Features | Oct. 2023
A WORLD OF GOOD
By Michelle Crowe
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ROBIN SUBAR
Dylan Singla at home in Hinsdale
A 2021 internship at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium ignited a passion for sustainability in Hinsdale’s Dylan Singla. The Hinsdale Central student was a valuable member of the sustainability action team. Singla spent his time immersed in the implementation of groundbreaking sustainability initiatives in rescuing and maintaining animals’ well-being and preserving marine habitats. He and his fellow interns planted and maintained florae surrounding the aquarium. These plants were both served in the aquarium cafeteria and fed to the animals. The group also organized two beach cleanups around Chicago to preserve the environment and protect our beloved Lake Michigan.
This impressive young man did not stop with the Great Lakes. Curiosity piqued; he joined a summer excursion where he helped preserve at-risk ocean habitats in Mexico. Singla immersed himself in the local fishing culture. This helped him understand how climate change affects water temperature, pollution, fishing populations, and ocean habitats. He shadowed scientists who were collecting and analyzing data to better understand the implications of climate change on this vibrant local community. “The Sea of Cortez used to be heavily polluted,” Singla says. “The local communities started to really take care of the sea, and it went from among the worst water quality in the world to one of the best.”
Having found a true passion for sustainability over the summer of 2021, Singla joined the Sustainability Council when I returned to The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey in that fall.
Enter Artificial Intelligence, which really made headlines in 2022, intriguing some and spooking others.
Singla found himself firmly in the camp of AI fans. While many were test driving how AI prompts could shortcut tedious tasks in their day-to-day life, he began exploring the role AI can play in helping accelerate sustainability efforts in a positive way. “I looked for the connection between AI and sustainability,” Singla says. This led to the launch of his Sustain AI website, podcast, and solutions toolkit.
Just like the people who pop prompts into an AI generator and never do much with the results, many people launch websites and let them languish, sitting out there on the internet with few draws and fewer visitors. Once again, that’s where Singla separates himself.
He reached out to leaders and experts in the business, sustainability, and education spaces, asking if they would be guests on his podcast. Singla was fearless, feeling there was nothing to lose and hoping his subjects would recognize his enthusiasm and be inspired to share their own. It worked. To date, 17 professionals have joined him for interviews, which are available on the website and leading podcast platforms including Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Google Podcast. Among them are the director of sustainability at the University of Wisconsin, a top executive at a leading AI company, McKinsey consultants, and a United States Congresswoman. “They’re all passionate about what they do and happy to talk about it,” Singla says.
Each conversation is engaging and informative. If a listener already has an interest in sustainability or AI, they’ll learn more about these important subjects. Yet those who don’t feel especially drawn to one or the other idea will learn, in the most pleasant way, a bit more about each with each episode played.
That’s the real genius of the project, the ease with which those who think that AI and sustainability are too big, too abstract, too daunting to work into everyday life, can dip a toe into the concepts and find their own path. Listeners from Nairobi to Los Angeles are finding hope and action items through the website and podcast. From clothing swaps in Essex, England to upcycling in Australia, people are living with less impact on the planet thanks to smart, dedicated young man who attended Monroe and Hinsdale Middle School.
As Singla settles into his senior year with the podcast gaining followers and interest from all over, the world is his ethically raised, sustainable oyster.
