EarthPlex - Climate Platform for Teens

  Solarpunk: What the World will Look Like if we Beat Climate Change The future. Will it be good or bad? We can never know, as it's impossible to predict. However, we can see several possibilities of our future through art. We're going to explore Solarpunk, an artform that envisions a future where we have defeated climate change and become one with nature. What is Solarpunk? Solar punk is a design style focused on a future with lots of greenery. The image above is a real photograph of Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. This is the greatest example of real-life Solarpunk. Most examples of Solarpunk are only renderings. The Amazon Spheres (pictured above) in Seattle is also an example of Solarpunk in real life. Its interior contains trees to give it a nature-like effect.  Final Thoughts It is cool to imagine a world where we can get rid of our environmental issues, but this requires cooperation. A few green futuristic buildings cannot put an end to the climate crisis, but Solarp...

  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...

 Going Vegan: The Basics As concerns about the changing climate increase, many have begun to change their diets to help animals and the planet. The vegan diet has become more popular in recent years, and many think that it is the future of food. Companies like Beyond Meat have made it easier for Americans to go vegan. What exactly is this diet, and should people become vegans? What is the vegan diet? Vegans do not eat meat or animal products. This includes beef, fish, eggs, and dairy, along with a variety of similar foods. Many vegans also use household products, like soaps, that do not come from animals. Why go vegan? For the animals Animals are slaughtered to make meat, so vegan foods do not require animal fatalities. Other animal products are dependent on farming, so eliminating animal products entirely means that there is no need to rely on animals for food or household products. Health benefits Going vegan comes with a lot of health benefits. According to Healthline , plant-...

 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...

Keystone XL Pipeline - The Basics  ⏱ Read time: 1 minute Joe Biden's announcement to halt the development of the Keystone XL pipeline was highly controversial. One side of the political aisle claims that this decision will destroy economic development, while the other side says that the pipeline will worsen the effects of climate change . So, what is the Keystone XL pipeline, and should its construction be stopped? What is Keystone XL? The Keystone XL Pipeline would span from Texas to Canada and transport tons of fossil fuels between the countries. The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) states that it was proposed by TransCanada in 2008.  Political disputes The same NRDC article says that Barack Obama vetoed the pipeline's development in 2015, but President Trump reversed Obama's policy immediately after taking office. Joe Biden halted the construction on his inauguration day, following in the footsteps of President Obama.  I highly recommend reading the NRDC ...

Plastic Straws - The Basics  Plastic straws are everywhere. If you order a drink at a restaurant, you are guaranteed to get one. They make it easier to drink beverages, and using them is better than drinking right from a glass. Yet, these straws have been banned in many cities across the world. Why? Do governments dislike convenience? No. It's a bit more complicated. According to National Geographic , the drinking straw was first patented  in 1888  by Marvin Stone. It was made out of paper, and it wasn't until the 1960s when plastic straws were mass-produced. Since then, plastic straws have exploded in popularity. NatGeo estimates that 500 million of them are used daily (keep in mind that these are pre-Covid numbers). Even though everyone loves convenience (just take a look at the bottled water industry) , it can come at a cost, and in the case of drinking straws, it definitely does. If 500 million straws are used daily, 182,500,000,000 straws are used each year. Each hum...

Making GMO Crops: Helping or Hindering Climate Change? By Mahir Hossain, age 14 Every book has its cover, and inside every cover of a book has its own story. But even if the book cover looks like a masterpiece, the story could be bland, and vice versa. But what if you could alter that story or the cover endlessly? With GMO crops and new biotech that is looking to reconstruct new species into populations and add to biodiversity, breakthroughs are hoping to rise from the horizon. However, many are apprehensive about “GMO”, and many other labels that can make it perplexing to understand what’s good for your body, the environment, and ultimately the world. If you want to understand how GMO crops can benefit, you have to understand the genetic base. GMO stands for ‘genetically modified organism’ in which special enzymes cut off DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)  of the desired trait from an organism, which is then transferred to a vector, also known as the carrier. The trait is then placed i...

Fossil Fuels - The Basics People often measure progress in defeating climate change by the amount of fossil fuels used by a country or corporation. Or rather, a lack thereof. Climate experts prefer the use of clean and renewable sources such as solar or nuclear power over fossil fuels because they have a minimal environmental impact. In order to despise fossil fuels, we have to get down to the basics of what they are. What are fossil fuels? Fossil fuels have their name for a reason. The fuel comes from the remains of once-living organisms. When burned, they can power buildings, vehicles, and our lives. According to America’s The Department of Energy , fossil fuels have been the source of almost 75% of human emissions over the past twenty years.  Examples of fossil fuels Coal  Coal is a black rock that takes millions of years to form. Like all nonrenewable sources, we use it faster than it can replenish. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (eia) , coal f...

