As of 2021, 367 million tons of plastics were produced globally, with over 22% composed of single-use items. Thanks to its durability, versatility, and ease of production, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has become the most common form of plastic in disposable products like water bottles and grocery bags. Despite some successes in reducing single-use plastics in […]
While people tend to focus on COVID-19’s disruption to our daily routines, there was a separate world of consequences for wildlife. Animals have always had to adapt to the changing behaviors of human civilization by moving their habitats and adjusting their usage of resources like food, water, and shelter to maximize survival. The COVID-19 pandemic
With people at home, more space to roam: How COVID affected bird behavior Read More »
Many of us have the privilege of being able to use convenient and efficient items in all aspects of our lives. We use non-stick cookware to avoid having to viciously scrub their stainless steel counterparts after a long day of work. We use stain-resistant clothes that have the added benefit of being water-repellant. This privilege
War brings environmental concerns. Examples that typically come to mind include Agent Orange, nuclear weapons, deforestation — and now, energy. In February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a military invasion of Ukraine that has since put the European Union in a tailspin of major decisions concerning their future relations with Russia, with energy being
Scientists study the Nord Stream methane leak in the Russia-Ukraine War Read More »
Beneath the African continent and the Pacific Ocean; two mantle superplumes, massive areas of the mantle with different seismic wave velocities and different compositions; exist. These large areas are associated with most hot spot volcanoes and large provinces of volcanic rock on the Earth’s surface. Their formation is linked to the supercontinent cycle, the cyclical
Supercontinents, superplumes, and true polar wander Read More »
Electric vehicles (EVs) currently make up about 1% of the cars in the United States. Economic and technology analysts expect this number to soar up to at least 70% by 2050, drastically increasing the amount of energy Americans are pulling from the electric grid. Cars in America guzzle 369 million gallons of gas every day.
How electric vehicles are futurizing the electric grid Read More »
The tradition of treating travelers with respect has been a long-held one, spanning many cultures and periods. As early as the Greeks and Romans, townspeople were hospitable to any and every stranger in the hopes that one may be a god in human form testing them. However, it isn’t hard to find winged travelers that
City lights and bird flights: How human activity affects migration Read More »
The monarch butterfly exhibits perhaps the most advanced migration pattern of any insect. Their migration pattern is equivalent in complexity to that of birds, demonstrating a two-way migration. This consists of migrating from point A to point B multiple times. Point A refers to the location the butterflies reside from late March to early October.
Monarch migration: A trip of a lifetime Read More »
