Does your Hamburger Contribute to Climate Change?

In this day and age, it seems that so-called “fad diets” are becoming more and more popular, especially among millennials and young adults. Aside from all of the more extreme diets – such as the grapefruit only diet or taking shots of apple cider vinegar to boost metabolism – there is a rising market […]

Thoughts on Ecocriticism and Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake

From Walt Whitman to Japanese poetry and Native American oral traditions, people around the globe have always had a habit of expressing their concern and articulating their inescapable relationship with their natural environment through literature. Whether they spoke of the environment with a delicate love, or expressed an anxiety for nature’s hostile interaction with them, […]

Microbead Management: Where Are We Now?

You might have forgotten about them, but two years ago microbeads were all the rage, literally. The tiny plastic particles used in cosmetics were a topic of hot debate in 2015 and 2016 after word got around that aquatic wildlife were treating them as a snack. Unfortunately, this kind of snack was soaking up toxins […]

Artificial Rhino Horn: An Artificial Solution?

Rhinos are worth more dead than alive. In South Africa, owning a rhino is a liability rather than a privilege. This is because rhinoceros horn is revered in some countries as a medicine and status symbol that promotes health, wealth, and prosperity. A kilogram of horn can cost up to $65 000, exceeding the value […]

Intern Spotlight: Meet Victoria

Victoria Wallace ‘18 is an intern for Illinois PIRG (Public Interest Research Groups) and Environment Illinois. She worked with a Campaign Organizer, Lianne May, on a national campaign to get colleges to commit to 100% renewable energy in college campuses. Campuses are the perfect places for implementing renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar, […]

The Green, Orange and Blue

By Emily Chen; Photo by Tyler Baldassone In 2016, the Marching Illini (MI) made a complete 180 turn regarding environmental sustainability. What once was an organization where paper was invaluable is now a completely digitalized, efficient system. Known as “The Nation’s Premier College Marching Band”, the MI was founded in 1867 and has been performing […]