Musical Movies Today

By: Zade S.

       A recent viral TikTok has found its way onto the screens of many consumers; it depicts an audience of the new Mean Girls musical movie from January. The original Mean Girls from 2004 was not a musical, so during the bit of opening dialogue in the 2024 remake, everyone is quiet and engaged. But when a character starts to sing, the audio is drowned out by a sea of laughs and groans, and some viewers even leave the showing. It may or may not have been a good song, but just going by the video, we’ll never know. It was just the fact that there was singing that put off the audience.

       The forthright fact of the matter is quite clear to the general moviegoer:  musical movie ticket sales have been consistently dropping since 2023. The rates plunged from over a billion tickets sold to only two hundred million over the pandemic, spiked back up, but didn’t recover, as 2023 saw the public’s declining interest, selling only six hundred million tickets. Of course, these plummeting rates aren’t for nothing, and you may be surprised to hear that this is not completely COVID-19’s fault.

       Musical movie marketers are becoming ashamed of their own products. Says an anonymous movie marketer, “If you spell out the word musical, people have pre-formed opinions. Musical has a connotation that [characters] are going to sing every word, and audiences can be turned off.” In layman’s terms, that means that if people know a movie is a musical, they may not go, and the movie profit will be left among the ashes with other commonplace flops.

       The Mean Girls TikTok is displaying a classic, severe affliction of “Failure-to-communicate-itis.” Forbes writer Conor Murray says, “The official trailer for Mean Girls, released by Paramount Pictures in November, doesn’t contain any of the film’s original music…” And this isn’t some at-a-glance assumption. He’s backed up by New York Times author Alexis Soloski, who writes, “The first trailer, from November… included no original music. It was made to look instead like a vaguely edgier remix of the 2004 film.” If you take the two articles and whisk them up, sprinkle on the hordes of misinformed viewers who were there for the first week of showings around the country, what do you get? Sales dropped significantly just the next month!

       Admittedly, there is some singing in a Mean Girls trailer. In the second trailer, Regina George (an antagonist, portrayed by Renée Rapp in the film,) sings only two notes from one of her main reprised songs.

       Now, once again, musical movie producers and marketers aren’t afraid of nothing. Their fears are based on the fact that such musical movies as The Color Purple, West Side Story, and especially In the Heights struggled at the box office over the pandemic. However, there was one key word in that sentence: pandemic! You couldn’t go to the movie theater much (you wouldn’t go at all if you were in your right mind), so how would movies make much profit?

       Let’s review some other famous musical movies and their earnings. Wonka, another recent musical movie that was not marketed, grossed $470 million. Frozen 2, the sequel to the world-famous Frozen, was not initially marketed. This was a shocking surprise as the first installation grossed $1.28 billion! And furthermore, Frozen 2 itself actually grossed more; somehow, the sequel was somewhat more popular and reached an astronomical height of $1.453 billion!

       A whole heap of musical movies have been bestowed by  many prestigious academy awards. The 2002 Chicago musical movie grossed $300 million and won the best picture Oscar, but it was still ashamed of itself in its own special way. Even back then, people were looking for a way to say, “Huh? What musical? I don’t see any around here!” All the musical numbers in the Chicago movie were dream sequences.

       La La Land, starring the artful academy award winners Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, grossed $472 million; it also won six Oscars (not including best picture). 1954’s Guys and Dolls featured two of the biggest stars in all history, Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. The acting was exquisite, and the sets, the cinematography, the music, and everything else were of the highest quality!  That won best picture, too! So have My Fair Lady (1964), West Side Story (1961), Oliver (1968), and The Sound of Music (1964)! So if so many musical movies have had such amazing success, why shy away from a sprawling and profitable business over only two or three movies?

       And there’s new movie trailers busting out of the woodwork. Why, just during the Superbowl, the first teaser for Wicked came out. If you weren’t already aware, Wicked is one of the greatest musicals of all time, composed and lyricised by Stephen Schwartz, and the book written by Winnie Holzman. It tells the life story of Elphaba, more commonly known as the Wicked Witch of the West, from the Wizard of Oz; in the play she is displayed as a misunderstood soul. In my own studies, I’ve found it to be one of the favorite musicals of the century, weighing in at seven votes out of 60 people surveyed (as of April 15th, 2024). And yet, in the trailer, there is no singing, save for a tad of Defying Gravity (a generally accepted showstopper), easily dismissed as just another smidgen of background music.

