
24MarNo Comments
A Letter to Mother Nature- A Poem
I should have stayed and fought for you
I pledge allegiance
Watered the flowers you gave me too,
To the flag
Listened close to your favorite song
Of the United States of America
The birds have stopped humming, all along
And to the republic
I should have stayed to heal your scars
For which it stand
Healed the oceans, healed the stars,
One nation
Protected your forests a...

24MarNo Comments
Those Who Destroy – A Poem
My wings falter.As the pale sky crumbles to ash and dust,I feel the watchful gaze of those who came before me,And my breath becomes hollow and poisoned,As the pale sky crumbles to ash and dust,Thousands of years fade away,And my breath becomes hollow and poisoned,While I watch the earth burn to fragments of its past beauty. Thousands of years fade away,She screams, “My children! What have you done?”While I watch the earth burn to fragments of its past beauty. Soft wails fill the sky with meaningless dark.She screams, “My children! What have you done?”The ice fills my heart and I begin to writhe in pain at the sight.Soft wails fill the sky with meaningless dark.And once again I’m frozen,The ice fills my heart and I begin to writhe in pain at the sight.I feel the watchful gaze of those who c...

24MarNo Comments
How Climate Change is Disrupting Crucial Tree-Fungi Partnerships
One of the most critical interactions in the natural world is one that is unseen, as it takes place underground. Trees rely on ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) to provide the nutrients they need in order to survive in exchange for carbon, a relationship that is crucial for their survival. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, more than a third of the world’s tree species are currently at risk of extinction. In fact, they account for more than a quarter of all species on the Red List. This rapid extinction is caused by climate change. The shift in climate is causing species to relocate to different regions as their original homes become uninhabitable for them. However, scientists have noticed a lag in migration in tree species. The reason has to do with the partner of the t...

24MarNo Comments
“Drill, baby, drill”: The Republican Party’s Love Affair with Big Oil
Illustration / Courtney Jones; Alex Brandon and Carlos Osorio, Associated Press; and Adobe Stock
“Drill, baby, drill” was the tagline phrase that defined Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, promising to cut inflation and reduce America's dependence on Middle Eastern oil by increasing oil drilling and production. Although the phrase rose to fame during the fall of 2024, chanted by Trump at numerous rallies and other political events, the term was actually coined by Republican Michael Steele, a vocal critic of Trump-era policies. Steele used the term to rally Americans through the 2008 Economic Crisis and high Middle Eastern oil prices, with the goal of separating the American economy from conflict in and with the Middle East.
In its beginnings, “drill, baby, drill” was motivat...

24MarNo Comments
London Climate Activists Sentenced as Free Speech Debate Grows
In London earlier this year, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the high court in solidarity with members of the “Just Stop Oil” advocacy group. Defendants were collectively given over forty-one years' worth of sentences for a series of nonviolent protests in support of stopping large oil companies. The sixteen environmental activists appeared in court to attempt to change their unduly harsh sentences. Their appearance in court attracted many supporters and celebrities who gathered in solidarity.
Protesters and supporters have made a similar argument regarding the sixteen activists: nonviolent protests should never receive harsh punishments, let alone multiple years in jail. This was viewed as an attack on free speech and could prevent future climate activists from join...

24MarNo Comments
Mission 300 Aims to Provide Clean Electricity to 300 Million in Central Africa
Mission 300, a UN-sanctioned bilateral initiative, will expand electricity access to more than 300 million African citizens over the next six years. This plan will combat rising electricity concerns on the continent. In late January, 30 African heads of state gathered in the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam, to allocate $50 billion from the World Bank and African Development Bank to develop and implement renewable electricity. According to the World Bank, while this is only half of the continent's unelectrified population, it would bring power to five million people monthly.
Husk Power Systems, an American company producing solar mini-grids, was unwilling to sell its electricity at the government's desired price and, therefore, pulled out of Tanzania recently after establishing ...

24MarNo Comments
Trump Appoints Fmr. Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY-01) to Lead Environmental Protection Agency
Elizabeth Frantz | Credit: REUTERS
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) mission is to ensure that all Americans have access to a safe and healthy environment—based on the best available science—and to enforce federal laws designed to protect public health. The head of the EPA, just like other cabinet members, is appointed by the President and then confirmed by the Senate. Trump’s pick for the administrator of the EPA is Lee Zeldin, a former Congressman from New York State. Zeldin’s background is rooted in military service followed by a steady climb through New York politics. He served in the military from 2003 to 2007 before being elected to the New York State Senate in 2011, where he served until 2014. He then represented New York’s first district in the U.S. House of Representa...

24MarNo Comments
Trump Rehires Neil Jacobs to Lead NOAA
On February 3, President Donald Trump nominated atmospheric scientist Neil Jacobs as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) administrator. However, this nomination is highly controversial due to Jacobs’ involvement in the infamous “Sharpie Gate” incident during Trump’s first term.
In 2019, President Trump falsely claimed that Hurricane Dorian would impact Alabama. When the National Weather Service’s Alabama office corrected the misinformation on social media, the Trump administration pressured NOAA officials to contradict their meteorologists of face termination publicly. As acting head of NOAA then, Dr. Jacobs issued a statement criticizing the Alabama weather office, claiming that the post was “inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products availa...

24MarNo Comments
Financial Sector Braces for Climate Future
As the environment becomes an increasingly relevant factor to our global future, with issues that range from climate change to resource depletion, the finance world is recalibrating its strategies to accommodate these emerging risks. Investments are evolving to incorporate environmental factors, not just as ethical considerations, but as integral drivers of financial performance.
One of the most significant changes within the financial sector is the widespread adoption of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. ESG investing evaluates companies based on how they manage their impact on the environment, their relationship with society, and how they are governed. Environmental factors are central to ESG, including, but not limited to, how companies address climate change, res...