Every week, Truthout posts a short video for middle school aged kids – and everyone else – about climate change and its effects. “The Green Ninja,” a character created by a climate scientist and his team, provides an entertaining and educational way to help children grasp the intricacies of climate change and learn what they can personally do to become involved in fighting it. See additional details about the series or head straight to this week’s episode “Dumpster Diver.”
In this episode, outback explorer Mick “Dumpsta-Diva” Bliss takes us on a journey inside of a dumpster to look at some of the “critters” that live there. Some of these creatures do not belong in a dump. Plant/produce waste, for example, should be composted rather than thrown away. Composting is an amazing thing that not many people know about. By putting a banana peel into a compost bin, it allows the banana peel to rot, which will release all of the contained nutrients into the compost.
Some critters that are not so easily disposed of end up in the dump, too. Reusable materials such as metals (which make up many household objects such as batteries) cannot be used effectively if they are thrown in a dump. Metal does not decompose. Therefore, throwing it in a dump means it will be there for a very long time. This is why we recycle reusable materials such as metal, plastics, and paper products. Recycling these things can reduce the use of our limited resources on Earth, reduce carbon footprint, and save you money!
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
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