       Musical movie marketers are targeting the widest possible audience with this tactic for the widest possible profit. Ryan Faughnder from the Los Angeles Times says, “To reach the largest audience, studios tend to sell movies by showing viewers what they already know they like.” Mean Girls is also a great example of this. Instead of marketing the music, they marketed the heartful characters. But music makes up a big part of the movie and helps develop character like the original iteration couldn’t.

       So, our bloodthirsty conquest for money has gotten the better of us once again. Instead of letting people go who want to, marketers are bamboozling those of us who wouldn’t rather go. As exemplified by such movies as Mean Girls and Wonka, marketers are cutting music from trailers. If you enjoy musicals, and want to support the industry, show the corporate execs you don’t have to be tricked into appreciating the arts.

Drug Overdosing is getting far out of hand

By: Zack S.

       The amount of overdose related deaths has increased a lot over the years. In fact, since the year 1999, preventable drug overdoses have increased by 781%, and 92% of drug overdose deaths were preventable.  In January of 2021, four times as many people died from a drug overdose than from homicide. Drug overdosing has gotten so bad and so far out of hand, and it’s really not hard to tell at this point. The death count has been on the rise over the years. Yet, more and more people are abusing drugs. This is a big problem.

       An example of this issue is the story of William Christian Doerhoff. William was an intelligent student who attended Little Rock Catholic High School in Arkansas, and he had a 3.7 GPA during high school. Life seemed good for William, until in his first year attending the University of Arkansas where William decided to join a fraternity. Another member of the fraternity introduced William to smoking and injecting drugs. William then became addicted, and in the summer of 2015 his mother found him face down in his room, overdosed on heroin. William then spent multiple months in recovery. However, William then died in October of 2016 due to a heroin overdose at just 20 years of age.

       Most overdose deaths, including the death of William, are related to a drug type called an opioid. There are many fatal drugs that are considered opioids. Those may include opium, heroin, and fentanyl. These opioid drugs account for 77% of preventable overdose deaths. In 2021, over 98,000 people in the United States died from an overdose that was preventable. Worldwide in 2019, around 600,000 overdose deaths were recorded. About 80% of those deaths were related to the use of opioids. 

       One of the most potent opioids is fentanyl. Fentanyl is a newer drug that has been on a high trend in recent years, and the death rates are only reaching bigger numbers. Fentanyl claimed the lives of over 67,000 Americans in 2021. What may be worst of all is that it’s being laced and hidden in pills, and even the smallest bit of contact with fentanyl can kill you. 

       Another lethal well-known opioid is heroin. Heroin has been proven to be one of the deadliest opioids due to its numbers of fatalities. From the  five year stretch of 2016 through 2020, over 70,000 Americans had died from a preventable drug overdose death caused by heroin. While its number of fatalities in the United States has decreased in very recent years, possibly due to the rise of other drugs like fentanyl, it will still be notorious for its high fatality number. 

       But what may be one of the biggest issues with opioids is the addictiveness and how people aren’t going to get the treatment or rehabilitation that they need. Worldwide, 39.5 million people had lived with a drug disorder in 2021. But many of those people may not have been receiving that treatment or rehabilitation because we are still seeing many deaths taking place, serving as proof of the severity of receiving help for these issues.

       A different well-known non-opioid drug that is known for its reaction upon taking is cocaine. Cocaine has been a drug that has caused issues for several years now, and it is highly illegal to partake in the dealing or use of this drug. That is because of the wild reactions people have after taking it and the danger it causes. In 2020 and 2021, well over 40,000 Americans had died from an overdose on cocaine. 

       A solution may be to crack down harder and increase the punishment severity for people who partake in the dealing of illegal drugs and people who partake in the use of these drugs, because people continue to involve themselves in the illegal activities relating to drugs; that most likely means that people are not learning from the punishments already being handed out, meaning that the punishments may need to be more severe. But those who are struggling with drug addictions themselves need to seek someone with whom they can talk, whether that be a friend, therapist, or other. 

       A better solution may be to prevent people from starting to take these drugs in the first place. Reach out to someone who you think may be going through something.   Don’t feel pressured to have to follow what everyone else is doing. Stay strong to who you are, and don’t start taking things to hurt your future. Consistently try to make yourself and your future better. If people can work together, we can stop this tragic fate.

Climate Change

By: Sophia C.

       How often have you heard someone talking about climate change? Earth’s climate has changed drastically over the past few decades, mainly because of human activities. Climate change is a long-term change in the Earth’s average weather patterns, which defines its local, regional, and global climates. Climate change may be a natural phenomenon, but human activities have altered these natural processes adversely, which has caused it to be a huge threat to humanity. 

