Green Hosts

22/04/2020

Today is Earth day! Here are some things we can all do to lower our carbon footprint! Try to incorporate these things into your daily life even after today 🌱

11/04/2020

I had come across a BBC article which talked about wildlife and diseases. Here's something which stood out to me; "wild animals at risk of extinction due to human exploitation were found to carry over twice as many viruses that can cause human disease as threatened species listed for other reasons." I think this finding is really interesting and quite frankly a little sad. The human race, collectively, has proven that it doesn't care about the death of other species, to such a point that nature responded and created something that would force us to care. We don't care that we are the reason why so many species are going extinct until it directly affects us. Not all of us think like this, but the actions that our species as a whole has taken prove otherwise. Hopefully with this finding, we wake up and take action, if not for other species, then at least for ourselves.

So what are humans doing to cause these animals harm and what can we do about it? The main human-driven causes of extinction are overharvesting, habitat loss, introducing invasive species, pollution, and climate change. Some ways we each can limit our impact are 𝟏) 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝. I recommend using the app "Seafood Watch" from the Monterey Bay Aquarium which lets you know whether the fish you buy is sustainable or not. 𝟐) 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐲, 𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐤. Make sure the wood you buy comes from a “sustainable forest,” one where trees are replanted. 𝟑) 𝐄𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐭. Raising livestock requires lots of land. Currently, cattle ranching in every country in the Amazon is responsible for 80% of deforestation rates. Livestock occupy more than one-fourth of Earth’s land. 𝟒) 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝; 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲. In Florida, many Burmese Python (which are not native to FL) owners decided that they did not want their snakes anymore and released them into the wild, which had devastating effects for other species. A 2012 study showed that raccoon populations in the area dropped by 99.3% and marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes completely disappeared after the release of the python. 𝟓) 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬. 𝟔) 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐨-𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥, 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝.

If everybody makes these small changes to their lifestyle and if we all support legislation that will positively impact the environment, we will be able to fix our relationship with nature and be able to coexist with all animals on this planet.

Here is a link to the article: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52204724

New evidence has emerged of a link between our impact on nature and pandemics sweeping the world.

19/03/2020

Today is the first day of spring! Enjoy this quote by Harriet Ann Jacobs: “The beautiful spring came; and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soil is apt to revive also”

19/03/2020

Though devastating for humans, the coronavirus is actually indirectly affecting the environment in a positive way.

China is seeing an improvement in air quality since factories have been shut down, the canals in Venice are also clearer and fish can now be seen due to the halt in boat traffic.

There is a silver lining in every hardship! The only concern is after the virus is no longer a problem, the economy would have been hit so hard that factories would need to intensify their activity to make up for lost time. The pollution made during that time is called "revenge pollution"

Here is an article that goes more into depth with this issue:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/16/asia/china-pollution-coronavirus-hnk-intl/index.html

Factories were shuttered and streets were cleared across China's Hubei province as authorities ordered residents to stay home to stop the spread of the coronavirus. It seems the lockdown had an unintended benefit -- blue skies.

04/01/2020

This is great, by reusing shopping boxes, you can help both the planet and the needy!

28/09/2019

Here is a short clip from last week’s strike.

This is a link to an article from The News&Observer on the Triangle Climate Strike:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article235256757.html

28/09/2019

Last Friday was the Global Climate Strike led by 16 year old climate activist, Greta Thunberg. The second picture was taken at the strike in Raleigh.
This past week, over 6 million people around the world protested.
Millions of civilians worldwide recognize the severity of the climate crisis and the urgency of the situation.
We need to make our voices heard and let world leaders know that we need immediate action!

13/09/2019

Want to be kinder to Earth when hosting parties but also not have to worry about washing any dishes?
GreenHosts gives you a way!
We will rent out reusable tableware and deliver straight to the party location. Once the event is over we will pick the dirty dishes up and wash them for the next party!
Visit our website: www.greenhosts.us
or call us at (920)-474-6787 to book tableware for your next party!

18/08/2019

GreenHosts was recognized as the most innovative product at the Triangle Children's Business Fair. Thanks to all the donors, supporters, advisors, and first customers of GreenHosts!

17/08/2019

Come visit us Triangle Children's Business Fair

01/08/2019

https://www.gofundme.com/green-host

My name is Ojasi Kirtikar and I am raising money to start a business that will reduce the amount of landfill waste created by household and corporate parties while also providing convenience of easy clean-up. My idea is called Green Hosts. It will be a dish delivering and washing service where...