EarthPlex - Climate Platform for Teens

  How Conservation Work Changed My Life By Autumn Litten, Age 17 As soon as I moved within five feet of my dad, he let out a noise somewhere between a yelp and a gasp and told me that I smelled like a stray dog and was in desperate need of a shower. “45 minutes MINIMUM,” he ordered. I simply smiled a knowing smile and obliged. Being under warm running water had never felt so close to paradise before in my entire 16 years of existence - but that night it was a sweet, sweet, hour of pure bliss.  Now, this wasn’t the greeting I had exactly expected from my dad after not seeing him for 5 weeks, but it was a reasonable one as he was right - I had showered for a total of 10 minutes, broken up between 3 separate occasions, during those 35 days.  Once in the shower, the water that ran down my body and to the shower’s drain was brown. Dark brown. I was washing off just over a month’s worth of sweat, dirt, and who knows what else. The time leading up until this moment had been the ...

  What are the 3 R's? One of the first things children learn about protecting the environment is the three r's: reduce, reuse, and recycle. What are these, and how do they protect the environment? Reduce Reducing is the first step of the 3 r's. To reduce means using fewer material goods. Purchasing less equates to fewer materials extracted from the Earth and lower carbon emissions. To practice reducing, only buy what you need, and be aware of the waste that you create.  Reuse Reusing means keeping items when you finish using them, rather than throwing them away. Reusable items can complete a task over and over again. To practice reusing, bring reusable bags to grocery stores and drink from reusable water bottles . Recycle Recycling is the final step of the 3 r's. If you finish drinking a can of soda, rinse it out and recycle it instead of tossing it in the trash. This is similar to reusing because recycled materials get turned into new products. Keep in mind that recycl...

Easy Ways Teens Can Spread Climate Awareness on the Internet A lot of teens feel concerned about climate change but do not know what to do. Fortunately, EarthPlex provides teens with incredible opportunities to use their voices for good. Any teen interested in spreading environmental awareness should take advantage of the following opportunities: Write an EarthPlex post For teens interested in writing, creating EarthPlex posts is a golden opportunity. We frequently publish new posts, and many of them are powered by a fleet of young writers who care about the planet. EarthPlex could not run without young people to write posts. Visit our "Submit a Post" page for instructions about how to feature your work on our site! Become our Creative Director EarthPlex has been searching for a Creative Director. We've received submissions but are still open to more submissions from tech-savvy teens. The Creative Director will create posts for our social media pages . Learn more and appl...

 Should You Use Biodegradable Products? Plastic often ends up in the ocean, which is why we have a major pollution issue. Aquatic animals die because of plastic ingestion, and that's because the plastic lingers in the ocean and doesn't disappear. What if plastic products that end up in oceans and other ecosystems could disappear? That's the purpose of biodegradable products.  What is biodegradable? Biodegradable products can be broken down by microorganisms, so instead of existing for decades - or even centuries - they break down after a few months. Biodegradable products currently exist, but the prices need to come down before they become the industry standard. Do biodegradable products help the planet?  Because they quickly break down instead of disrupting ecosystems for centuries, biodegradable plastics help the environment. When regular plastics are disposed of improperly, they harm animals and hurt the planet. Biodegradable plastics negatively alter the planet, but t...

 Electric Scooters vs Cars: Which is Cleaner?  Electric scooters, also called escooters, have mysteriously appeared in cities over the past couple of years. This has raised questions about the environmental impacts of these scooters. Should people use these scooters instead of driving?  Related: Electric Scooters - When to Use Them and When Not to Gasoline cars Cars that run on gasoline emit fossil fuels into the air, worsening the effects of climate change . If you would drive a gasoline car through the city, electric scooters are a more sustainable and eco-friendly way to get around. Hybrid and electric cars If you own a hybrid vehicle, it is also best to use an escooter. Hybrid cars use gas, so they are still worse for the environment than electric scooters. Electric cars do not use gas, but electricity still requires energy - and it often doesn't come from clean sources. Electric cars and electric scooters both use electricity, but because the scooters are smaller i...

 Why You Shouldn't Feel Climate Anxiety Teens have more anxiety these days than ever before. This is likely due to internet usage and social media . A relatively new type of anxiety has emerged in recent years: climate anxiety. However, this is not something young people should feel, and we will explore why.  What is climate anxiety? Climate anxiety is a type of anxiety related to the climate crisis. It is a concern that the world is going to end or that climate change will have massive effects on the planet. Because climate change is covered a lot on the news and is a topic of interest among young people, this anxiety is fairly common.   Why it is unnecessary If you feel this anxiety, it is important to realize that stressing out about climate change will not alleviate the threat. Climate change will undoubtedly cause changes in society, but humans are adaptive creatures. We can build structures that can withstand disasters like earthquakes and tornados, and we wil...

Sustainable Tourism in the Covid Era By Xander Smith, age 17 With the distribution of millions of vaccines throughout the world, the beginning of the end of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have begun. Because of this, many people are starting to feel more comfortable to travel abroad again and are planning summer getaways. However, in order to make sure beloved locations are able to endure an influx of tourists, we need to remember to travel sustainably.  Sustainable tourism is the act of traveling somewhere while making little-to-no impact on the environment and local culture, and a positive impact on the local economy. This can be seen as staying in a locally-owned Airbnb and eating at locally-owned restaurants opposed to staying at a large resort owned by a big corporation. This becomes much more complex however when Covid is involved. Each country has responded to the pandemic in different ways and are currently at different stages of recovery. Thus, it is vital to only travel ...