       A study has predicted that by 2100 polar bears will become extinct. According to the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group, there are less than 26,000 polar bears left in the world. Polar bears need sea ice to hunt for food. However, because sea ice is melting due to global warming, they are starting to starve. 

       Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, is one of the main contributors of climate change. Researchers estimated that the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide would exceed 40 billion tons, incorporating 37 billion tons from fossil fuels. It increases greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, which trap the sun's heat, eventually leading to an increase in the Earth's surface temperatures. Some of the main greenhouse gasses that are causing climate change are carbon dioxide and methane. Some examples where these gasses are generated are driving a car or heating a building. Almost 570 million metric tons are produced per year. The sources of methane emissions are used in major sectors like energy, industry, transportation, construction, and agriculture. 

       Natural processes that have been overwhelmed by human activities also contribute to climate change. Some examples include ocean acidification, ablation, and habitat loss. The impacts of climate change are most discernible in the world’s coldest regions. Studies have shown that the Arctic is heating up twice as fast as anywhere else in the world. Earth’s temperature has risen by 0.14°Fahrenheit since 1880, but the rate of warming since 1981 is more than twice that 0.32° per decade. By the end of summer, areas covered by sea ice in the Arctic have reduced by about 40% since 1979, causing sea levels to rise. The rise in sea levels has accelerated from 1.7mm every year through most of the twentieth century to 3.2mm since 1993. Also, glaciers are rapidly shrinking and crumbling. The average thickness of 30 studied glaciers has reduced by more than 60 feet since 1980.

       Deforestation to create farms or other reasons can increase the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. According to a UN article, each year approximately 12 million hectares of forest are destroyed. As forests absorb carbon dioxide, destruction of them alters nature's ability to keep these harmful emissions out of the atmosphere. Deforestation is responsible for roughly a quarter of all global greenhouse gas emissions, causing adverse effects to our climate. 

       Here are a few viable solutions that can help slow down the effects of climate change. Most of our electricity and heat are powered by coal, oil, and gas; we could use sources of renewable energy like solar panels, electric stoves, and electric cars. One can also use less energy by lowering your heating and cooling, using LED light bulbs and energy-efficient electric appliances. Reduce food waste and eat more vegetables to lower the impact on the environment.

       Climate change is a sad reality of today’s world, and if drastic steps are not taken in time, we could lose our precious Earth. Scientists have predicted that in a few decades, certain parts of the Earth will not be habitable due to extremely hot temperatures and pollution. So everyone should take small steps towards saving our planet and helping to slow down the impact of climate change. 

 The Consequences of Disparagement Humor

 Shreeya S.

       The average child laughs 300 times a day, just proving that laughter is an essential part of people's lives. The main source of laughter is comedy, such as jokes. Jokes help people connect and grow their relationships, though at times these jokes can unintentionally hurt people’s feelings when they’re misunderstood or when they’re taken too far. Of course, some might ponder this claim, thinking of how a simple joke can hurt people’s feelings, as it is just a joke. Little do individuals know, jokes that target a social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and much more are known as “disparagement humor." Disparagement humor can lead to prejudices, insensitivity, and misinterpretations of jokes, leading to potential offensive remarks.

       Humor has evolved from being appropriately humorous and uplifting to the spirits to insulting and denigrating to specific social groups. According to Inari Sakki (University Professor-Social Psychology) and Jari Martikainen (University Professor-Social Psychology), “Humiliation is the central component of humor; in the process of getting fun from ridiculousness, our own sense of superiority receives an unexpected boost; humor acts as a sort of instrument that inflates our own ego and deflates that of others.” Individuals with societal power can create prejudice and fake stereotypes about someone’s identity. They are also able to get away scot-free even when they make a highly offensive remark regarding someone’s identity, causing the person the joke was about to appear vulnerable.

       Disparagement Humor also causes the person telling the joke to lack self-control and sympathy. According to Henri Bergson (Philosopher),"To laugh at someone, it is necessary not to be emotionally involved with the person subjected to offense. It is necessary to shut pietas and sympathies and to look at the situation as external spectators; to produce its effect, the comic needs a temporary anesthesia of the heart.” The only way a joke targeting someone can be funny to others is if the witnesses to the joke have apathy toward the person being targeted. Apathy makes it so that the joke, no matter how offensive, still seems like “just a joke," so when the person targeted tries to defend themselves, it seems like they take things “to heart” and get told, “It’s just a joke.”