Recently, we discussed renewable energy and its benefits. There was a form of energy we didn’t mention, primarily because it’s not renewable. Still, this is a form of clean energy with potential to change the world. In case you didn’t read the title, I’m referring to nuclear energy. What is it and how does it work? Nuclear fusion is when “two light nuclei smash together and fuse to create a heavier nucleus,” according to energy.gov . It is inspired by the way stars, such as the sun, burn energy. Nuclear fission on the other hand, is the splitting of an atom’s nucleus. Nuclear fusion is a better source of energy than fission because it's safer and more powerful.  Environmental Benefits According to the International Atomic Energy Agency , Nuclear fusion doesn’t emit carbon dioxide into the air. This means that it has major potential to lower greenhouse gas emissions if the technology becomes more widely used. Its fuel, hydrogen and lithium, are widely available. Conserve Energy Fut...

Renewable Energy - The Basics  Imagine a world with limitless resources and enough energy to power everything without running out. You could have anything you wish for because, well, nothing would run out. On Earth, we are nowhere near that status, and if we ever do achieve it, it wouldn’t be for a very long time.  In fact, there is even a scale that measures how society uses energy: the Kardashev Scale. The Kardashev scale measures how much energy we can harness on a logarithmic scale from one to three. A type one society can harness the energy of a planet, a type two society can harness a star’s energy, and a type three society can harness an entire galaxy. Let me answer the question everybody wants to know: where’s Earth on this scale? You may be surprised to find out that we are only a 0.72 society. Yes, there’s a type zero. Futurism does an excellent job of explaining why Earth is a type zero society.  Definition Now that you understand how little civilization has p...

Perhaps you have seen footage of bottles at the beach , oceans filled with plastic, and plastic straws in poor creatures’ mouths. Stop! Don’t make me think about that! Sorry, but every problem has a solution, and one of the clever approaches taken to combat this catastrophe (that was bad) is biodegradable plastics . Definition Like we did when exploring the word “eco-friendly,” we’re going to dissect the word. Bio means life (think biology or biography) and degrade is to break down. Biodegradable items can be broken down by microorganisms.  Benefits Plastic takes hundreds of years to decompose in a landfill, taking up space. If it makes its way into ecosystems, it can infect animals and destroy populations. That’s where biodegradable plastics come in. They only take a few months to decompose. They also require less energy to manufacture, using fewer greenhouse gasses.  The Cost Biodegradable items cost more money to manufacture, and for that reason, they are more expensiv...

Climate Change - The Basics Definition: We are in a climate crisis, but what does that mean? Like we did when exploring the meaning of eco-friendly , we're going to dissect the word. Climate is the weather in an area over an extended period of time. Climate change is when long-term weather patterns shift , hence climate change . Temperatures gradually rise, which could, and has begun to, cause great destruction. Effects: Climate change , sometimes referred to as global warming, has destroyed ecosystems. According to the World Wildlife Fund , “Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have, on average, declined by 60% between 1970 and 2014, the most recent year with available data.” Fewer species roam the wild because of mankind’s actions, and the people who cause it pay the smallest price. NASA has observed the effects of climate change from space. They have seen rising sea levels, wildfires, melting ice caps, and a whole lot more. Earth is changing rapidly,...

What Does Eco-Friendly Really Mean? Definition: You hear it all the time, but what on Earth does eco-friendly mean? Well, Earth... friendly or not harmful to Earth. To understand the definition of this word and what eco-friendly products are, we have to dissect the word. Eco is a prefix that means Earth and the environment (e.g. ecosystem). And if you don’t know the meaning of friendly, perhaps you’re in the wrong place.  Eco-friendly goods and services claim that they do not hurt our planet. Examples: For example, biodegradable containers help our planet and have a plethora of advantages over the containers most of us currently use. Those containers are eco-friendly because using them benefits the planet. Another common example of eco-friendly equipment is solar panels. Unlike fossil fuels , they do not output harmful gas into the atmosphere. By maintaining Earth’s natural resources, solar panels are considered to be eco-friendly . Similar Words: Words often used in the place...