The Push for Getting Children into School Younger and Younger
During recent Democratic nominations, political candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders promoted their idea for a government-funded universal pre-K that would be accessible to all families, regardless of socioeconomic status. The program would provide childcare and education, starting soon after birth instead of at kindergarten. […]
Parts of the Earth May Soon Be Unlivable
Climate experts worry that the warmest parts of the earth may soon become unlivable because of global heating. Research on the tropical regions of the world—from a line that crosses Mexico, Libya, and India down to another line cutting across Brazil, Madagascar, and northern parts of Australia—found […]
How Zoom School Impacted America’s Kids
The pandemic has impacted life in many ways, but perhaps one of the most significant changes for children was the switch to online learning. Psychologists worry about Zoom school’s detrimental impact, particularly on social and mental development. Dr. Patricia Perez, a professor of psychology in Chicago, consulted with a […]
A Synthetic World Has Overtaken Us
Today, most people use hundreds—perhaps thousands—of artificial, manmade items every day. But the shift away from natural items has mostly taken place in the last 120 years. In 1900, before the Industrial Revolution, human-made materials weighed only the equivalent of about 3 percent of all living things on earth […]
Conservationists Urge Action to Safeguard Nature
In the Living Planet Report for 2020, conservationists decry the current condition of our planet, calling COVID-19 “the deepest global disruption of a lifetime.” They believe that the pandemic and other recent disasters are the earth’s response to the way it has been treated through industrialization and urbanization. It’s […]
Goodbye to the Wild Wild Web?
What started out as its own world has now become an integral part of day-to-day life for most people. The internet is no longer merely a platform; many people live their lives in its realms. This shift has taken place rapidly but subtly so that only recently have media […]
Harvard Professor Blasts Homeschooling
Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet recently spoke out against homeschooling, suggesting that a presumptive ban should be placed on the practice to ensure greater governmental regulation. In an interview with The Harvard Gazette, she accused homeschooling parents of raising their children in conservative belief systems shielded from other viewpoints. “Many homeschooling parents […]
Increased Cannabis Usage Despite Risks
The federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has not been accepted for medical use and has a high risk of being abused. Despite this stance, many states have legalized its use; the message that marijuana is harmless now inundates society, including our children. […]
Water Sources Contaminated by Prescription Drugs
Residues of pharmaceutical drugs are being found in both surface and underground freshwater sources throughout the world according to a report from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Some of the highest levels of pollution have been found in China, India, Israel, South Korea, and the United […]
Our Best Hope for the Future Environment? Eat Plants!
The Amazonian rainforest wildfire was the hot topic in August as vast media coverage featured the “lungs of the earth” on fire at a nearly 80 percent increase from 2018. The reason behind this catastrophe was no accident—rather, the fire was set by illegal loggers and […]