Published

1 year ago

January 9, 2025

Alice Rush

In 1979, when President Jimmy Carter famously unveiled 32 solar panels on the White House roof, he remarked, “A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people.”

Despite his reputation as an often ineffective president, he had an enormous effect on the environment as an advocate for clean energy, protecting lands and regulating toxic chemicals.

Jimmy Carter was an early adopter of clean energy in an effort to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil following the oil crisis that preceded his presidency. Four years before Carter took office, the member nations of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries placed an oil embargo on the U.S. and several other western nations in response to their support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. As a result, the price of oil rose by more than 300%, while American dependence on foreign oil was simultaneously rising.

After Carter took office, he responded by creating the U.S. Department of Energy. One of Carter’s major goals for the agency was to reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuels by pushing for the domestic production of energy. While this push wasn’t perfect — part of his solution for the complex crisis included propping up domestic coal power — it was also a first-of-its-kind endorsement for clean energy, championing sustainable sources like solar and nuclear. “No one can embargo the sun,” Carter once said. “No cartel controls the sun. Its energy will not run out. It will not pollute our air or poison our waters. The sun’s power needs only to be collected, stored and used.”

In 1979, a second oil crisis hit, this time spurred by the decline in oil trade in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Carter responded by laying out plans to expand renewable energy sources and made a pledge that 20% of American energy would be produced by renewable sources by 2000, but was voted out of office before many of these plans could come to fruition.

Carter also protected far more land than any U.S. president in history. In 1978, he advocated for the National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA,) which aimed to protect vast amounts of Alaskan wilderness from commercial use and destruction. After the bill failed due to a last-minute filibuster, Carter used executive authority to protect more than 56 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, designating those lands as National Monuments. This action alone would more than double the size of the National Park system.

Snowcapped mountains in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. In 1978, President Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act into law, creating 10 new national parks and preserves including this one, the largest U.S. national park. National Park Service

In December of 1980, roughly six weeks before Carter left office, ANILCA was debated again in Congress, and passed. Upon Carter’s signature, the law became the most expansive federal protection of American lands in history, granting protection to more than 157 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, which included further protections for much of the land Carter had protected two years prior. Of those 157 million acres, it also designated nearly ten million acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System, more than nine million acres to the Wilderness Preservation System, and more than three million acres to the National Forest System.

He was the first president to take notable action against federal water projects, arguing that building dams in the American West would harm river health. This stance was an extension of his conservation efforts as governor of Georgia, when, according to Stuart E. Eizenstat, his own domestic affairs advisor, he became “the first governor to block a Corps of Engineers dam,” and during his presidency was “the most consistently pro-environmental president since Theodore Roosevelt.”

Today, many rivers throughout the American West suffer from major droughts.

While it’s difficult to directly measure the impact his stance on these federal water projects had, these rivers would have surely been even worse off if it weren’t for Carter.

After Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring brought pesticides to the forefront of the public eye a little more than a decade earlier, Carter took broad steps to regulate pesticides. He passed major amendments to the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIRFA) in 1978, requiring stricter registration of pesticides, and in 1976, he passed the Toxic Substances Control Act, giving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the authority to require reporting, testing and record-keeping of toxic chemicals.

Of course, Jimmy Carter is nearly as famous for his exceptional post-presidency as his actual presidency. Likewise, his impact on the world outlives his time in the Oval Office. He and his wife, Rosalynn, famously worked with Habitat for Humanity, personally helping to build, repair or renovate about 4,400 homes, according to the organization’s website, for instance.

*Carter strolls the worksite at the Habitat For Humanity Work Project in San Pedro, California on Oct. 29, 2007. Charley Gallay / Getty Images*

The Carter Center, his own nonprofit, has also had a significant impact globally. When the organization assumed leadership in the global fight against Guinea Worm in 1986, there were 3.5 million cases in Africa and Asia, according to the Carter Center. By 2022, that number had dropped to thirteen. It is currently on track to become the second human disease to be eradicated in history, following only smallpox.

Some of the Carter Center’s other achievements include:

Rallying against other diseases, like trachoma, river blindness, lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis and malaria;
Increasing healthcare access in thousands of impoverished global communities;
Pioneering “new public health approaches to preventing or controlling devastating neglected diseases in Africa and Latin America;”
Observing elections in dozens of countries in an effort to strengthen democracies; and
“Furthering avenues to peace in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Liberia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, the Korean Peninsula, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Middle East.”

Jimmy Carter has had a profound impact back in his hometown too. In 2017, nearly four decades after he had solar panels installed on the White House roof, Carter leased ten acres on the land he used to farm peanuts to build a 1.3-megawatt solar farm that’s been powering half of his hometown of Plains, Georgia ever since. Rather than a road not taken, it represents the life of a man who has perhaps paved too many roads to count.

The post What Is Jimmy Carter’s Environmental Legacy? appeared first on EcoWatch.

https://www.ecowatch.com/jimmy-carter-environmental-legacy.html

Green Living

Earth911 Inspiration: No Louder Voice?

