Living Sustainably: On-going study looks at improving Lake Mac health

By Dan Callam ’09, ODC Network How can you tell if a lake is healthy? It’s not as simple as what’s in its water and on its shores. Lake Macatawa’s watershed – the area that drains into it – comprises most of the greater Holland/Zeeland area and is made up of neighborhoods, shopping and business districts, and …

Living Sustainably: Free trees can help cut energy use

A properly planted tree can help a homeowner save up to 20 percent on energy use. And Holland Board of Public Works residential electric customers can reserve a free tree this spring to strategically plant in their yards to save energy and lower utility bills.  From the Arbor Day Foundation, the Energy-Saving Trees program began in 2012, …

Living Sustainably: Panel to discuss complexity of affordable housing

By Hannah Gingrich, Living Sustainably Along the Lakeshore “Affordable housing is not a simple subject” might be the understatement of the year.  Regular consumers of local news have undoubtedly noticed this topic repeatedly featured in recent city discussions. Housing issues affect everyone, though in different ways. Even the casually interested likely have heard friends or coworkers mention how difficult …

Living Sustainably: Good business is doing good for the community

By Hanna Schultz, People First Economy It’s 2019, and with the new year comes inspiration, a renewed sense of purpose, and the added drive to become the best version of yourself you can be. So, why would your approach to your business be any differently? This last year has seen economic growth and opportunity for many businesses, …

CONFRONTING A THREAT IN WEST MICHIGAN FORESTS (Hope College Spera Magazine)

KATHY WINNETT-MURRAY, PH.D. | PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY K. GREG MURRAY, PH.D. | T. ELLIOTT WEIER PROFESSOR OF PLANT SCIENCE VANESSA MUILENBURG, PH.D. | ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY Hemlock woolly adelgid, the invasive and destructive insect, which sucks the sap from North American hemlock trees and dooms many of them, has taken hold in the Hope …

FOR ALL OF GOD’S GOOD EARTH (Hope College Spera Magazine)

STEVE BOUMA-PREDIGER, PH.D. LEONARD AND MARJORIE MAAS PROFESSOR OF REFORMED THEOLOGY “A term like ‘earthkeeping’ is more biblical and simply refuses to accept the view that the natural world is a commodity to be used by humans who only manage its resources for our own ends,” he explains. “Being a keeper, in the biblical sense, …

Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution – Thursday, February 21

Please join the Macatawa Creation Care Group on Thursday, February 21 in Graves Hall for a film screening of “Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution.” Doors open at 5:45, and the film starts at 6:00. The film will be followed by a panel of representatives from the City Of Holland, Holland Board of Public Works, and …

Living Sustainably: It’s all about global “weirding”

By Sarah Irvin, Naturalist at DeGraaf Nature Center Climate is defined as the weather in a particular area over a large time period, which unveils patterns when recorded, allowing us to create models that mimic and make predictions. Unfortunately, climate trends will become increasingly more challenging to predict as temperatures and precipitation events shift; the phenomenon that we …

International Day of Women and Girls in Science – February 11

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed Monday, February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. According to a UN study from 14 countries, the probability for female students graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science is 18 percent, while the male equivalent is 37 percent. This day is a reminder that …

Living Sustainably: Film examines troubling issue of poverty

By Cameron Geddes, Hope College Markets & Morality The great specter of the modern age is shapeless, manifesting in a menagerie of forms: Fathers unable to keep a roof over the heads of their sons. Mothers having only empty pantries to offer their daughters. Neighbors squabbling over property that rises just above worthless. Poverty is the English word …