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Cambridge Dictionary (2022), 'tumbleweed', Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tumbleweed (accessed 29/09/22)

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Tumbleweeds are pushed by the wind, floating through desert terrains as they scatter tens of thousands of seeds. Starting in late fall, they dry out and die, their seeds nestled between prickly dried leaves. Gusts of wind break dead tumbleweeds from their roots. When the rains come, an embryo coiled up inside each seed sprouts. They grow well in barren places like abandoned agricultural fields, vacant lots or the side of the road, where they can tumble unobstructed. [1]

1 - Quiros, Gabriela (2018) Why do tumbleweeds tumble?, Available at: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/why-do-tumbleweeds-tumble (accessed 30/09/22)

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Tumbleweeds might be the iconic props of classic Westerns. But in real life, they're not only a noxious weed, but one that moves around. As they roll and bounce, pushed by gusts of wind, they can overwhelm entire neighborhoods, as happened recently in Victorville, California, or become a threat for drivers and an expensive nuisance for farmers.

"They tumble across highways and can cause accidents," said Mike Pitcairn, who tracks tumbleweeds at the California Department of Food and Agriculture in Sacramento. "They pile up against fences and homes."

And tumbleweeds aren't even originally from California, or the West for that matter.

"It's been around a long time. You think it must be native," said Pitcairn. "But its common name is Russian thistle."

Genetic tests have shown that California's most common tumbleweed, known as Russian thistle, likely came from Ukraine, said retired plant population biologist Debra Ayres, who studied tumbleweeds at the University of California, Davis.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture employee, L. H. Dewey, wrote in 1893 that Russian thistle had arrived in the U.S. through South Dakota in flaxseed imported from Europe in the 1870s.

"It has been known in Russia many years," Dewey wrote, "and has quite as bad a reputation in the wheat regions there as it has in the Dakotas." This is where the name Russian thistle originates, said Ayres, although tumbleweeds aren't really thistles.

By the end of the 1800s, Russian thistle had arrived in Southern California's Antelope Valley and Bakersfield. The weed spread quickly through the United States - on rail cars and through contamination of agricultural seeds. And by tumbling.

"They tumble to disperse the seeds," said Ayres, "and thereby reduce competition."

By bouncing and rolling in the wind, a tumbleweed spreads out tens of thousands of seeds so that they all get plenty of sunlight and space.

Tumbleweeds grow well in barren places like abandoned agricultural fields, vacant lots or the side of the road, where they can tumble unobstructed and there's no grass, which their seedlings can't compete with.

"Grass has nutritive tissue - what bread is made from - to sustain the seedling until it gets its leaves up, while the tumbleweed does not," said Ayres. "Also, many grasses germinate in the fall and are already up and thick by the time the tumbleweed germinates."

Tumbleweeds start out as any plant, attached to the soil. Seedlings, which look like blades of grass with a bright pink stem, sprout at the end of the winter.

By summer, Russian thistle plants take on their round shape and grow white, yellow or pink flowers between thorny leaves. Inside each flower, a fruit with a single seed develops.

Other plants attract animals with sweet, tasty fruits, and get them to carry away their seeds in their stomachs and disperse them when they defecate.

Tumbleweeds developed a different evolutionary strategy.

Starting in late fall, they dry out and die, their seeds nestled between prickly dried leaves. Gusts of wind easily break dead tumbleweeds from their roots. A microscopic layer of cells at the base of the plant - called the abscission layer - makes a clean break possible and the plants roll away, spreading their seeds. When the rains come, an embryo coiled up inside each seed sprouts.

Tumbleweeds cause a host of problems in California, where they're found throughout the state. In places like the southern San Joaquin Valley they can grow to be more than 6 feet tall, said Pitcairn.

"Unsuspecting motorists tend to swerve when a 6-foot plant comes tumbling across the road," he said, "and many times end up in an accident."