       Though it seems easy to get away with disparaging humor if you are a societally respected person, when people use this sort of humor, they always make sure to assess the environment regardless. According to John F. Dovidio (Psychologist), “Prejudiced people conceal their true beliefs and attitudes because they fear others’ criticism. They express prejudice only when the norms in a given context clearly communicate approval to do so.” Furthermore, when a person feels that they are in the correct setting to express their bias and humor others, they let loose. If the individual sees that they are not in a setting where people support their biases and will get offended by their remarks, they say nothing. In a further study conducted by the APA, or American Psychological Association, data shows that men who have more of a sexist mindset towards women are likelier to agree with jokes about sexually harassing women, but only when exposed to sexist versus non-sexist humor. 

       It’s not just reading the room that delivers the message of whether the jokes told will be found humorous; it’s also knowing the social norms. Social norms work almost like a rubber band. According to Thomas E. Ford, regarding the Disparagement Humor study by the APA, “Everything on the inside of the rubber band is socially acceptable; everything on the outside is unacceptable. Sexist humor essentially stretched the rubber band; it expanded the bounds of acceptable behavior to include responses that would otherwise be considered wrong or inappropriate. So, in this context of expanded acceptability, sexist men felt free to express their antagonism without the risk of violating social norms and facing disapproval from others. Sexist humor signaled that it’s safe to express sexist attitudes.”

       To get a better overview of the societal problem of disparagement humor and its uses in an educational environment, a sample size of 90 students that attend Farnsworth Middle School, located within the Guilderland Central School District, participated in a survey in 2024. Out of the 90 students that participated in the survey, 60 agreed to having deliberately laughed at a joke aimed at someone, even though they truly thought it wasn't humorous. These results display how when people find themselves in an uncomfortable situation where the jokes being told are not humorous to them, if everyone else is laughing, they feel pressured to find some sort of humor in the joke and to laugh at it themselves. What they are unaware of is that other people themselves may feel the same way and are just following the rest. 

       In another question in the survey, when the respondents were asked what the main topic was of the jokes they encountered, more than half stated the joke regarding someone else’s appearance. These statistics show that the majority of the students that attend Farnsworth Middle experience jokes regarding someone else's appearance. Jokes that involve insulting another person are not only used outside of school; many of these jokes are used inside of school, showing how widespread the problem of the overuse of disparagement humor is. 

       Though jokes may seem funny deep down, they can really impact people’s lives and put them down. It is important to keep in mind that just because an individual laughs at all of the jokes that are targeted at them, it doesn’t mean that they are okay with such jokes. No one should have to go through the pain of bottling up their emotions and hiding their pain for the sake of not being seen as a pushover or oversensitive. Laughter is an essential part of people’s lives, but if it’s forced, it can ruin someone's day.

       When it comes to disparaging humor, thinking before saying is the key. There are ways to make everyone laugh without using denigrating humor. Through humor, you can empower yourself to bear with the challenges of the world. But if humor is used to hurt, it turns into yet another challenge for you to handle. Humor isn’t a weapon until you choose to make it one. 

 

Obesity in America    

By: Sam M.      

       Does spending $173 billion in hospital bills sound like a lot to you? Well, this was spent on obesity. Obesity has become a recurring problem in our world. Severe obesity has increased by a percentage of 4.7% to 9.2% in the last decade. How could this recurring problem affect our society? How could it make a negative impact on the future?

       17 year-old Marianna Castrillon is a person who was diagnosed with obesity. Marianna has been struggling with weight her entire life. Her BMI reached more than 56.  The highest weight that Marianna reached was 342 pounds. According to NYU Grossman School of Medicine,¨This pandemic has truly caused them to backslide on weight loss goals… or that they've become heavier than they've ever been before.” Marianna claimed that she had felt low self-esteem. She has also experienced other things like anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are two main things you experience when having obesity. Marianna Castrillon says, ¨Because of my weight gain, I couldn't enjoy going to amusement parks without feeling embarrassed.” 

       People who are obese usually aren't very active people.  Causes of obesity include stress, problems at home, being bullied/picked on, and more. Obesity is measured by (body mass index); it measures your body tissue (your body fatness). If your BMI hovers between 30 and 40 you most likely are going to be diagnosed with obesity. Also, if your BMI is 40 or more you are obese and most likely severely obese as well.

