moonwatcher’s Recent Comments

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  Leather vs. alternatives

  inkedbuddha:
  Leather comes from beef cattle, so it's more of a byproduct than fur is. But buying leather does help support the beef industry by making it more cost-effective. It's true that leather alternatives (usually PVC, sometimes not) aren't very environmentally-friendly, but neither is leather--they use tons of harsh chemicals in the tanning process. You also have to add the costs of the cattle raising into the equation. I'm not sure which is worse in the end. (Maybe that's a question for Umbra?) Being vegan, I personally come down on the side of non-leather because of the animal treatment issue, but there are valid arguments on both sides. And don't worry that it's hypocritical to avoid some animal products but not others--every little bit makes a difference.On Umbra on (inherited) fur coats posted 1 year, 10 months ago 60 Responses

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  Another vote for Northland College

  There's an eco-dorm, a state-of-the-art eco-friendly student union, and the caf has lots of local, organic food with veggie options. Pretty much every student is an environmentalist, the #1 major is Natural Resources, and even the non-enviro classes work environmentalism into the curriculum.On 15 Green Colleges and Universities posted 2 years, 2 months ago 62 Responses

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  The problem with planting trees

  Another issue with planting trees is that so few of them actually survive for long. For most species you must plant dozens, sometimes hundreds, to make up for the loss of one tree, because most die within the first few years. Planting a single tree is unlikely to do much good anyway.On Umbra on tree planting posted 2 years, 10 months ago 18 Responses