Ecology | The Burgundy Zine

April 22, 2020

Experts Say Deforestation Increases Risks of Future Pandemics

Deforestation doesn’t just jeopardize the environment and the animals we cohabitate this planet with; it also increases the risk of humans contracting zoonotic diseases, which have been at the heat at recent pandemics.

Zoonotic diseases are those that spread from animals to humans – salmonellosis, West Nile virus, rabies, Lyme disease, and coronaviruses being among the “top zoonotic diseases of most concern in the US,” according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.

“Sixty percent of novel infectious diseases originate in animals and can be highly contagious and dangerous,” says a recent article by Sustainable Brands. “Despite advancements in medical technology that improve disease treatment outcomes, the incidence of zoonotic emerging infectious diseases and their potential for pandemic have increased.”

April 22, 2020

#EarthDayAtHome – Celebrating Our Home Without Leaving the House

Earth is about 4.54 billion years old (give or take 50 years or so), and yet it took until 1970 for humans to dedicate an official holiday honoring this big, blue marble that we call home.

And now, for Earth Day’s big 5-0, the entire world has found itself on lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

So, how is one to celebrate the environment while stuck at home? Don’t fret, there’s plenty you can do to subtly say, “I love you” to this breathtaking, selfless space rock.

April 16, 2020

How Animals Perceive Time

Ah, time. It’s a not-so-universal measurement that seems so innate to us humans that we structure our entire lives around it with alarm clocks, planners, shared digital calendars.

Although the importance we place on time is a very manmade construct – leaving some to questions whether it’s even real all together – the passage of time still remains a fact of life: the sun rises, the sunsets; we are born, we grow, we eventually die.

So, without a watch or a notification to ping them before important events, how do animals perceive time?

April 8, 2020

What if a Natural Disaster Strikes During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The coronavirus pandemic has rattled life as we once knew it, like an earthquake trembling society’s foundation… But if an actual earthquake, a hurricane, a tornado, or a tsunami were to hit right now, what would happen?

Last week, we reached out to various organizations including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, World Health Organization, and American Red Cross to find out what emergency response would look like during a pandemic.

April 4, 2020

The Ecological Cost of the Trump Border Wall

The “world’s most costly” border wall has a projected budget that extends beyond its dollar amount: the environmental and ecological costs.

If the Trump administration pursues a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, “there are species that will be completely extirpated from the United States,” said Sky Island Alliance program director Emily Burns during our recent interview.

Not to mention, the cement needed to create the border wall will require draining “hundreds of thousands of gallons of water that’s very precious down here in the southwest” from sensitive, local sources, she added.

April 2, 2020

Human Impact by Natalia Bennett

Australian artist Natalia Bennett discusses our role in climate change and calls for positive human impact through political involvement.

January 25, 2020

Top Environmental Concerns: Climate Change by Erizon

Erizon discusses climate change, one of the top environmental concerns from their four-chapter report.

January 21, 2020

Australian Artist Fights Fire with Passion

Natalia Bennett shares artwork depicting the merciless impact on climate change and its contribution to the 15.6 million acres of fire-damage during Australia’s wildfire season this year.

January 19, 2020

Moonshrooms: How Fungi Could Shape Life on Mars

NASA recently announced they’re exploring new, green ways to sustain human life in outer space through the help of our beloved fungal friends: mushrooms, or rather, their mycelia.

January 9, 2020

BYOBottle: The Future of Sustainable Concerts and Festivals

Nothing looks more like a music festival than rubber bracelets, band t-shirts, flower crowns, and countless water bottles littering the ground.

…What, can you blame the attendees? Staying hydrated is vital to survival, and it’s all the more important when you’re dancing your heart out or drinking your face off at a festival, as stressed by the data in a 2018 Addiction Science and Clinical Practice study.

But we don’t have to dehydrate the audience in order to help save the planet, nor do we have to put an end to festivals altogether.

There’s a middle ground that allows us to have the best of both worlds: water and music. Meet BYOBottle.