       Did you know that 39.8% of humans aged 20 to 39 are obese? Also, 44% of humans aged 40 to 59 are obese. Finally 41% of humans aged 60 or older are obese as well. This shows that obesity is making a bad impact for people of all ages. Having obesity can lead to multiple things, including a stroke, type 2 diabetes, and multiple types of cancer, like breast cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, and more. 

       Marianna Castrillon made the commitment to get back on track with being healthy. Marianna decided to go through the Adolescent Weight Program. The Adolescent Weight Program provides patients with tools to try and get their weight back on track. All of the work that Marianna Castrillon did paid off. At the end of her weight loss journey she had lost 80 pounds in two years!

       Obesity can really affect someone's life in a bad way, but Marianna Castrillon showed that obesity is possible to overcome. It is very unhealthy to be obese, but you can still do something about it. If Marianna can fix it, then so can you.

AI Costing Humans Their Jobs

By: Renee B.

       Ever heard of Chat GPT? This online writing tool is a form of AI, or artificial intelligence, meant to create a writing piece based on prompts that you give it. This technology has been steadily creeping into society for years now, and writing isn’t the limit. At this point, AI is able to take over human jobs. 

       According to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, 400 million workers are expected to be displaced from 2016 to 2030. That’s 15% of the world’s jobs, and it could even go up to 30% within that time frame. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report suggests that the most unemployed will be women and people with very little education. 

       Guests at Sergio’s, a restaurant in Miami, Florida, saw this takeover firsthand. Recently, robots with AI have been zipping and swerving around customers, delivering plates of food to the correct tables. While the CEO, Carlos Gazuita, found benefits, many of the servers and waitresses are scared to lose their jobs permanently. This is the case with even more employees than the wait staff at Sergio’s. Anyone from cashiers to lawyers to people working in marketing could be replaced. These aren’t the only careers being affected, though. 

       Shockingly, AI has become advanced enough to take over average office jobs. “To be brutally honest, we had a hierarchy of things that technology could do, and we felt comfortable saying things like creative work, professional work, emotional intelligence would be hard for machines to ever do. Now that’s all been upended,” says Erik Brynjolfsson from the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Now, it’s become clear that no industries are safe. In fact, the uncertainty around this entire topic just continues to bubble up. 

       This entire takeover began after the COVID 19 pandemic when lots of employees were unable to return to work. "We've seen an increase in AI-related displacement and redefinition of work accelerated during COVID,” according to Anu Madgavkar, head of labor market research at McKinsey Global Institute. After the pandemic had mostly come to a close, Sergio’s faced a rush of customers while dealing with a lack of wait staff with the ability to come in to work. AI seemed to be the perfect solution. 

       However, experts have begun to learn that the quick fix of artificial intelligence, with its many perks, can also have some negative effects, besides high unemployment. Anu Madgavkar commented on this particular problem. “The shift in the demand for work into higher-paid, better-skilled jobs could result in inequality.” Now, people are pushing for higher-paid careers, ones that seem untouchable to AI. The events could lead to many getting pushed to low-paying positions and eventually replaced. 

       In fact, technology has been displacing human workers for decades already. Even in 1901, when they began mass production of automobiles, there was no need for skilled employees, only a single person to do the same thing all day. The takeover is evident in places like Walmart, or a drive thru, where cashiers have been ousted from their positions, which are being filled by technology. AI is the next step, and it can do much more than the average computer.

       Despite the countless studies and reports, this entire topic is surrounded by a huge cloud of uncertainty, leaving workers to wonder what their job will look like in the future. “Jobs are definitely going to go away, full stop,” as Sam Altman of OpenAI, the company behind Chat GPT, puts it. Artificial intelligence taking over human jobs is a very real issue, and something that is still very hazy. Being informed and prepared can be a real defense against this. Times change, and the best thing you can do is adapt to the new conditions. Doing so could offer you a much brighter future. 

We need to help out more with recycling in the U.S.

By: Olivia S.

       Have you ever seen a piece of plastic on the ground? Pick it up and recycle; it can make a huge difference. Recycling is the process of turning old waste into a new product without completely discarding it. Recycling in the U.S. nowadays is not working too well.  It is important we understand the impacts recycling has on our world, positive and negative. We can change our world for the better, and that change starts with you. 

       In 2022 a beloved baby sea turtle by the name of Izzy passed away due to plastic in the ocean. Izzy was rescued by the Olive Ridley Project. The Olive Ridley Project is an organization dedicated to protecting sea turtles and their homes. Baby Izzy was being treated for a cloacal infection and plastic ingestion. When he first started out the treatment, he did not respond to it so well. In just a matter of days, Baby Izzy passed away from a gargantuan amount of microplastics. This is just one of one million sea turtles that die a year due to plastic. It is insane how we just let this keep happening every year. It's like we have no care in the world for any marine animals dying, especially animals that are already endangered. At least 100,000 marine animals die each year from plastic debris or getting tangled in plastic. 

