Composting: It's a Good Thing!

Composting: It's a Good Thing!

Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into fertilizer. When you collect your food scraps for composting, you cut down on the amount of trash that goes into landfill. If that organic waste instead ends up in landfill, it breaks down and is emitted into the atmosphere as methane—an extremely potent greenhouse gas. But as nutrient-rich compost—sometimes referred to as black gold—it can be used in gardens, where it enriches the soil, thus reducing the need for fertilizers and pesticides. This is reuse/recycling/circularity at its natural best!

Toward a Plastic-Free (or Free-er) July

Toward a Plastic-Free (or Free-er) July

My husband and I are pretty highly functioning when it comes to plastic-consciousness/plastic-avoidance: For years, we’ve brought our own reusable bags to the grocery store, and we’ve picked up plastic bottles during our walks so we could put them in the recycling bin. We drink from reusable water bottles. Pre-COVID, when we went to restaurants, we brought our own containers for leftovers. . . . And yet, as I look around my home—at the shampoos and conditioners, moisturizers, dish and laundry soaps, toothbrushes, sun block, the bottle that holds my calcium supplements, the one that holds the Tylenol I took for my headache the night I started thinking about this—I feel daunted at the challenge of living plastic-free.

Young Filmmakers Contest Kicks Off Earth Week Mini Film Fest with Short Student Films

Young Filmmakers Contest Kicks Off Earth Week Mini Film Fest with Short Student Films

The One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest will continue the celebration of award-winning student films via a virtual event to kick off Earth Week Mini Film Fest in April. See eight short, student films from among 13 honorable mention/notable winners on Monday, April 18, at 5 p.m. CDT.

Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

Highlights from the 11th Annual One Earth Film Fest

In the two years since the pandemic forced a pivotal shift, One Earth Film Festival didn’t retract. In fact, it grew and is now reaching audiences well beyond the Chicago area. You might say the festival has become a whole-Earth event.

This year One Earth Film Festival drew viewers from Hawaii, Japan, Africa and Australia as well as California, Massachusetts, Kansas and many other states. That meant that more people could be moved to take action—to “Turn the Tide.”

Big Idea Bagged 'Plastic Bag Store: The Film'

Big Idea Bagged 'Plastic Bag Store: The Film'

We all know plastic waste is bad. Individual actions (refusing, reducing, reusing) are good, but limited to your own scope of influence (home, work, etc). Banding together with the broader community is the next logical step. Here’s one path that Julie Moller, waste activist, took.

Young Filmmakers Contest Reveals Passion for Animals and Planet

Young Filmmakers Contest Reveals Passion for Animals and Planet

From manatees to koalas to pangolins, endangered wildlife was a recurring theme among 148 submissions to the 2022 One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest. Students ages 8 to 25 revealed the impact of weather extremes and plastic pollution on people, animals, and the planet, with a new note of urgency about the climate crisis in their short films.