To prevent this from happening, California Department of Transportation crews use pitchforks to pluck tumbleweeds from the ground and toss them into large compactor trash trucks, said Cathryne Bruce-Johnson, Caltrans public information officer in San Diego.

Tumbleweeds can also pile up against buildings and become a fire hazard. That's what happened the morning of April 16 in Victorville, northeast of Los Angeles, when 60 mph winds pushed hundreds of them into a neighborhood that borders undeveloped land in the Mojave Desert.

"It happened very quickly," said Sue Jones, public information officer for the city.

Tumbleweeds piled up so high that they reached the second floors and blocked the entrances to about 100 homes, and also covered the baseball diamond at a nearby park, she said. It took 36 city workers well into the night to clear them out.

In many western states, Russian thistle is an agricultural weed and farmers have to spray it when it grows among their crops. That's a bigger concern in Oregon, Washington and Idaho than in California, said Pitcairn. In California, tumbleweeds clog sprinklers and irrigation canals. And they also harbor agricultural pests when they're green.

In the spring and fall, the California Department of Food and Agriculture sprays insecticides on green Russian thistle in the Central Valley and surrounding foothills to get rid of the beet leafhopper. The insect can transmit the curly top virus, which damages crops such as sugar beets, tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, squash, spinach and beans, said Pitcairn. Spraying costs several million dollars each year, which comes from fees paid by vegetable growers, he said.

The beet leafhopper lives in Russian thistle because it's one of the few plants that stays green in the fall in the foothills of California's Central Valley.

They lay eggs inside the plant tissue," said Jennifer Willems, an environmental scientist at the Department of Food and Agriculture in Fresno. "They pierce the soft parts of the plant - the leaves - and suck the juice out."

In the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, tumbleweeds are such a big problem that Los Angeles County spends $100,000 to $150,000 yearly mowing and chipping dried-out Russian thistle in vacant lots and abandoned agricultural fields before they can tumble away, said Ariel Verayo, deputy agricultural commissioner at the county's weed abatement division in Lancaster.

Tumbleweeds blow into alfalfa fields and need to be cleared out before the alfalfa is harvested. Alfalfa is cattle feed, and cows won't eat prickly tumbleweeds, Verayo said.

One alfalfa farmer earlier this year found a creative use for tumbleweeds after clearing them off his field. He packed them into rectangular bales and told Verayo he planned to use the bales for bow and arrow target practice.

That's one way of making sure tumbleweeds no longer tumble.
This report was produced by KQEDs Science. You can view the original report on its website.

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Tumbleweeds might be the iconic props of classic Westerns. But in real life, they're not only a noxious weed, but one that moves around. As they roll and bounce, pushed by gusts of wind, they can overwhelm entire neighborhoods, as happened recently in Victorville, California, or become a threat for drivers and an expensive nuisance for farmers.

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Tumbleweeds, originally known as Russian thistle, arrived in the United States in shipments of flax seeds from Russia to South Dakota around 1870. [1] Just 15 years later, they had rolled their way into other areas such a California and Canada. They've been impossible to eradicate ever since due to their frequent reproduction rate. [2]

1 - Epple, Anne (1997) Plants of Arizona, Falcon. p. 352. ISBN 978-1-56044-563-0

2 - Nuwer, Rachel (2014) America’s Tumbleweeds Are Actually Russian Invaders, Available at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americas-tumbleweeds-are-actually-russian-invaders-180952360/#:~:text=They%20arrived%20as%20invaders%20from,imported%20from%20Russia%2C%20Zocalo%20reports. (accessed 01/10/22)

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America’s Tumbleweeds Are Actually Russian Invaders

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Some say the tumbleweed’s takeover of the American West was the most aggressive weed invasion in our country’s history

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Tumbleweeds have become an iconic symbol of the Western genre. Just before a showdown, a tumbleweed breezes through a deserted main street. In Westerns, tumbleweeds often make an appearance to underscore the empty, nature-dominated landscape. [1]