       The article State Of the Planet from Columbia Climate School states, “Our oceans are drowning in plastic.” And you could make a big impact, even with a minuscule one, by picking up a piece of plastic. People throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour in America. There are thirty-eight million tons of plastic waste in the U.S. every year. Only five-six percent of that waste gets recycled.

       Recycling in the U.S. is a colossal dilemma. One reason for that is because of contamination. Some recyclables become contaminated when a dirty container gets into the recycling bin or when recyclables get placed in the wrong bin. 25% of all recycling is contaminated, and it can not be recovered to recycle. Contamination can stop large batches of material from being recycled. We not only have to recycle, but we have to do it the right way. It can create an even bigger problem with major contamination. 

       Of course, a major negative outcome of recycling the wrong way is landfills. “We need to recognize what landfill really is: a waste of waste!” said Stephanie Kersten Johnson, a professor in Columbia University’s Sustainability Management Master’s Program. Landfill is just a pile of waste putting trash in the ground that might take a long time to degrade. For a bottle to degrade, it will take about four hundred fifty years. Landfills are a huge part of the recycling problem. We need to end these immense amounts of landfills.

       In 2016, the U.S. exported sixteen million tons of plastic, paper, and metals to China. For decades China handled about half the world’s trash. Thirty percent of this trash was contaminated and never ended up being recycled. China’s oceans and countryside were filled with landfill. In 2018, China banned the import of most plastics and other materials that were contaminated. Thenceforth, the U.S. sent waste to countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Ghana, Laos, Ethiopia, Kenya and Senegal. Today, America still ships one million metric tons of waste to other countries a year, often to countries who already have a problem with landfill. Sending all of this waste to other countries caused many inconveniences for the other countries. The ESG investing team states that plastic waste exported to Southeast Asia produced highly contaminated water, extremely toxic fumes, and rotten crops. Rancid smells, polluted oceans, their territory was becoming disgusting to be in. America’s recycling system was entirely subverted without the Chinese market for plastic. 

       Today in the U.S, people generate 4.9 pounds of trash a day, and only one third of the waste is recycled. Start to think of the many impacts recycling can do for us. Recycling one ton of newspapers can save fifteen trees. For every ton of recycled papers, it can power a T.V. for 31 hours straight. We need to stop just talking about it and take action. 

       So, how can you help? Well, you can start by recycling any piece of paper, plastic, or metal you see lying on the ground. Small things like that can make a big difference. But it’s more than just recycling, also try not to contaminate by placing trash or anything dirty in recycling bins. Clean out all of your items before they go in the recycling bin.

       This all just goes to show that we need to think more about recycling and how it can benefit us. It is something that most Americans don’t ever put an effort into. It’s an enormous problem in the United States. Contamination, landfill, and material waste. These components all lead up to issues that we will not be able to recover from eventually. We need to do our part now to prevent even worse inconveniences from happening to our world in the future.

Animal Abuse

By: Olivia N.

       Does 10 million dead animals sound like a lot to you? Well, that’s how many animals die per year due to animal abuse. Animal abuse is just wrong, and no pet or animal deserves to be a victim. 

       In one story, a crossbreed dog was left in a hot car in the parking lot of a superstore. He was in the car barking and breathing heavily. The staff of the store made two announcements on the PA to the owner, but he didn’t come and get the dog out of the car. Luckily, the dog made an escape through a window a police officer smashed in.

       Animals whose abuse is the most reported are dogs, cats, horses, and livestock. “There are approximately 70 million pet dogs and 74.1 million pet cats in the U.S where 20 men and women are assaulted per minute,” states the Human Society website. In a survey taken, 71% of domestic violence victims said that their abuser was also violent towards animals, which means that just as much as humans are in danger, so are animals.

       Two kinds of animal abuse are neglect and hoarding. Neglect occurs when an owner doesn't pay attention to their animal, and doesn't give it the proper care it needs. Hoarding happens when an owner has too many animals to take care of each one properly and usually comes from having a hoarding disorder. In a survey taken by school aged children, 30% admitted to committing some sort of animal cruelty throughout their life. 

