Hi! I hope you enjoyed my website!
When deciding what topic I was going to write about for the semester, I thought about what I most want to explore and what I am passionate about. The answer I came to was to write on plastics and the environment, as I have always been interested in how humans interact with the world around them. I find this topic important, especially today because we live in a society that always is consuming and doesn’t seem to care about the impacts our actions are making, even though we know the side effects.
If you couldn't already tell, almost everything you read on this website is fake, surprise! I created this satirical website with the hopes of making people take a second look at what they read and as a result, take a second look at their own actions regarding plastic use. I feel that it was important to hold a very serious and realistic tone throughout the website to try and persuade people that my nonsense actually exists. Hopefully it tricked you! I hope that my project can be part of the larger environmental conversation about overconsumption and plastics and the actions that we need to take both individually, but also on a larger scale.
About the Project
ORigins
This project stemmed from a research essay I wrote freshman year focusing on single-use plastics and their rising impact on the environment. From there, I created three experiments in different genres based on my origin piece.
Experiments
self-help book
Focused on the idea of intention vs. action, this book had the goal of trying to help people take the right steps towards making their intentions into actions. Focusing more specifically on how people can take the right actions to improve the environment, this book would help people see how to take the proper steps in their lives to become environmentally conscious and responsible.
Satirical Article
As seen on this website, this article reported on new research that proved that plastic pollution actually is saving the environment. Since fish consume plastics in the oceans, if we continue to pollute, more fish will die, and the scales on their dead, floating bodies, would reflect light. Since the light is reflected from the fish, this would slow down climate change, improving the state of our earth.
Children's book
This book idea centered around a young boy and his mom on a day trip to the beach. Instead of collecting shells on the beach, he collects all of the plastic that has washed up on the beach, calling it 'treasure'. His mom explains to him why the plastic pollution is there, and the boy decides to continue to collect more pieces, becoming the 'beach hero'.
About me
Hello! My name is Lauren Trail and I am currently a sophomore at the University of Michigan studying Art and Design with minors in writing and the environment. If you couldn't already tell, I'm very interested in the environment and conservation and love going on outdoor adventures! I also am a movie lover, ice cream addict, traveler, and lover of good food.
I really love writing because it consistently has given me a voice to reflect on both myself and the spaces around me. Living in a time where there are so many things going on and so many opinions being shared, it's becoming hard to see what is real and relevant and what is not, which is why I decided to create this project.
I hope that you find something on this website that made you think, or laugh, or maybe a combo of both. I hope you find some sort of new perspective, or an emphasis of thoughts and feelings you already have. More importantly, I hope you can move forward thinking about how our actions impact the planet, and that it is our job to keep it clean (hopefully without the production of disposable shoes!).
