West Campus Stormwater Study

Senior Cassidy Thompson recently presented her findings on the fate of rainwater that falls at Georgia College’s West Campus Village as part of her senior capstone for her BA in Geography. Cassidy used aerial imagery from airplanes and drones to acquire detailed spatial elevation data and high-resolution photography. Working with a Geographic Information System (GIS),Continue reading “West Campus Stormwater Study”

Fast Fashion

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the clothing industry is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, releasing 1.7 billion tons of CO2 and using 1.5 trillion gallons of water per year, making the clothing industry, particularly fast fashion, a major contributor to pollution in the forms of microplastics and chemical waste (Davis,Continue reading “Fast Fashion”

Book Review: Sustainability Edition!

Title: We Are the Weather Author: Jonathan Safran Foer Year Published: 2019 We Are the Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer is an analysis of how our actions, particularly our dietary choices, directly affect the planet’s climate through a very human lens. Although Foer is a practicing vegetarian, and has been for a while, he delvesContinue reading “Book Review: Sustainability Edition!”

Zero Waste Week

What is Zero Waste? The primary purpose of the Zero Waste movement is to attempt to eliminate as much waste from your daily routine as possible. The massive amounts of trash that accumulate in landfills and oceans around the world present a variety of environmental issues such as pollution, water and air contamination, ecosystem destructions,Continue reading “Zero Waste Week”

Global Climate Change Week

October 19th-25 is Global Climate Change Week, giving all of us an opportunity to reflect on how the actions of modern society as a whole, as well as our individual actions, impact what scientists call “the biggest threat currently facing our planet”. Nearly every aspect of modern life (from transportation to agriculture to fashion) hasContinue reading “Global Climate Change Week”

World Food Day

October 16th is World Food Day! Today is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the fundamental flaws within our global, national, and local food systems, as well as reflect on what part we each play as the individuals that make up these systems. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, please checkContinue reading “World Food Day”

The Cost of Inefficient Food Systems

Poor Agricultural Practices For the past several decades, climate scientists have warned that agricultural industries must undergo significant changes if we are to avoid catastrophic levels of warming to the planet. The global agricultural industry has a notoriously large carbon footprint and, alongside transportation, is one of the largest emitters of carbon dioxide and otherContinue reading “The Cost of Inefficient Food Systems”

Georgia College Students Visit Southface Institute in Atlanta

Ava Leone  On Friday, February 21st, the Georgia College Office of Sustainability offered a free tour to Southface Institute in Atlanta. Southface is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that strives to “promote sustainable homes, workplaces, and communities through education, research, advocacy, and technical assistance” in the City of Atlanta and surrounding areas. The tour helped open students’Continue reading “Georgia College Students Visit Southface Institute in Atlanta”

Stressed Out Coral Reefs

Just like college students, coral reefs can get stressed out too. When coral gets stressed out, it loses its color, a process called coral bleaching. Healthy coral has a symbiotic relationship with single-celled, microscopic algae called zooxanthellae that live in the coral’s tissue. The algae are their primary source of food and are what giveContinue reading “Stressed Out Coral Reefs”

Physics Students Propose Energy and Water Improvements for Herty Hall

The April GreenBag Series discussion featured Physics majors Michael Crawford, Rhett Roberts, Parker McNair, Wenu Mutunda, Kyle Sorrells, and Jairus Elarbee.  As part of their senior research project, these students recently conducted an extensive study of enery and water use in Herty Hall.  Under the supervision of Dr. Hauke Busch, they examined heat loss throughContinue reading “Physics Students Propose Energy and Water Improvements for Herty Hall”