1 - Carlton, Genevieve (2022) 11 Historically Inaccurate Tropes Western Movies Always Get Wrong, Available at: https://www.ranker.com/list/historically-inaccurate-western-movie-tropes/genevieve-carlton (accessed 01/10/22)

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The Wild West wasn't exactly full of quick-draw shootouts, clean-shaven cowboys, and tumbleweed. Historically inaccurate Western movie tropes change how we view the bygone era, from erasing certain groups to promoting a fictional view of the frontier that distorts the truth. Most frontier towns followed strict gun control laws, for example, which banned open carrying. And men avoided duels on main street - instead, it was easier to ambush your enemies outside of town.

The list of what Western movies get wrong includes some relatively harmless errors, like the abundance of tumbleweed - which probably upsets botanists who know that tumbleweed wasn't even growing around early western towns when they were first established. But some tropes promote harmful stereotypes about Native Americans and Mexicans by treating them as evil villains or "noble savages." During the heyday of the Western in the 1950s and 1960s, Hollywood rewrote history by casting white actors to play Black frontiersmen, or simply leaving out people of color completely.

In the name of telling a good story, Western movies keep repeating the same historically inaccurate tropes.

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11 Historically Inaccurate Tropes Western Movies Always Get Wrong

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The Wild West wasn't exactly full of quick-draw shootouts, clean-shaven cowboys, and tumbleweed. Historically inaccurate Western movie tropes change how we view the bygone era, from erasing certain groups to promoting a fictional view of the frontier that distorts the truth. Most frontier towns...

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Cult film - The Big Lebowski opens with a tumbleweed moving through various environments. As it rolls across the desert plains, a cowboy's voiceover can be heard, setting the scene, informing the spectator of the story. Then the tumbleweed rolls into places we don't usually associate with tumbleweeds: such as a beach, Hollywood Boulevard, etc. The tumbleweed is symbolic of main character - The Dude. Like The Dude, it's a relic of a different era. Like The Dude, the tumbleweed doesn't really seem to mind that it's out of place as it continues to roll. [1]

1 - shmoop (2022) The Tumbleweed, Available at: https://www.shmoop.com/the-big-lebowski/tumbleweed-symbol.html (accessed 01/10/22)

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A very humorous culture has surfaced with tumbleweeds in the context of film and TV. Nowadays tumbleweeds are primarily used with humorous intent, for example when a short but embarrassing moment of silence occurs during a scene. Having a background noise that is normally drowned out by foreground noise - a quiet wind, faint crickets chirping, etc. - usually accompanies these tumbleweeds as a marker to say 'nothing is happening' to the audience. [1] These almost always imply awkwardness or convey uncomfortable moments of social interaction.

1 - tv tropes (2022) Quieter Than Silence, Available at: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/QuieterThanSilence (accessed 02/10/22)

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Unfortunately tumbleweeds are considered detrimental to nature in many ways. They thrive with disturbed soil situations and are a major contributor to native plant extinctions and wildfires, being highly flammable and bouncing over vegetation between fields or areas of forest as fire breaks out. [1] Large tumbleweeds can form clusters which can be extremely hazardous. This can most obviously happen when fences and similar obstacles cause the accumulation, however, they can also become entangled with each other, forming piles that can no longer roll. Such piles can be a serious threat to trapped vehicles or buildings and their occupants, most particularly because they are dry and flammable. [2]

1 - Weed Abatement Division (2011) Los Angeles County Department of Agricultural Commissioner/Weights and Measures, Available at: http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/acwm/215984_WADTProgram.pdf (accessed 02/10/22)

2 - Stablein, Marilyn (1995) Climate of Extremes: Landscape and Imagination, Black Heron Press, pp. 33-61

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Tumbleweeds do have some positives though, enjoying interesting use as an ancient soap-making ingredient, supposedly carrying soothing and nutritious values for the skin. [1]

