Recently, President Jimmy Carter passed away in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100. Carter was the 39th President of the U.S. and sworn in on January 20, 1977. Known for his forward-thinking ideas on environmental issues, he made a memorable impact from the very beginning of his presidency. During his inauguration, solar panels were installed to heat the viewing stand, despite the chilly weather that day. In his speeches, he frequently spoke of the importance of renewable energy sources like the Sun and the ocean. Efforts Towards Cleaner Energy President Carter was the first...

In September, the California Department of Justice sued ExxonMobil, a leading big oil company, over its contributions to the growing plastic waste problem. According to California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, the company has been misleading the public and promoting plastic usage for decades. Exxon is the largest producer of polymers used in single-use plastics. But how exactly did the company mislead the public? Let’s find out! The Lawsuit The California Department of Justice alleged that for half a century, ExxonMobil has been promoting single-use plastics, using the “chasing arrows”...

With recent climate changes, how do world leaders know what steps to take next? A lot of global climate change policies are formed at the annual COP or Conference of Parties, an annual assembly of the 197 countries that agreed to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on climate change. Every year, diplomats as well as heads of state and governments gather to discuss future plans to address climate change. This year's conference took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11-22. We look at key highlights from the conference and what the change in the U.S. leadership could mean. A Step...

Thanks to their penchant for eating the wood of houses and businesses, termites are not the most beloved insects. However, the colonies they build are both incredible in size and complexity and vital for sequestering carbon. Recently, the oldest termite colony in the world was discovered in South Africa, and researchers have been studying its effects on the environment. Background on the Colony In Namaqualand, a desert scrubland along the Buffels River in South Africa, about 27% of the landscape is dotted with tiny sandy hills that the locals call "heuweltjies", which means “little hills” in...

Imagine this - the year is 1882, and the modern world has just begun emerging from the first wave of industrialization led by Britain. Electricity and power sourcing have just taken a new turn thanks to Thomas Edison and his latest invention of the coal power plant. In the years to come, we will watch our daily dependency on coal grow as coal-powered electricity lights up our streets, powers our stoves, enhances our transportation, and facilitates factories into a future of machines and manufacturing. Now back to 2024, when Britain, the first country to have coal power, became the first major...