EarthPlex - Climate Platform for Teens

  Is the Internet Environmentally Friendly?  If you haven’t used the Internet, I don’t know how you’re reading this, and if you are from the distant future, does it still exist? The developed world depends on the internet for everything. Think about all the videos, social media, educational tools, and EarthPlex posts that you rely on internet access to view or use.  Is this magical network that we cannot live without good for the environment? It is hard to give a clear answer as to whether or not the internet is environmentally friendly because it has helped combat pollution and fossil fuel emissions in some ways, but has also caused an increase of emitted greenhouse gasses in other ways. The Good Before the internet, people got their information from the encyclopedia (talk about boredom) and read tangible newspapers and magazines. This lifestyle required the consumption of physical items. Paper production requires the destruction of trees and the ecosystems they supp...

  The Environmental Impact of Google Alphabet is one of the largest internet companies in the world, so the decisions made by its executives impact every human on this planet. Fortunately, Alphabet has shown great commitment to limiting its ecological footprint.  In case you didn't know, Alphabet is the owner of Google along with some other companies such as Nest and DeepMind. This post will focus on Google's environmental impact. Energy investments Google has made large investments to run on clean energy and keep its impact minimal. The company also has bold ambitions that will allow it to run on renewable energy all of the time. Saving trees The internet has replaced paper products such as newspapers and encyclopedias. Paper products equate to cutting down trees. Google Docs means that less paper is needed for writing and Gmail has replaced snail mail. Combined with Google's reforestation efforts, more trees exist because of Alphabet's innovations. Final thoughts Alp...

 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...

The Environmental Impact of Social Media ⏱ Read time: 1-1.5 minutes Social media changed the way we live and transformed the twenty-first century into a time where information is at our fingertips. Today, apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok are among the most downloaded in the world, but how exactly do these apps impact the world we live in? Related:  TikTok Spreads Environmental Awareness - Here's How The Good Social media accounts spread awareness of climate change and environmental issues. Hundreds of accounts post frequently about the environment and how to protect it. People take their advice and live greener lives thanks to social media brands and influencers. Additionally, messaging through social media is more efficient than snail mail because it uses no paper.  The Bad Social media uses servers, and those servers demand tons of energy to function. While it may seem that social media only uses your phone's electricity, it also runs on supercomputers that we do no...

The Environmental Impact of Returning to School ⏱ Read time: 2 minutes Since September, students have gradually returned to an in-person learning environment. Coronavirus has changed our day-to-day lives along with the ecosystems on our planet. Covid-19 caused animal populations to regenerate in unprecedented ways. As life reverts to the way it was in 2019, we will see our planet respond. I decided to examine how returning to school will affect the environment. Read: Coronavirus Won’t Stop Climate Change Heating and air conditioning First, school buildings - which probably had heating and air conditioning off or on low power - will have to maintain room temperature. (This is assuming that the schools have sufficient heating and air conditioning.) Heating and air conditioning require power and energy, which will in turn increase fossil fuel emissions . It's important to note that if students' homes no longer contain occupants during the day, reducing the heat or air conditioning...

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...

TikTok and the Environment  It seems that everybody between the ages of 13 and 20 has TikTok, the social media app that has transformed American culture. It's owned by the Chinese internet company, ByteDance, and it's synonymous with teens dancing to "TikTok songs" and sabotaging Trump rallies. Let me put it out there: when I said everybody between the ages of 13 and 20 has it, I meant to say that everybody between those ages has it except for me. I don't want to lose my target audience by saying this, but I don't get TikTok. This isn't about my opinions, though, and we'll put all of my negative thoughts aside for my environmental analysis of TikTok. TikTok has gathered teens together, and it has done a really good job. Any post has the opportunity to reach millions of users, and some of the posts are very inspiring. A single post could potentially change lives, and some of them are about climate change . TikTokers have raised climate awareness, which ...

 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...

 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)    ...

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...

The Impossible Burger Review EarthPlex has extensively discussed the Beyond Burger. We reviewed it and we analyzed its environmental impact . Now it’s Impossible’s turn. In this post, I will discuss my experience with the Impossible Burger in terms of taste. Stay tuned for future posts; we’ll compare it to the Beyond Burger and look into its environmental impact. (Get notified upon their releases with our [FREE] mailing list.)  Disclaimer: As I mentioned in my Beyond Burger Review, I’m not a food critic, and my culinary knowledge is quite limited. In case you’re new to EarthPlex, we’re the climate platform for teens that discusses environmental topics. I tried an Impossible Whopper and a burger made from Impossible “ground beef” with some added bread, an egg, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, and pepper. Appearance  Before I get to the taste, let’s discuss the Impossible Burger’s appearance. It looked almost precisely like a burger to me, and somebody could have told...

 Bitcoin's True Environmental Impact ⏱ Read time: 1.5 minutes "Bitcoin to the moon!" has been said a lot lately as the value of the currency soared more than 450% between March 2020 and March 2021. I always liked the concept of Bitcoin; it's unregulated by governments and completely digital. If Bitcoin and cryptocurrency doesn't require the printing of paper money, it should contribute very little to carbon emissions. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Environmental Impact According to a CNBC article , Bitcoin's carbon emissions are greater than that of The Netherlands. Massive amounts of electricity are required for Bitcoin transactions. Even though Bitcoin seems completely virtual, computer systems work behind the scenes, and that work can emit fossil fuels into the air and worsen the effects of climate change. However, Bitcoin transactions do not have to use fossil fuels; other clean and renewable energy sources can power it as well, and they actuall...