Offsetting your greenhouse gas emissions can impact more than just your carbon footprint
By Tim Treuer This Giving Tuesday, I decided to offset my 2020 carbon footprint. And help protect endangered biodiversity. And help eliminate poverty. And improve air, water, and soil quality. And support gender equality. And empower historically marginalized communities. And maybe even decrease the risk of killer diseases like COVID-19 and malaria. But I only…
Sustainability: That Ain’t Country?
Written by Ashford King In the US, the fight against climate change often looks more like a fight to achieve the public recognition that climate change is real. Flat out denial of science by the dominant strain of conservative politics and the reticence to take bold action on the part of moderates, combined with the…
It’s Past Time for Princeton to Divest from Fossil Fuels
Written by Ryan Warsing of Divest Princeton If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need to be persuaded that the planet is on fire, and we need to do something to put it out fast. We see evidence all around us: California is again in the throes of a record wildfire season, glaciers the size of Manhattan are sliding into…
Inside a Solar Energy Company
Written by Molly Chaney Finding an internship as a Ph.D. student is hard. Finding one at a company you have legitimate interest in is even harder. In search of a more refined answer to the dreaded question, “so what do you want to do after you get your Ph.D.?” I started looking for opportunities in…
Sowing the Seeds of Environmental Justice in Trenton
Written by Laurel Mei-Singh Magnificent, a hairdresser who lives and works in downtown Trenton, New Jersey, is one of ten adults gathered together in a community space. Meanwhile, an equal number of children paint pots outside, fill them with soil, and plant seeds to grow. On the topic of the lead-contaminated water flowing from the…
Evaluating the geoengineering treatment
Written by Xin Rong Chua Might there be a remedy for the worldwide temperature and rainfall changes caused by humanity’s emissions? If so, what would the cure cost? We watch as Mr. Human grapples with these questions with the help of Dr. Planet. Dr. Planet was about to put an end to a long, hard…
Pulp Non-fiction
Written by Timothy Treuer A story (but careful, there’s a twist): In 1998, the Costa Rican Sala Cuarta (their highest judicial body) issued a ruling against a company that had dumped 12,000 tonnes of waste orange peels in one of the country’s flagship protected areas, Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG). The ruling came at the…
Beyond the Olympics: The role of sports in social development
Written by Julio Herrera Estrada “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial…
Conservation Crossroads in Ecuador: Tiputini Biodiversity Station and the Yasuní oil fields
Written by Justine Atkins On an early morning boat, mist still rises off the water and the Amazonian air is thick with the characteristic dampness of tropical rainforests. We’re heading out in search of a nearby clay-lick where many parrot species congregate. In the partial slumber of any graduate student awake before 6 am, we…
Americans Are Paying Too Much for Mass Incarceration: Prison education programs provide a way out
Written by Kaia Tombak Some names in this blog post have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned. Jack greeted me cheerfully as he strolled into class, asking me how things are going. “I’m fine, thanks,” I replied. “How are you?” “Oh, I’m good,” he chuckled. “You know, given the circumstances!” We were…