EarthPlex - Climate Platform for Teens

"How We Fix the Climate" According to World-Famous Authors John Green and Hank Green are well-known authors, entrepreneurs, and YouTubers. Following a recent climate report from the United Nations , the two brothers made a video about how to fight climate change. I found this video incredibly informative and inspiring, and I believe everyone should watch it. The video lists a few ways to lower your negative impact on the environment, the most important being to inform yourself on policies. Any EarthPlex reader knows that being informed can help people to make more educated and wiser decisions. A few minutes into the video, there's a chart that breaks down what is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions . This alone is enough information to make you more educated about climate change than 99% of the public, but the video contains plenty more information.  For example, the video explores solutions to climate change, such as carbon pricing. These solutions are explained in ...

Boxed Water Review Bottled water is convenient. Obviously, plastic bottles are terrible for the environment (not to mention the marked up prices), but people still buy them. Why? Because they're simple and convenient. What if there could be an alternative to bottled water that has a positive environmental impact? That's the idea of Boxed Water. What is Boxed Water Boxed Water is brand that basically sells water bottles, but they come in boxes, sort of like milk cartons. Above is a picture of a 250 mL box, which I tried.  Review Boxed Water simply tasted like water. The box did not affect the water at all. It was just as convenient as any plastic water bottle I've used. Overall, Boxed Water is just water, but in a more environmentally friendly package.  Buy Boxed Water here! For you:  Is Smartwater Smart? No

How We're Solving Climate Change Wrong Nuseir Yassin is an Israeli-American digital creator. He publishes videos to social media platforms under the name Nas Daily , covering incredible people and important issues. A popular video on his YouTube channel  tells a story of when he went to McDonald's. An employee informed him that they didn't have plastic straws, a sensible move that companies have taken to better their impacts on the environment. However, Nuseir noticed that he was drinking from a plastic cup, and the utensils were plastic. Additionally, McDonald's serves meat, which is terrible for the environment, begging the question, "Why does McDonald's care about straws, but not cups, utensils, or the food they serve. What is selective empathy? This post isn't about McDonald's. It's about selective empathy, something we are all guilty of. Here's an example of selective empathy: people feel sad when a celebrity dies tragically but not when th...

  I Played the EPA's Recycle City Game Recently, I tested out an online game from National Geographic about recycling. I found the game confusing, so I decided to test another game. I found the "Recycle City Challenge" from the EPA and decided to try it out. For you: Review | National Geographic's Recycle Roundup Game Description In the game, the player must "visit" different locations (e.g. house, store, etc.) and answer questions about recycling. For example, when I click on the kitchen in my house, it asks, "Your family’s 30-year old refrigerator broke. What next?" and I must select the correct answer. The game says the final score at the end based on the player's answers.   Gameplay I found the game to be enjoyable and informative. Even though it appeared somewhat dated, I still learned about recycling and respecting the environment. When the game concluded, I could post my score to the ranking of the top scores from the last 3 days.  The m...

  Reacting to NatGeo's Climate Change Explanation National Geographic (NatGeo) contains incredible information about our planet and climate change, and EarthPlex named it one of the best resources to learn about the environment . I found a video on their YouTube channel from 2015 and decided to share my thoughts. The video is titled "Climate Change: It’s Real. It’s Serious. And it’s up to us to Solve it."  The video begins by stating the current and future effects of climate change such as draughts and flooding. Extreme conditions caused by climate change will displace millions of people. Most of the video discusses what humans can do to solve climate change. NatGeo brought up some creative solutions that have already been applied, such as a building with an exterior that can break down air pollutants and tiles that turn people's steps into energy.  The video explains that we can all work together to stop the climate crisis, and humans can use their creativity to chan...