1 - dryland wilds (2018) tumbleweed + wild mint botanical soap, Available at: https://www.drylandwilds.com/shop/mint-soap#:~:text=Tumbleweed%2C%20an%20ancient%20soap%2Dmaking,earthy%20bar%2C%20grounded%20in%20history. (accessed 02/10/22)

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Another interesting use for tumbleweed is its ingredient as a food. Edible tumbleweed can be as an alternative to spinach, as proven in the Wild West. However, once the tumbleweed grows into a large, prickly bush, it becomes too tough and dangerous to eat. [1]

1 - Bovshow, Shirley (2012) Tumbleweed is Edible! Spinach Alternative, Available at: https://foodiegardener.com/tumbleweed-is-edible-spinach-alternative/ (accessed 02/10/22)

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"Being eco-conscious means you're aware that you have an environmental footprint, and you do what you can to reduce it."

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"Being eco-conscious means you're aware that you have an environmental footprint, and you do what you can to reduce it."

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Kimber, Rebecca (2022) How to be an eco-conscious family without the stress, Available at: https://earthyb.com/blog/how-to-be-an-eco-conscious-family-without-the-stress/#:~:text=Being%20eco%2Dconscious%20(aka%20environmentally,you%20can%20to%20reduce%20it. (accessed 03/10/22)

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5 Ways Families Can be More Eco-Conscious

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5 Ways Families Can be More Eco-Conscious

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- Go Plastic Free

- Reduce Food Waste

- Shop Second Hand

- Choose an Electric Vehicle

- Pay Attention to the Products You Buy

Wisner, Wendy (2022) How Your Family Can Be More Eco-Conscious in 2022, Available at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-your-family-can-be-more-eco-conscious-6542886 (accessed 03/10/22)

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In the past few years, we've had to reckon with the environmental impact our society is having on the planet. It's easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about the big picture. But becoming more eco-conscious is about making choices that reduce your family's carbon footprint, decrease greenhouse emissions, and ensure that the next generation will have a healthy and clean planet to live on.

Awareness is a great place to start. "To me, being eco-conscious is all about making choices that lessen the impact of our family on the planet and paying attention to the resources we use in our daily life," shares Jean-Louis Warnholz, a trained economist, sustainability expert, and father of two. "This could be anything from changing the way we eat and consume energy to being mindful of the products we purchase." Once you start, it quickly becomes clear that there are so many ways to make eco-conscious decisions as a family-it can be with the products you use, the car you drive, and so much more.

Becoming More Eco-Conscious: Every Small Step Counts

If the idea of making changes to what you purchase or how you use resources sounds overwhelming, you are not alone. Combing through ingredient labels, analyzing recycling symbols on the bottom of packaging, or setting up a smell-free compost bin can feel like climbing a (very clean!) mountain. Keep in mind that becoming more eco-conscious isn't all or nothing, and that every little bit counts, says Tania Arrayales, a mom who runs an Instagram account about eco-conscious living called Sustainably Stylish.

"Families [can] start with the easy lifts and work their way up," Arrayales offers. "My suggestion is to start small and be kind to yourself. Know that the goal isn't to be perfect but to create meaningful change in your lifestyle."

The best way to become more eco-conscious is to find small but impactful ways to make a difference. We reached out to environmental experts and fellow parents to offer some simple tips for becoming a more eco-friendly family.

Go Plastic Free

It's estimated that each human generates a whopping 4.5 pounds of trash a day-of that, plastic and paper products top the list. Probably the biggest issue with plastic is that it's not biodegradable. That means that if it's trashed and deposited in landfills, it can sit there for years. Not only that, but it may make its way into the ocean and other animal habitats, potentially harming marine life and wildlife. Recycling plastic can help, but sadly, researchers estimate that of the 6.3 billion metric tons that have been produced since 1950, only about 9% has been recycled.

