By: Kai McLaughlin

​In late 2019, Jane Fonda was an award-winning actress and activist living in Los Angeles surrounded by the spoils of her years of work in the film and television industry. She was also paralyzed by fear of the broad-ranging effects of climate change, and as a seasoned activist who protested the Vietnam War, she wanted to do something but found herself at a loss. Despite her connections and resources, the problem was enormous and multi-faceted, so what could she do? In her newest book What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action, Jane takes the reader along with her on her journey to figure out exactly what she could do; specifically, how she used her experience as an activist, her drive, her resources, and her connections to take action on climate change when so many seemed resigned to apathy.

By: Sabrina Yang, Paleesa Kapoor, Kevin Lau, Shraddha Subash & Dorismar Cuevas

How do you think climate change is fueling the especially severe polar vortex in the South and Midwest? 

By: Jessica Martin

Wrapping presents is a tradition that has become a standard part of gift-giving. It is an action that many people who celebrate holidays don’t think twice about. But we should consider how something as seemingly simple as wrapping paper can have a negative impact on the environment. If every American family wrapped three presents in traditional wrapping paper, it would be enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. Estimates conclude that about 2.3 million pounds of wrapping paper end up in landfills every year in the United States alone. 

By: Manya Gupta

As our population grows, so does our demand for resources. We need jobs, food, housing… you name it! Millions of people are without these basic necessities every day. Some argue that urbanization, the building of infrastructure, cities, and telecommunication systems are the keys to solving this issue. After all, we have already seen its benefits today. But what implications does urbanization have on our environment?

By: Amaan Rather, Roxanne Riebel, Sabrina Yang, ​Anshika Ojha, Julia Nguyen & Rachael Willis

What are some environmental policies that Joe Biden should implement over his next four years as president? What is the effect of these policies and how will future presidents take precedent?

By: Julia Nguyen, Amaan Rather & Shraddha Subash

​What are some individual actions we can take in our everyday lives to mitigate our carbon footprints?

By: Manya Gupta

Hurricanes have been some of the worst natural disasters in history, and unfortunately, they’re only becoming worse. Due to climate change, we are seeing an unprecedented change in the severity of hurricanes.

By: Vamika Sharma

There are a lot of insects in the world, they are more populated than any other phylum on Earth. It is estimated that insects have the largest biomass of land-dwelling animals, and at any given time, there are roughly 10 quintillion individual insects alive. There are an estimated 5 million different species and only 1/5th of all species have been discovered. So, what seems to be the problem? The International Union for Conservation of Nature has been tracking 2200 species of insects and found that nearly half face declining populations. These crucial insects are challenged by climate change, loss of habitat and pesticides which are threatening their existence.

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By: Labiba
How many times, this year, were you able to step outside? The neighborhood you live in  has been in the worst condition you have ever seen with trash piled up on the sidewalks and empty streets with no footprints. If this year has taught us one thing, its caution. Due to COVID-19 that resulted in over a million deaths around the world, we have grieved and suffered over the damage this pandemic has caused. We all know that the pandemic started due to a transfer from a bat to a human but the problem is rooted much deeper than this. ​

By: Althea Ocomen

Water is a basic human need.
​Without it, survival is not possible. Yet, in 2020, 2.1 billion people still wake up each morning without access to clean water. This means that millions of vulnerable families around the world do not drink, cook, or bathe with clean water. For most rural schools and communities, access to clean water depends on outside NGOs (nonprofit organizations) purchasing or “giving” a well. However, there are millions of schools and communities that do not have access to nonprofit agencies or local government support. We must then ask ourselves: “How can we make water available for all?” Something must change.