Reacting to Instagram Posts From @yea.pod Youth Environmental Action Pod  is a part of the Climate Reality Project with the mission of "Empowering & educating youth to take action against the climate crisis." We offered our thoughts on some of their Instagram posts.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Youth Evironmental Action Pod (@yea.pod) Environmental justice is extremely important. We have already taken steps to achieve it, and we will continue to do even more to keep our planet and its life healthy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Youth Evironmental Action Pod (@yea.pod) If you feel passionate about an issue, make a difference , but keep in mind that your mental health is important, and working yourself to death is unhealthy. Do what you can do without getting burnt out. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Youth Evironmental Action Pod (@yea.pod) Covid 19  has ...

Thoughts on Facebook's Climate Science Information Center Facebook is the largest social media company in the world, so any feature added to Facebook-owned platforms can have a large effect on public opinion. I came across Facebook's Climate Science Information Center and knew it was worthy of an EarthPlex post. How to access Here is the link to the Climate Science Information Center . Mobile app On the Facebook app, click the menu button (three lines on the right of the navigation menu). Under See More , click  Climate Science Information Center. If it cannot be found under See More , it should be one of the top boxes of the menu. Desktop site Accessing the  Climate Science Information Center on a desktop is simple. On the left menu on the Facebook website  click  Climate Science Information Center.  What it is Facebook's  Climate Science Information Center  contains facts and information about the climate crisis in a user-friendly way. It dismisses ...

 Hippeas Vegan Cheese Puffs Review Some vegan food has slowly become indistinguishable from the meat or dairy that it tries to emulate. Even though most vegan snacks still have a ways to go before they taste perfect, some plant-based snacks taste like they are made from animal products. I had the opportunity to try Hippeas Vegan White Cheddar cheese puffs. They are a chickpea-based snack meant to taste like cheese puffs. Thoughts These cheese puffs shocked me because they tasted a lot like real cheese puffs. If I had eaten these not knowing they were vegan, I would be surprised to find out. One fundamental difference is that Hippeas are less messy than its non-vegan counterparts. When I eat snacks like Cheetos, I get Cheeto hands. I didn't have this problem with Hippeas.  More thoughts If you like cheesy snacks, you should absolutely try Hippeas. It tastes delicious and is better for the environment than snacks that require animals to make. Cheese production relies on cows tha...

 Review | National Geographic's Recycle Roundup Game ⏱ Read time: 2 minutes Let's take a break from the usual posts on the EarthPlex website and discuss a game... for kids. National Geographic (NatGeo) is one of the greatest sources for environmental education.  They have social media accounts showcasing Earth's beauty (be sure to follow EarthPlex on social media) , a library of documentaries on Disney Plus, and a website with articles, photos, and games. I found one of their many games, and it's called Recycle Roundup .  Description NatGeo's description of Recycle Roundup  looks like this: "Help clean up the park! Your job is to sort the stuff people throw away and put it in the proper bin. Is it recycling, compost, or trash? Get facts about climate change and tips on how you can help save the earth."  Basically, you're a monkey that has to pick up materials falling out of the sky and place them in the correct bins. Gameplay I was honestly very confu...

  Our Planet  Review  ⏱Read time: 1 minute Nature documentaries are quite boring for some, but for others, they showcase Earth's natural beauty. Narrated by David Attenborough, Netflix's  Our Planet is arguably the greatest nature docuseries of all time. The series consists of eight episodes that take place in different biomes. One episode takes place in the high seas, and another takes place in the jungle. Review My biggest complaint is that my TV is too small to capture the beauty of the cinematography. I am sure that Our Planet  would look crisp on a 100 inch TV, but I am unable to test that out. Every episode of the series tells stories about the plants and animals that inhabit Earth. The show is also action-packed, as it showcases animals hunting for food (which is bolstered by intense music and David Attenborough's lovely narration). Thoughts I highly recommend watching Our Planet if you like nature and have a Netflix subscription. The 2019 series effect...