Facts You Must Know About Solar By Enrique from Solar NRG Since 2009, the cost of installing solar panels has dropped by a whopping 70 percent prompting more companies and individuals to switch to renewable energy. That’s an important figure to consider if you are deciding whether or not you can afford to have solar panels installed in your home. You’d be interested to know that a house with solar panels sells 4.1 percent higher than homes without. These and other fast facts would help you weigh the pros and cons of switching to solar power. The world needs to rethink its relationship with non-renewable sources of energy. Businesses and industries are gradually realizing the benefits of partially sourcing power from renewable sources. Forward-looking homeowners are seeing the cost-reduction and long-term benefits of investing in a photovoltaic installation. This infographic shows that solar panels reduce electricity cost by Php 2.50 per kWh! Check out this enlightening infographic, and...

 Greenwashing - What it is and How to Spot it ⏱Read time: 3 minutes Demand for eco-friendly products  is on the rise, and along with it, companies are finding ways to take advantage of earth-conscious consumers. How do they take advantage of us? Greenwashing . What is greenwashing?    Greenwashing is when brands use sustainable advertising to convince consumers that their product is good for the environment when it's really not. The Girl Gone Green  gives a good example of greenwashing in the video above.  How to spot it    If you see a product that makes claims about its environmental impact, search the internet to see if it's really making a difference, or just trying to fool you into paying for a product that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. There's a plethora of information on the internet, so if a major brand is running a sustainable ad campaign, you can probably find good information about it.  My experience    A while...

5 Eco Tips from Earth Leaf ⏱ Read time: 2 minutes Caring for the Environment helps people, animals, and our habitat, but it can be challenging to know where to start. Fortunately, @earth_leaf on Instagram  posts tips on how to help our planet. I compiled a few of them and gave my thoughts. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Save the Earth 🌍 (@earth_leaf) There's a reason people say that gum takes seven years to digest, and even if that isn't true, it is true that gum takes a long time to biodegrade . If you're a gum chewer, consider using sustainable alternatives that decompose quicker. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Save the Earth 🌍 (@earth_leaf) Snail mail requires cutting down trees and fossil fuel emissions from transportation. Email emissions are much lower. If you would like to receive emails when EarthPlex posts, you can follow our (FREE) mailing list by clicking the menu icon on the top left corner...

I Stopped Eating Red Meat: Five Month Update ⏱ 2 minute read On July 16, 2020, I decided that I would no longer eat red meat; only on special occasions. Red meat is primarily found in mammals such as cows and lambs. I quit eating red meat because of the potential health benefits, ethical reasons, and - of course - reducing my diet's carbon footprint. Now that it's 5 months (I'm writing this on Thanksgiving), I have a better understanding of how this has impacted my body. Since I began this challenge, I have only eaten red meat about two or three times. I divided my last update (linked at the end of this post) into two sections: health and cravings. I reflected on how I felt without eating red meat along with my desire - or lack thereof - to stuff myself with steak or roast beef. If you don't feel like reading this entire post (I have a short attention span so I understand), I feel just fine and I rarely crave red meat. Health In terms of how I physically feel, I have n...

This is How You Can Reduce Waste at Home   By Helen O'Keeffe Zero waste homes is an environmental drive developed by French lady Bea Johnson whereby she strives to cut her household waste to that of a glass jar annually. While it might sound extreme, Ms. Johnson believes that this is inherently possible with some education and knowledge on how to change our behaviors in our home. Being environmentally aware and conscious is a hot topic in today's world and so it's something that many people are very interested in. Ms. Johnson, who now resides in the USA with her family, has travelled the world speaking on the topic, she has published blogs and books about it and continues to receive a captive audience. While achieving zero waste might seem difficult for the average household, the premise that we can all "do better" in terms of our waste output probably does have weight and even small changes can make a difference when we strive for them collectively. The infograph...

  Should You Fast to Help the Environment?  Today marks a high holiday for the Jewish faith: Yom Kippur, and many Jewish people will fast for twenty-five hours. As a Jew myself, I have fasted for the last couple of Yom Kippurs, and I am fasting on this day too. Yom Kippur is a day to apologize to God for their sins. It doesn't matter whether or not you observe Yom Kippur; exploring the environmental impact of fasting applies to a lot of people. There are two different types of fasts we will explore. The first is a traditional fast, or not eating or drinking for a long time period (e.g. Yom Kippur), and the second is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is generally defined as fasting on and off for short periods of time. A common example of intermittent fasting is eating during an eight-hour window of the day, and fasting for the remaining sixteen hours. Apart from religious reasons, people tend to fast for health reasons. People who fast tend to eat less than those who ...

 The Best Environmental Sources  Like many of you reading this, I am interested in climate change and the environment as a whole. As a climate blogger, I must have adequate sources to maintain the integrity of this website. Citing sources is necessary every time I include information that I didn't previously know (contrary to my beliefs, there's a lot that I don't know). I decided to compile some of the most trustworthy sources for when you're curious about the environment, ranked in no particular order.   EarthPlex (Yes, us!) How could I not include the site you're currently on!? EarthPlex is a blog and climate platform guided towards teens. We frequently post high-quality content about climate change and how to live a more ethical life. As a NY Times featured platform , we feel the need to contribute accurate information to educate teens on humanity's biggest challenge. You can read more about us in our mission statement .  World Wildlife Fund (WWF)    ...