"Preparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy." — Max Mayfield, Director National Hurricane Center Whether or not you were impacted by the destruction caused by any of the recent natural disasters, it’s easy to be left feeling hopeless and thinking, “What can I possibly do to help?” My intention in [...]
The earth’s environment is constantly changing. Extreme weather patterns, over-exploited ecosystems, lost habitats, and human carelessness constantly threaten the stability of plant biodiversity. As data becomes more widely available to understand and address global climate issues, many innovators are focusing on conservation and sustainability practices. Conservation techniques, like the creation of seed banks and exchange [...]
Since the 1990s, the disappearance and the decline of the global honey bee population has been a crucial concern for beekeepers, environmentalists, scientists, and the food industry. In the United States alone, beekeepers lost 33% of their colonies in the year ending April 2017. An extinction of honey bees would be catastrophic, destabilizing important ecosystems [...]
Once the stuff of science fiction, robots are helping humans do nearly everything better and faster. Since the Industrial Revolution, automation has reshaped the manufacturing industry in places all over the world, doing repetitive jobs that free up humans for more creative endeavors. Factories are investing in automated technology. The use of drones has reshaped [...]
Recently ranked as one of the top innovative tech hubs in the world, Chicago’s prowess in the industry is on the rise. The Windy City is embedding smart tech into its infrastructure allowing residents, businesses, and governments to become more digitally-engaged through the application of big data, the internet of things, machine learning and data [...]
Global climate change is already taking visible tolls on our environment. From melting ice caps to superstorms, its severe implications for our environment are changing our everyday world. Every region will be affected by the crisis differently. In the Great Lakes region, climate change will have profound short and long-term effects not only on the [...]
In honor of Great Lakes Week, I’ve chosen to highlight environmental and conservation issues affecting the Great Lakes Coastal Region in this blog post. Collectively, the five Great Lakes--Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, and Lake Ontario--provide drinking water to more than 35 million people across eight states and two Canadian provinces, including [...]
Shortly before the holiday season, the Pratt Manhattan Gallery launched “Nectar: War Upon the Bees,” a visual exhibit which explores the destructive impact that our food production industry has on these important insects. The show examines the disruptive effect of current food industry practices which are threatening the valuable role of pollinators in our agricultural [...]
Renewable energy is a rapidly-developing market and one that many companies could soon be tapping into. That is, if they haven’t already. According to a National Renewable Energy Laboratory study, commercial rooftops in the U.S. have some 3.2 billion square feet of surface area available for solar panel installation. If that space were outfitted with [...]
Some executives are reluctant to make sustainability part of their company’s business strategy. They mistakenly believe the costs will eclipse the benefits. In fact, just the opposite is true. A growing number of companies are realizing that in the business world, sustainability has become requisite to long-term profitability. As a result, many organizations, including those [...]
