Native Americans throughout history have held the belief that all elements of Earth, living and nonliving, are respected and equal in rights to humans. The landscape, animals, plants, and other environmental elements play a major role in the religion of Native Americans.They believe all things are connected and give each other life, for which we…
Category: Sustainable Practices
Passive solar design uses the natural energy from the sun for heating and cooling living spaces. Key aspects of passive solar include properly oriented windows, thermal mass, distribution mechanisms, and control strategies. Windows are used to collect solar energy and should face southwards for maximum solar input during the winter months and minimum input during…
The Waccamaw Indians fought for federal recognition up until 2005 when they became South Carolina’s first recognized tribe. Federal recognition honors the tribes’ inherent rights of self-government, tribal sovereignty, and they are entitled to receive federal benefits, services, and protections because of their special relationship with the United States. In June 2006, the United Nations Declaration…
1.2 billion people,17 percent of the global population, in the world presently live without electricity. In developing nations where incomes are low and jobs are difficult to find, there tends to be lower education achievement. A large part of has to do with lack of electricity; when the sun goes down, the books have to close. There are…
Earth’s natural and “abundant” resources exist within limits. While these resources may rejuvenate and renew themselves time and time again, at what point do they stop becoming readily available? How would we adjust to a changing world where these resources may one day become truly scarce? Can we ethically consume an endless supply of electricity,…
According to the Brundtland Commission report, sustainable development calls for “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Long before the report was published in 1987, Native American indigenous cultures lived by the proverb, “we have not inherited the earth from our fathers,…
Conventional solar panels are sometimes regarded as an eyesore, but there are new forms for rooftop solar. Solar shingles are building-integrated photovoltaics that are integrated into the existing design of a conventionally-shingled rooftop. Solar shingles were introduced in 2005 and have since been making ground mostly in Colorado. Household solar shingles have the ability to cut…
As the world modernizes and realizes the urgency for cleaner energy sources, countries are writing policies to introduce more renewables onto their grids. Germany is a leader in this movement and has developed a policy that expedites this process. Energiewende is Germany’s energy policy enacted in 2011 to introduce a significant increase in the use of…
Wind energy is a renewable energy source which means there is an inexhaustible amount of energy that can be cultivated. With zero greenhouse gas emissions, wind energy has very low impacts to the environment and can be used virtually anywhere the wind blows. According to the American Wind Energy Association, the wind industry has generated…
The Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans, Louisiana was one of the hardest hit areas in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Located adjacent to the Industrial Canal levy, the neighborhood flooded with over 20 feet of water. However, after this devastating blow, a conglomeration of humanitarian aid and philanthropic deeds, the community began…