       Signs that an animal may be undergoing abuse are poor body condition, severe matting, filthy, can’t walk or limping, lack of food or water, lack of sanitation, tied or caged, and many more. 16,573 animal cruelty cases are reported each year (average). Groups that have worked to reduce animal cruelty have sometimes merged other violence situations together, because usually, people who abuse animals are also violent towards others. 

       Two men were given prison sentences after they abused a cat in a prank. They threw the cat up in the air very high, and the cat spun in the air and hit the ground. They both thought it was funny, and one of them even said, “hope you got nine lives, mister.” A veterinarian watched the video and claimed that after, the cat had a panic attack and was struggling to get up. Every year, there is an increase in the number of animal shelter beds in places for victims of animal abuse. The more reports there are about types of animal abuse and targeted animals helps deeper investigation about how to prevent and look out for the animals. 

       Animal abuse is a horrible thing. The next time you see a distressed animal, make sure to speak out and let someone know. Just as much as humans may be in danger, so are animals. Nobody deserves to be treated poorly, including an innocent animal. It’s our job to take care of them by using our voice.  

We need to do something about animal abuse

By: Natalie B.

       Animals are a big part of our lives. Some of us couldn’t live without our pets. And imagine your animal getting hit and hurt. How would you react?   People hurting animals is called animal abuse. Animal abuse is nothing new; it’s been around for thousands of years. Animal abuse is a terrible thing, resulting in the animal being severely hurt or killed. 

       Jazz was a cat who was seen being abused by a man in 2023. Her owner was seen kicking her down a pathway after putting his hands around her neck in an attempt to strangle her. He had punched her in the face, making her bleed from her mouth and knocking some of her teeth out. He then picked her up by her scruff  and threw her in a car parked in the street. She hit the car and slid down it. The witness picked her up, saw she was struggling to breathe, was soaked, and brought her to a nearby vet clinic. The vet checked her out and thought that the “owner” tried to drown the kitten. The cat had a dislocated tail and bruising around her neck. Jazz’s abuser has pleaded guilty and is now facing consequences. Jazz has recovered and is now living in a loving home. 

       Animal abuse affects so many animals a year. On average in the U.S ten million animals die from abuse each year. Every 60 seconds in the U.S an animal is abused. That sounds awful, so we have to do something about it. 

       Did you know that most animal abuse is connected with domestic violence? 50% to 70% of the time domestic violence is connected with animal abuse. Two of these things can happen; the abuser of the animal can want to abuse so much that they move on to people, or the person getting abused has an animal and the abuser hurts or even kills their pet. The abuser thinks that by hurting the pet they can terrorize the person they are abusing. It's a tactic to keep the person to stay with the abuser. 

       Around 16,000 dogs die from dog fighting per year. Dog fights still happen after being banned in all 50 states in the U.S. This is a major problem. These dog fighting events slide under the shadows  and happen either late at night or early in the morning to hide and cover up all they do. They use treadmills specially built to help the dog get stronger. They tie down the dogs with chains not long enough to have contact with the other dogs, which makes them get riled up. Some even starve the dogs before their match for them to be hungry and want to eat the other dog. Some force their dogs to tread in a water pool to strengthen their legs.  Unfortunately, the dog who doesn't win the fight either already died in the fight or they kill after the dog surrenders in the fight. Some even starve their dog before they fight to be more hungry to get the other dog; some starve them up to a day before they fight. After fights dogs can feel shaky, aggressive, or just flat out terrified. They can also struggle with mood changes, behavior, and mental health after fights. 

       Animal abuse is hurtful and should not be tolerated any longer. It hurts these animals, and some never get another chance at life. Some animals get a new start but still have trauma. We can do better; it will never be perfect, but at least we can help some animals. The physical abuse that some do to animals we can never control, but we can help others to have a second chance at life. 

The Disease of Alzheimer’s 

By: Lillian J.

       Many older people forget the names of close relatives or misplace things. This type of forgetfulness is normal. However, forgetting how to reach home, having trouble with daily tasks, and repeatedly asking questions can be signs of a more serious problem. As individuals with Alzheimer's Disease continue to progress to more functional disability and cognitive impairment, the dependence on the caregiver and more expensive treatment grows. The current healthcare system relies heavily on informal unpaid caregivers, many of whom are themselves becoming more socioeconomically and medically vulnerable as the cost of healthcare grows.  