Clearly, reducing plastic can be a family goal as you strive to be more eco-conscious. But how to do it?

Arrayales recommends starting small, making one change per month in how you consume plastic. For example, you could try a month of striving not to purchase any plastic bottles-instead, only buy items in glass containers. The following month you could try to reduce your use of plastic bags. You can take reusable bags to the grocery store, and replace your plastic sandwich bags with more eco-friendly choices like beeswax sandwich bags, stainless steel snack/sandwich boxes, or reusable sandwich pouches.

Lizzie Horvitz, who holds a masters in environmental management from Yale University and is the founder and CEO of Finch, a digital sustainability tool for consumers, suggests purchasing a home seltzer maker (like SodaStream) if bubbly water is your thing-devices like this utilize reusable seltzer bottles. Additionally, consider investing in a good reusable water bottle so you don't need to purchase single-use beverages, says Horvitz.

Reduce Food Waste

According to the EPA, Americans trash more food each day than any other type of item. Yikes! As the USDA points out, food waste has deep impacts on the environment, releasing significant amounts of methane (a potent greenhouse emission) into the environment as it decomposes in landfills. Besides that, wasting food contributes to food insecurity, and can exacerbate supply chain issues.

That said, we know kids are notorious food-wasters. Their eyes tend to be bigger than their stomachs, and they can be finicky about what they will and won't eat. Fredrika Syren, whose family lives a "zero waste" lifestyle and is featured in the documentary, Zero Time to Waste, says that although not every family will be able to live as waste-free a lifestyle as hers, most families can reduce food waste one step at a time.

Actions to take, according to Syren, include making a more conscientious effort to eat leftovers, cooking with what you already have at home instead of making extra trips to the store, and storing food properly to make it last longer. There are also eco-friendly shopping choices you can make, Syren says. Look for items that are package-free, sold in bulk, or that are packed in glass or paper rather than plastic. Syren also suggests checking out farmer's markets in your area. They sell locally produced food and foods that are usually package-free.

What about the food that just won't get eaten or that has gone bad? Consider composting, which basically involves setting aside compostable food waste and reusing it as soil for your garden. Check out the EPA's website for ideas on how to get started.

Shop Second Hand

We all know that kids outgrow their clothing at lightning speeds, and often get bored of their toys and gadgets just as quickly. This is one of many reasons why it makes sense for families to shop secondhand as much as possible. Not only will this save you money, but it can also make a positive environmental impact, lessening the amount of trash that fills our landfills.

"One of the easiest ways for families to be more eco-conscious is to shop for pre-owned clothing, toys, and even furniture," says Liz Teich, fashion stylist, creator of The New York Stylist, and mom of two. Sometimes you don't even have to leave your house to shop second-hand: websites like Poshmark and ThredUp make this super easy, Teich says. You can also shop on places like Facebook Marketplace, or hit up your local consignment shop. Or, you can go the old-fashioned way and share hand-me-downs with friends and family, Teich adds.

Choose an Electric Vehicle

You might think that the bulk of greenhouse emissions come from corporations and industrial manufacturing. But that's not the whole truth: the choices we make as families carry a larger weight than we might realize. For example, studies have found that households are responsible for up to 72% of greenhouse gas emissions around the world. This includes our use of cars and airplanes, along with ways we power and heat our homes.

Busy families spend a ton of time in their cars-taking their kids to school, doctor appointments, playdates, extracurricular activities...the list goes on. Electric cars are powered by batteries rather than gasoline, and hybrid cars are operated by a combination of batteries and gas. If you have an electric car, you need to periodically charge it at a battery charging station. Both types of cars reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted into the air.

Warnholz shares that his family has made a point of investing in electric, both in terms of transportation and how they power their home. Not only was this a relatively easy change to make, but it ended up saving his family a ton of money. "The initial upfront cost is often still higher, but we've saved thousands of dollars on gas and car maintenance and lowered our utility bills dramatically," he says.

