Happy Sunday! I hope you’ve been having a wonderful weekend. Mine has been pretty busy, which is why this week’s Weekend Roundup is going up a little later than usual. Yesterday, I spent the day up in West Palm and ate lunch at my favorite vegan restaurant, Christopher’s Kitchen. Then today I went rock climbing for the first time with my parents, brother, and sister-in-law. It was a lot of fun but it was also a reminder of how weak my upper body is right now. I’m going to have to work on that. Anyway, that’s my little weekend update. Keep reading for some interesting articles and videos I came across this week.
- This video by The Intercept explains how the plastic industry has long blamed plastic pollution on consumers. Rather than take responsibility for the mess it has caused our planet, the plastic industry encourages consumers to recycle, as if that’s doing us any good. Only 9% of plastic waste actually gets recycled so we really need to focus on reducing our plastic consumption and reusing what we can.
- Several universities in the UK are banning beef in an effort to help the environment. Do you think this trend will be picked up in the US?
- As of today, single-use plastic bags are banned in New York state, with a few exceptions. This video from NowThis Future shares some of the environmental benefits of such a ban and some implications.
- With the coronavirus spreading, it is super important that everyone wash their hands more frequently and wash them long enough to kill germs. According to a study by Michigan State University, “only 5 percent of people wash their hands long enough to kill germs after using the restroom.” Umm that’s disgusting! Make sure you wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds.
- In saddening news, it has been reported that more and more polar bears are resorting to cannibalism in order to survive. Scientists believe that this increase is due to habitat loss and limited food availability.
- I didn’t want to end on a sad note so here is a sweet dog rescue video. These types of videos always make my heart happy. 🙂