Happy World Water Day! Ever wondered where the water in the bottles really comes from? Is it cleaner than the stuff out of the tap? Does it at least taste better?! In honor of World Water Day we present some food drink for thought: Annie Leonard’s newest short: “The Story of Bottled... (continue reading)

What, When, Where and Why A long queue to the toilet is definitely something that annoys everybody. But on 20 March 2010, Saturday, a group of enthusiastic Malaysian youths gathered at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre to join the official Guinness World Record attempt for the World’s Longest Toilet Queue. The Queue was held, and is still being held, in more than 70 countries across the world across the same time period (20-22 March 2010). But why queue up for the toilet? Thousands of campaigners around the world wish to mark UN World Water Day and to stand in solidarity with the 2.6... (continue reading)

The Most Awkward Part As far as introductions go, I have been fussing about this blog intro entry for about a week (Don’t judge. This is my first blog.) and have finally acknowledged some very important things. 1. I am really excited to be blogging. 2. I need to introduce myself for the sake of any readers I may have. 3. I can be extremely awkward online. So, in light of these three things, I now am ready (I think…) to explain myself or at least attempt an explanation of sorts. Apologies up front for a long blog entry, know that my future blogs will be more succinct (or I shall... (continue reading)

Because I will be writing for the RYSE blog on a regular basis, I want to take a moment to introduce myself and my path to environmental activism. Hopefully by sharing my story you will have a clearer idea of how I look at things and how to read my posts. Archaeology and Anthropology Since high school, I have been fascinated by archaeology. I participated in my first archaeological dig when I was 16, and continued to study ancient cultures in college. As a tour guide at the University of Michigan’s natural history museum, I gave tours of the Native cultures exhibits. I enjoyed teaching... (continue reading)

Initial reaction: heartbreak.  The intensity of the connection you feel staring into the eyes of an orangutan is vastly underestimated.  Visiting Km 38, a facility with 18 caged orangutans was an experience not quickly, nor easily, forgotten.  The NGO Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) built most of km 38 in response to the 1997/1998 forest fires when enormous tracts of rainforest habitat were destroyed.  Most of the burned, injured and displaced orangutans were brought to BOS.  While the facility was busy and crowded then, after more than 10 years the buildings are now vacant and... (continue reading)