The good news, says Warnholz, is that buying electric vehicles is less expensive than it's ever been, and with the Inflations Reduction Bill recently passed by Congress, families will be able to take advantage of tax incentives for going electric. "The range of electric vehicles and electrification options is growing daily," he says. "I am especially glad that those options are now becoming more affordable and more accessible."

Pay Attention to the Products You Buy

The personal care and cleaning products we use can have strong impacts on our own health and on the health of the planet. For example, according to the EPA, some of the chemicals in common cleaning products can have adverse effects on our bodies, release harmful substances into the air we breathe, and even pollute the water where wildlife live.

"From my perspective, one of the biggest things we can do for long-term health is to be aware of the chemicals in our products," says Samantha Radford, PhD, an exposure scientist. Radford suggests avoiding flame retardants, vinyl, and phthalates in products-particularly furniture. According to the CDC, high levels of phthalates may have reproductive effects, and studies have found that flame retardants and vinyl flooring can harm children.

When it comes to personal care products, Radford advises against purchasing items containing paraben and phthalates. "Phthalates aren't required to be specifically listed on an ingredient list, so you have to choose a product that tells you upfront that it contains no phthalates," she advises.

Luckily, these days you can find tons of beauty products, cleaning essentials, and bathroom goods that are eco-friendly. As Syren points out, a lot of cleaning products can be whipped up from common products you keep at home. "You can clean your whole house with just distilled vinegar, castile soap, and baking soda, wiping down with homemade rags from old T-shirts," she suggests.

A Word from Verywell

Making more eco-friendly choices is clearly good for the planet, and it can even save your family a few bucks along the way. You can start small if that feels more doable. Just making a few simple changes can have a huge impact, and it's up to each of us to do our part. Above all else, becoming a more sustainable family is good for our kids. It teaches them discipline and compassion and ensures that the planet that we leave for them is a good place to live.

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How Your Family Can Be More Eco-Conscious in 2022

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In the past few years, we've had to reckon with the environmental impact our society is having on the planet. It's easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about the big picture. But becoming more eco-conscious is about making choices that reduce your family's carbon footprint, decrease greenhouse emissions, and ensure that the next generation will have a healthy and clean planet to live on.

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For whatever reason, eco-friendly living is more appealing to women. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University found that in America, the average single man is responsible for the equivalent of 32 tons of carbon dioxide a year, compared with 30 tons for a woman. This is mostly because of vehicle use. [1] During the pandemic, people have become more sensitive to the environmental impact of their shopping decisions - and companies are responding. In a 2019 Global Consumer Insights Survey, just 35% of respondents said they chose sustainable products to help protect the environment, 37% said they looked for products with environmentally friendly packaging, and 41% said they avoided the use of plastic when they could. A study by creative research platform - Visual GPS, indicates a shift during the pandemic. The survey found that 81% of people expect companies to be environmentally conscious in their advertising and communications, and 69% of respondents said they were doing everything possible to minimize their carbon footprint, up from 63% just a year earlier. [2]

1 - Conway, Sian (2018) Does Environmentalism Have An Image Problem?, Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/does-environmentalism-have-an-image-problem_uk_5a572762e4b0d1a645f96c24 (accessed 03/10/22)

2 - Emmert, Amy (2021) The rise of the eco-friendly consumer, Available at: https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-rise-of-the-eco-friendly-consumer (accessed 03/10/22)

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There are many negative stereotypes associated with ethical and sustainable living. The environmental movement in particular seems to have a bad name - the negative stereotype of the "tree hugging hippie".

Stereotypes exist in all areas of life - including gender, race, religion, social class, political views. The list goes on and on but they are damaging generalisations that can lead to issues like bullying, isolation and other negative impacts.