 Reacting to Instagram Posts from Youth For Our Planet ⏱ Read time: 1-2 minutes Youth For Our Planet describes itself as " the global youth movement calling for world leaders to take ambitious and urgent action on the oceans, biodiversity, the climate and sustainable development."  EarthPlex is going to provide commentary on some of their posts. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Youth For Our Planet (@youthfor_ourplanet) If you enjoy nature documentaries, watch the ones in this post. Additionally, if you would like to write a review of a film related to nature or the environment, check out how to submit a post to EarthPlex! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Youth For Our Planet (@youthfor_ourplanet) Forests are an essential part of life on Earth. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) , "Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity." Damaging forest ecosystems means damaging...

The Eco-Friendly Prius that Kills its Owner ⏱ Read time: 1.5 minutes The Onion  is a satirical news source with some of the funniest articles known to man. They also have a YouTube channel with hilarious videos. Nothing on The Onion is true , but I am going to take one of their videos WAY too seriously: New Prius Helps Environment By Killing Its Owner . Keep in mind that this video is from 2012, and if it were released today, there would probably be more talk of Tesla and electric vehicle startups. First, I cannot believe how professional the video looks. The reporters sound so serious, and the "commercial" sounds so real (except for the stabbing of course). I now understand why The Onion tricked 8-year-old me into thinking that the new MacBooks would only have one keyboard button !  If you don't feel like watching the video, the concept is a car called the Prius Solution that impales its passengers, so the passengers' carbon footprints reduce to zero. This is a ridic...

  Gardein Plant-Based Chick’n & Rice Soup Review ⏱Read time: 1.5 minutes I love soup, and I know I'm not alone. It's salty, filling (depending on the soup), and - of course - meaty. Chicken soup is a favorite among Americans, but there are environmental concerns. Because chicken requires the farming of livestock, getting it from farm to bowl pollutes the atmosphere. What if people could enjoy chicken soup without the guilt associated with increasing their carbon impacts? That's where Gardein's plant-based soups come in. Enough chick'n? Recently, I tried Gardein's  Plant-Based Chick’n & Rice Soup. I've had my fair share of chicken soup alternatives in the past, but I have noticed that most of them have very little chick'n (the chick'n is made from plants). I wanted to know if Gardein would have the same issue. To my surprise, there was a lot of chick'n. It was comparable to the amount in real chicken soups. That brought up another question...

The Message of Let It Grow - The Lorax ⏱ Read time: 2.5 - 3 minutes EarthPlex wrote about the environmental message of How Bad Can I Be from The Lorax a few months ago, so I decided to continue looking into the meanings of songs that relate to conservation and the environment. Let It Grow is probably the most well-known Lorax  song, and it's pretty catchy too. I looked into the message of Let it Grow , the meme-worthy song about planting a tree, and I realized its relevance in  2021. In the song, the residents of Thneed-Ville sang about planting a tree. One of the lyrics that caught my eyes - or ears - was "you can't reap what you don't sow." I have actually been thinking about this lyric for a couple of months, and I'm still confused about its meaning. My understanding is that people cannot profit off of something they didn't create, as O'Hare profited off of clean air.  Speaking of O'Hare, he sang the best line of the song. Just when it seeme...

Image: A very boring meme made with Kapwing ⏱ Read time: 2 minutes A couple months ago, I reacted to climate change memes posted on Youth of Climate Reality's Instagram account . Unfortunately, the account removed most of the incredible memes that I reacted to, so I left descriptions. For the second edition of climate meme reactions, I will react to memes from climatememes420 on Instagram .  Read: Reacting to Climate Change Memes from Youth of Climate Reality View this post on Instagram A post shared by Climate Change Memes (@climatememes420) Raising livestock not only kills animals but also requires tons of water and dangerous levels of carbon emissions. Plant-based meats are the clear alternative; they have lower environmental impacts, and they're healthier than real meats in some ways. We must phase meats out of our diets as plant-based alternatives become more affordable and accessable. For you:  Thoughts on the McDonald's McPlant Burger  ...