Published

2 days ago

February 6, 2026

Alice Rush

Saint Augustine, in a sermon to his congregation, urged them to look beyond books, even to Bible, to see God in nature: “God, whom you want to discover, never wrote a book in ink. Instead, He set before your eyes the things that He had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?”

How do we move past the identity politics that dominate discourse on the left and right at this fractured moment and amount to a cacophony of special pleadings for the advantage of small groups, nations, and isolated networks? That’s why we ignore the Earth, because we cannot look up from our daily concerns. We need a new universal value that unites, one that emphasizes human dignity in the context of a restored, regenerating nature.

Earth911 inspirations. Print them, post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day.

The post Earth911 Inspiration: No Louder Voice? appeared first on Earth911.

https://earth911.com/living-well-being/earth911-inspiration-no-louder-voice/

Green Living

Petrochemicals: How They Affect People + Planet

Published

2 days ago

February 6, 2026

Alice Rush

Last Updated on February 6, 2026

Have you ever heard of Cancer Alley? It’s an ~85-mile stretch along the banks of the Mississippi River where communities exist beside ~200 fossil fuel and petrochemical operations.

Residents of Cancer Alley are exposed to more than 10x the level of health risk from hazardous air pollutants than people living elsewhere in the state. And it’s worth mentioning the residents exposed are mostly BIPOC and low-income communities.

Petrochemicals: How They Affect People + Planet

But what exactly are petrochemicals? And how exactly do they harm both people and planet? Here’s everything you need to know.

what are petrochemical plants?

Petrochemical plants are facilities that process crude oil and fracked gas to make plastics, industrial chemicals and pesticides. They are usually located near petroleum refineries or integrated into large petrochemical complexes.

Petrochemical factories process and transform hydrocarbons into chemical products used in the plastics, textiles, automotive, pharmaceutical, and electronic industries.

Obtaining the raw materials needed to make petrochemicals is already carbon intensive – and the raw material processing these plants do only pollute further.

what is an example of a petrochemical?

An example of a petrochemical is ethylene, which is the most widespread petrochemical in the world, primarily used in the plastic industry to make polyethylene. You may know polyethylene as plastic resin #2 (HDPE – high density – used for milk jugs, detergent bottles, etc.) and #4 (LDPE – low density – used for plastic grocery bags/film).

Olefins plants (a specific type of petrochemical plant) produces ethylene. These plants use steam crackers and the energy input is considered one of the most energy intensive processes in the chemical industry.

But olefin plants are only one type of petrochemical plant. Aromatic plants produce nezene, toluene, and xylene from naphtha and other refinery streams. These make up dyes, detergents, and plastic products.

Syngas plants use natural gas or coal to generate synthetic gas, which creates industrial chemicals such as ammonia and methanol.

are petrochemicals harmful?

Petrochemicals have been linked to health problems, including cancer, according to an analysis in the New England Journal of Medicine.

That’s because to make petrochemicals, plants release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that pollute the air. Not to mention refineries and plants discharge toxins into waterways, which contributes to water pollution.

According to an Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) report, nearly 70 petrochemical companies across the nation are sending millions of pounds of pollutants into waterways each year due to weak or nonexistent regulations. And yes, it does contaminate drinking water.

Residents of Cancer Alley have experienced this firsthand. Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are present in their drinking water at levels hundreds of times higher than currently-suggested safe levels for human consumption.

And residents suffer the effects of extreme air pollution on a daily basis. Including increased risks of infertility, respiratory illness and cancer.

According to 70 interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch, women in Cancer Alley reported miscarriages, high-risk pregnancies, and poor health of newborns. Many shared stories of entire communities decimated by cancer (hence the name).

do petrochemicals harm the environment?

Yes, petrochemicals harm the environment too – petrochemical plants use massive amounts of energy to function, and in doing so, pollute the air, water and soil. Everything is intersectional.

Plus, as we transition away from fossil fuels to power our homes and businesses, petrochemical plants are becoming a lifeline to Big Oil. That’s because crude oil and gas are used to make many petrochemicals.

If petrochemical plants are allowed to grow, unregulated, there will be more consumption of oil and gas to come for decades. This directly contributes to climate change.

what is being done + how can we help?

Cancer Alley residents are fighting for reignition and change.

Sharon Lavigne, a retired special education teacher, founded Rise St. James, an organization focused on bringing environmental justice to the people of St. James Parish. The parish is located in one of Cancer Alley’s polluted hotspots, and Lavigne’s demands are far from radical. She simply wants clean air and drinking water.

Yet a lawsuit filed by the Biden Justice Department and EPA was recently dropped by the current administration.

Robert Taylor, founder of Concerned Citizens of St. John, said “…our government has abandoned us. We have been designated a sacrifice zone.”

Unfortunately, Texas recently also cleared the way for petrochemical expansion despite health warnings.

So how do we make an impact? Here are a few ways we can help:

Reduce your reliance on plastics. Especially single-use. Here’s a beginner’s guide to waste reduction.

Advocate for extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Ditch banks that support the fossil fuel industry in favor of green banks.

Support Earth Justice, which sews on behalf of the earth.

Avoid using pesticides and advocate against their use on farms. Support local, pesticide-free farmers whenever possible.

