving forward change in the environmental field is a large and extremely important challenge. The issues that the field hopes to address—from climate change to food insecurity—are systemic, complex and long term. Creating meaningful change requires many things, perhaps the most important of which is leadership. Otis Rolley is one …
