We welcome Summer 2025 and Plastic-Free July with an episode that discusses ways to reduce our consumption and to leave a smaller, more thoughtful footprint on the natural environment. In this episode, we’ll contemplate the resources that go into the manufacture and transport of the products that we use and think about how long the products we discard linger in the environment after we throw them away.
By making thoughtful choices as consumers, how might we reduce our impact on the natural environment and leave cleaner air and water, smaller landfills, and healthy work environments for our farmers, truckers, and factory workers?
Professor Bayo Ogundipe, Dean of the Padnos College of Engineering at Grand Valley State University, guides our thinking about consumption. First, he describes the concept of cradle-to-cradle design. Then, throughout the episode, he offers insights into actions that consumers can take to reduce their environmental footprint.
Outdoor educator Trey Smith discusses the 7 principles of _Leave No Trace_ for minimizing human impact during hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities. These tips from Trey set the table for three stories about daily actions consumers can take to reduce their environmental footprint.
NPR Producer Claire Murashima discusses how she managed to live for a week without plastic during July 2024. Joseph Richardson of Frederick, MD, and Ginny Johnson of Rockbridge Co., VA, describe robust programs for reducing the waste that comes out of school cafeterias. And Susan Nelson and Beth Tembo from Gift and Thrift in Harrisonburg talk about the possibilities for thrifting and upcycling to extend the life of manufactured things, keeping items out of landfills.
Finally, we’re invited to attend a firefly party near Weyers Cave, VA, with the Becker family. It’s their annual celebration of the miraculous insects that illuminate summer nights.
Special thanks to WMRA News and to Mechelle Hankerson and Katherine Hafner from WHRO radio for sharing content for this episode.
Reporters: Kimberly Aikens, Alex Baker, Sam Game, McLaren Reed, & Zada Suddeth
Executive Producers: Ryan Alessi, Tim Thomas
Sound: JMU Libraries Media Production Services
Editing by Ryan Alessi
All music for the program is performed by the group “Many Nights Ahead” with recording by Gene Bowlen at Cross Keys Studios.
Graphic Artist: Annie McGowan
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
Calculating a Personal Environmental Footprint
Just by waking up on the planet, our consumptive habits leave a mark. Use these tools to calculate the size of the footprint that your personal habits generate.
* What is your Ecological Footprint? How many planets does it take to support your lifestyle? Take this free quiz to find out! https://www.footprintcalculator.org/
* Calculate your environmental footprint and learn how you can reduce your impact with WWF's Footprint Calculator. https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/
Three Tips from Trey
Trey brings the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace
https://lnt.org/why/7-principles/
As Trey promised, here is a link from LNT for digging a cathole
https://lnt.org/when-nature-calls-how-to-dig-a-cathole/
Finally, Trey offers a link to a film from the Patagonia company about mindful consumption.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIojX94vPE8
Legislative Ban on Styrofoam in Virginia
This report from WHRO News details legislative action around hazardous single-use containers in the Commonwealth.
https://www.whro.org/environment/2025-06-18/styrofoam-containers-will-soon-be-banned-in-virginia
“The True Cost” essay by Shraddha Sharma
Shraddha Sharma’s essay “The True Cost” is hosted on the Rachel Carson Council’s website and available at the following link:
https://rachelcarsoncouncil.org/the-true-cost/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=1b54575f-dabe-4d42-a1cb-11f9a95496ac
Claire Murashima’s Reporting on Plastic-Free July
Claire Murashima has a vast catalog of stories she has contributed to as a producer for National Public Radio: https://www.npr.org/people/1132364436/claire-murashima
Here are links to Claire’s reporting about living plastic-free during July 2024.
“I ditched plastic for a week. Here's what I learned”
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/01/1202891560/reduce-plastic-waste-tips
“I avoided plastic for a week. Here is what I learned about a plastic-free life”
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/nx-s1-5021546/plastic-free-sustainable-living-tips
"How to live without plastics for a month, according to the founder of a global movement”
https://www.npr.org/2024/07/12/nx-s1-5021545/plastic-free-july-sustainability-tips
The Plastic-Free July org provides a collection of resources to guide us through our first steps in trimming plastic use from our lives: https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/