Invest in clean energy and green financing.

Support community-based initiatives impacted most by petrochemical plants, such as Rise St. James and Concerned Citizens of St. John.

Speak up and spread the word. Share this article so more people know about petrochemicals and why they harm people + planet.

How are you advocating against petrochemicals? Let me know in the comments!

The post Petrochemicals: How They Affect People + Planet appeared first on Going Zero Waste.

Petrochemicals: How They Affect People + Planet

Green Living

Pizza Boxes Are More Recyclable Than Ever

Published

4 days ago

February 5, 2026

Alice Rush

Back in 2020, the Recycling Partnership and WestRock released a scientific study demonstrating that used pizza boxes are recyclable, even when greasy and contaminated with cheese. Since that research was published, the findings have driven significant improvements in recycling program acceptance nationwide.

The basic results are clearly favorable for greater acceptance of pizza boxes for recycling. The typical pizza box has 1% to 2% grease content by weight, which is about one-tenth the acceptable level for cardboard (corrugated paperboard) recycling. The study looked at the impact of greasy boxes on mixed recycling loads that include 8% greasy pizza boxes with varying levels of greasy contamination from between 3% and 40%. The recycled materials produced were still viable for packaging use, well within the tensile strength required for packaging.

Recycling Acceptance Has Expanded

Since the study was released, pizza box recycling acceptance has grown substantially. According to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), 82% of Americans now have access to a community recycling program that accepts pizza boxes—up from 73% in 2020. AF&PA member company mills representing 94% of old corrugated container consumption now accept pizza boxes with no observed impacts to operations or finished product quality.

The AF&PA’s guidance is unambiguous: “Corrugated pizza boxes are successfully recycled every day at paper mills throughout the country. Our industry wants these boxes back to recycle.”

Since about 3 billion pizza boxes are used in the U.S. each year, the improved recycling processes can capture roughly 600,000 tons of cardboard annually that could be turned into new boxes, paper towels, toilet paper, and other paper products.

What To Do Do With Your Next Pizza Box?

Our guidance is based on the research and current program acceptance:

For most Americans: Your recycling program likely accepts pizza boxes. Remove any leftover pizza, flatten the box, and place it in your recycling bin. Light grease stains are acceptable; the science confirms they don’t affect the recycling process.

If your box has a waxed paper liner, remove it before recycling: The box itself can be recycled as normal cardboard.

If your program prohibits pizza boxes: Don’t send materials your program won’t accept. Instead, check the composting options below or contact your local recycling coordinator to share the Recycling Partnership’s toolkit and AF&PA research. Citizen requests carry a lot of weight at local departments of sanitation.

If your box is heavily saturated with grease: Consider composting instead of recycling. While typical grease levels are fine for recycling, boxes that are completely soaked may be better suited for composting programs.

The Recycling Partnership tested a variety of grease- and cheese-contaminated pizza boxes. Only the box on the right approached unacceptable recycling results.

What About The Cheese?

You might ask, “Isn’t cheese a barrier to successful recycling?” Cheese tends to solidify and get screened out during the pulping process,” according to the 2020 report. The researchers tested sending boxes heavily contaminated with cheese through a recycling process and found that it did not significantly reduce the resulting paper fiber’s viability for reuse. Paper mills have become increasingly adept at screening out chunks of cheese during processing.

Composting: A Great Alternative

When recycling isn’t available, or your pizza box is heavily soiled, composting provides an excellent alternative that keeps cardboard out of landfills while creating nutrient-rich soil. Many cities now accept pizza boxes in curbside organics programs:

New York City requires all residents to separate food scraps and food-soiled paper from trash as of April 2025. Pizza boxes are explicitly accepted in the brown bin program.

California jurisdictions statewide must provide organics collection under SB 1383. Food-soiled pizza boxes can go in compostables carts.

Portland, Oregon updated its guidelines under the state’s Recycling Modernization Act. As of July 2025, empty pizza boxes with minimal grease are recyclable, while greasier boxes can go in yard waste bins.

King County, Washington accepts pizza boxes in composting, noting that food-soiled paper can be composted, though clean cardboard is better recycled.

For home composting, tear greasy cardboard into small pieces to speed up decomposition. The cardboard provides essential carbon to balance nitrogen-rich food scraps, improving compost quality.

How to Check Your Local Guidelines

Domino’s partnered with WestRock to launch Recycle My Pizza Box, which lets you enter your ZIP code to find specific recycling guidance for your area. The site also provides template language you can share with local recycling programs that haven’t yet updated their guidelines.

Advocate for Change

If your municipality still lists pizza boxes in the “no” pile, you can help drive change:

Share the WestRock Grease & Cheese Study with your local recycling coordinator
Point them to the Recycling Partnership’s free toolkit, which includes updated bin labels, mailers, and social media assets
Reference the AF&PA’s industry guidance confirming that paper mills want these boxes back

The progress since 2020 shows that advocacy works. Communities from Anchorage to New York have updated their programs based on this research.

Eat happily—that box can become the next pizza box you receive, or any number of other paper products that keep valuable fiber in circulation.