ENVIRONMENT The tech boom is spreading worldwide and it comes with a cost. Between 2010 and 2015, e-waste generated in East and Southeast Asia rose 63%, according to a new report. (EurekAlert!) How does e-waste contribute to pollution? Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit. Discussion Ideas A new study documents the skyrocketing accumulation of e-waste in East … Continue reading E-Waste Skyrockets in East Asia
ENVIRONMENT Thousands of invisible oil spills are polluting the Gulf of Mexico. (WIRED) Navigate the geography of offshore oil in the Gulf of Mexico with our dazzling high-res map. Discussion Ideas Why are oil spills invisible? They’re not. What WIRED calls “invisible” is not unsee-able, just low-profile; we don’t hear about them the way we do the Deepwater Horizon or Exxon Valdez spills. The “Coast … Continue reading Are Invisible Oil Spills Destroying the Gulf of Mexico?
Plastic pollution is now considered one of the largest environmental threats facing humans and animals globally—and the problem keeps getting bigger. My brother and I first learned about plastic pollution while we were delivering animal rescue supplies to the Gulf of Mexico during the BP Gulf oil spill. Ever since then, we have been educating ourselves on the subject and we have actually authored an … Continue reading Kids Tackle Plastic Pollution
ENVIRONMENT Industrial wastelands sound like grim places but many of them are refuges for fascinating plants. (Guardian) Exotic flowers thrive in nutrient-poor soils, but what are nutrients? Use our resources to find out. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas The super-short Guardian article offers some encouraging news about the ecology of brownfields. What are brownfields? … Continue reading Brownfield Blooms
ENVIRONMENT Placing plastic collectors near coasts would remove 31% of microplastics, versus 1% if they were all in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. (Guardian) What is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Use our resources to find out. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Startling new analysis reveals that cleaning up plastics near the coast would … Continue reading Wait a Minute—Don’t Clean the Garbage Patch?
