Say no to styro
Since January, Silva and his high school environmental club have been campaigning to ban Styrofoam trays in his school district’s cafeterias. Here, he asks followers to sign the petition; in a follow-up video, he answers a commenter’s question about how students around the country can take up the same cause in their own schools. He has collected nearly 3,000 signatures so far.@eco_tok Comment when done! @ecofreako #environmentalism #intersectionalenvironmentalism #latino #ecotok #bipoc ♬ Hugh Hefner – ppcocaine
Nobody’s perfect
Alaina Wood, an environmental planner in northeast Tennessee, is an expert in all things solid-waste disposal — and in easing people’s eco-guilt. She made this video to discourage people from thinking they need to be perfect environmentalists in order to make a difference — yes, even if you drive a lot. Or like long showers. Or buy the occasional picture frame from Amazon.@eco_tok #ecoconfessions from an environmental scientist who thinks that imperfect sustainability is actually perfect @thegarbagequeen ♬ follow if u used this sound – edits
Talking trash
New York college student Henry Ferland, aka “traashboyyy,” films himself picking up litter in his neighborhood, often rating his unusual finds and completing challenges assigned by his followers — like picking up 20 pieces of trash for a fan’s 20th birthday. In this video for EcoTok, he tells viewers about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an island made of 1.8 trillion tons of discarded plastic and other trash and formed by swirling ocean currents. Trash Boy’s call to action? Reduce your own consumption and ask your local government to consider single-use plastic bans.@eco_tok If you guys like this I’ll do a part 2 @traashboyyy #plasticpollution #garbage #savetheoceans #litter #cleanup #fyp ♬ original sound – EcoTok
Glam goes green
Christine Lan is an actor in Montreal and runs her own zero-waste cosmetics company. She’s EcoTok’s resident beauty guru, giving tutorials for DIY makeup, like lip stain made from beets, and mascara made from charcoal and aloe vera. In the above video, Lan dispels the myth that living low-waste needs to be totally plastic-free, explaining how people can keep trash out of landfills by upcycling food containers, like Nutella jars, to hold their homemade beauty products.@eco_tok I upcycled containers do you? #wegetit #vibewithus #ecofriendly #reducewaste ♬ Watermelon Sugar – Harry Styles
What’s in a watt?
In addition to spotlighting underrated Black women leaders in the climate movement, Doria Brown, a municipal energy manager in New Hampshire, makes energy efficiency less of a snooze fest by breaking down little-understood concepts. Here, she explains what a kilowatt hour really means — so that people can better understand what it takes to lower their carbon footprints. If you want to dive head first down the EcoTok rabbit hole, check out the rest of their videos. And while you’re at it, pick up some litter — it’ll make Trash Boy proud.@eco_tok KWHs are transferred into greenhouse gases for reporting! @earthstewardess #energy #learnontiktok #climatechange #ghg ♬ original sound – EcoTok
This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Doomscroll no more! These climate-concerned TikTok stars are here to inspire you. on Dec 4, 2020.