The Journal of Consumer Research found evidence in a series of 7 studies that people perceive consumers who behave in an eco-friendly way as "more feminine" and that those consumers perceive themselves as "more feminine". Although this isn't necessarily a harmful thing, the research shows that men may be avoiding green behaviours in order to 'protect their masculinity'.

Previous research has found that women tend to be more environmentally responsible, seeing environmentalism as important to protecting themselves and their families.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research found that women are less likely than men to support cuts to environmental spending, and are less sympathetic to business when it comes to environmental regulation.

For whatever reasons, sustainability seems to be more appealing to women. But if men are being excluded from the environmental agenda and feel unable to participate because it's "not for them" then that's a big problem for everyone.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University found that in America, the average single man is responsible for the equivalent of 32 tons of carbon dioxide a year, compared with 30 tons for a woman. This is mostly because of vehicle use.

Studies in Europe have reached similar conclusions, finding that women worldwide have less effect on the atmosphere, in part because they drive and fly less. Men in developed countries also eat more meat than women according to research, which is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Generally sustainability is less appealing to men and we are failing to engage them in the environmental agenda, and yet they are statistically the bigger contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

The stereotypes and gender gap is backfiring on the movement. Despite becoming more mainstream in recent years and moving away from the 'tree hugging hippie' negative image, sustainability is clearly still excluding a major percentage of the population from the conversation.

Global warming and environmental pollution is something that globally we must work together to solve, so if any demographic in society feels excluded from that we're not going to succeed.

In order to become more mainstream, the environmental movement worked hard to create a friendly, accessible face for itself, away from the traditional stereotypes. Many campaigns found common ground with people on the basis of concern for children, health and the future we are creating. Somehow, however, in this messaging shift, we have created another problem and excluded a different audience, and we must now work to make the movement more inclusive.

Temperatures are breaking records around the world and there is no longer a scientific debate about the reality of climate change. Multiple studies show that 97 per cent of researchers believe that global warming is happening, and they agree that trends observed over the last century are probably due to human activity.

Sea levels are rising at their fastest rate for more than 2,000 years and the Earth's temperature is predicted to rise by up to 6 degrees by the end of the 21st century.

Every year Earth Overshoot Day - the day by which we will have used more resources from nature than the planet can renew in the whole year, moves earlier. In 2017, it fell on August 2nd.

Earth Overshoot Day - Global Footprint Network

Globally, our demand for ecological resources and services is exceeding what Earth can give us. We are maintaining this deficit by diminishing natural resources at an alarming rate and accumulating waste - emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and creating a recipe for disaster.

Experts warn that climate change will create the biggest refugee crisis the world has ever seen. Environmentally we are all living beyond our means, and it's a problem we can only solve by working together - because the effects of climate change will have a major impact for us all.

Yet according to YouGov research, climate change is considered only the third most serious issue facing the world, behind international terrorism, and poverty, hunger and lack of drinking water.

In order to have a truly meaningful impact in the fight to save our planet, we must involve everyone in the conversation, and everyone must be inspired to act.

It's time to address the image problem in environmentalism and make the agenda more inclusive. The future of our planet may depend on it.

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Does Environmentalism Have An Image Problem?

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There are many negative stereotypes associated with ethical and sustainable living. The environmental movement in particular seems to have a bad name - the negative stereotype of the "tree hugging hippie". Stereotypes exist in all areas of life - including gender, race, religion, social class, political views.

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Earthy tones are most associated with eco-conscious products. These products are tasked with cultivating a brand image that conveys their kindness and their connection to nature. Eco-friendly organisations should use these earthy tones to communicate their positive impact on the planet. Green and brown are both commonly used because they reflect natural elements, such as grass and dirt. Some organisations may opt to use yellow as well to emulate sunshine and invoke feelings of happiness [1]

1 - Vyond Team (2019) 20 Color Palettes For Your Brand Design, Available at: https://www.vyond.com/resources/20-color-palettes-for-your-brand-design/ (accessed 03/10/22)