       “It started with a simple question,” says Sylvie, a 16 year-old girl living in Scotland. “One summer afternoon he [her grandfather] asked me whether I wanted a cold Sprite. Of course, I said yes, but the minutes ticked by, and there was still no sign of the promised drink. I went to investigate, and peeking into the kitchen I saw him staring at the can, puzzled. I asked him whether he was okay. He slowly shook his head and said he couldn't remember how to open it.” After her grandfather was officially diagnosed with Alzeheimer’s, he began to live with Sylvie’s grandmother until caring for him became too much, which was when he was taken to a nursing home.

       Alzheimer’s Disease is a type of dementia that destroys memory and mental functions. The brain disorder causes the brain to shrink and brain cells to die and is usually present in people over the age of 65. It is the most common cause of dementia and the number seventh cause of death in America, with a new case every 67 seconds. Not only that, but Today, more than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease, and that number is expected to increase to 13.8 million by 2060.

       The disease itself is not the only problem. Alzheimer's is complex, and as the intensity of the symptoms increase, so do health care costs. Alzheimer's affects more than just the individual with the disease. Over 11.3 million caregivers provide over 16 billion hours of unpaid care annually. According to the National Institute of Health, "Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s can have significant physical, emotional, and financial costs. The demands of day-to-day care, changes in family roles, and decisions about placement in a care facility are difficult." Further, people living with Alzheimer's may have at least one other chronic condition, such as heart disease, diabetes, or stroke. Alzheimer's complicates the management of these conditions, resulting in poorer health outcomes and increased health care costs. 

       In a data analysis of 338,288 Medicare beneficiaries from 2006 to 2015, it was found that patients who died with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease had about 10.9% ($18,000) higher healthcare costs compared to patients with no diagnosis over their final eight years of life. This translated to an average annual cost of $2,101 per Medicare beneficiary diagnosed with Alzheimer’s compared with those without a dementia diagnosis. It is also important to take into account that in 2022, the estimated healthcare costs associated with Alzheimer’s treatment were about $321 billion, with costs projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2050.

       Whilst Alzheimer’s Disease contributes to a substantial economic burden to the healthcare system, it can also take a huge toll on people who may be taking care of a diagnosed individual. Alzheimer’s caregivers frequently report experiencing high levels of caregiver stress. There are ten symptoms of caregiver stress. These include: denial, anger, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, sleeplessness, irritability, lack of concentration, and health problems. However, there are many ways to handle this type of stress. It could be finding support, meditating, finding personal time, or making financial and legal plans to keep track of your priorities. 

       The progressive debilitating nature of Alzheimer’s Disease and the absence of better treatments contributes to a substantial economic and societal burden on the healthcare system. With the total direct cost of care estimated to rise to over $1 trillion over the next few decades, and the expected population growth over the next several years, it is essential that the U.S. healthcare system address the underlying issue of mental and physical distress caregivers are facing, as well as increased healthcare costs for treatments that are only temporarily effective.

Problems with EVs

By: Krish R.

       During one episode of the Grand Tour, Richard Hammond was driving a Rimac electric supercar. Richard Hammond misjudged the turning point of a corner, and the Rimac went down a hillside and caught on fire, which destroyed the car.  Richard Hammond narrowly escaped that crash,suffering a fractured leg, brain damage, and a coma. Electric vehicles are environmentally friendly and considered engineering marvels; these factors might make owning one seem enticing, but a lack of charging stations, poor reliability, and extreme safety concerns can discourage EV owners. Solutions are being developed to address these issues, but the technology will take a long time to fix.

       Electric cars face many problems that make them seem less practical for consumers.  An example of this is their limited range. Unlike combustion engine cars that can travel almost 375 miles on a single tank of gas, EVs need to be recharged after 250-300 miles. A car that is heavier or has a greater drag coefficient will have less range than a sleek car, no matter the battery size. The range of an EV is around 100-300 miles, depending on the weight and drag coefficient of the car. A long or multi-leg journey will be an absolute nightmare for EV owners. 

       Another challenge is the lack of charging stations in some areas. In Albany there are only 526 charging stations, but almost 4,000 gas stations. EV owners also suffer from a phenomenon known as range anxiety, which is a fear of running out of electricity before reaching a charging station. Nearly 50% of EV owners go back to using gas-powered cars due to factors like reliability and safety.

        Coram, a Chevrolet Bolt owner, was a victim to the overly complicated computer of the car; “Coram, 44, a heating and air conditioning technician, said he ran into one annoying problem: On a chilly day in mid-November, his Bolt wouldn’t shift into drive.” The car found starting up and going into drive too much and stopped working. After an extensive restart sequence, the car was finally driveable. EVs have more complex computers than gas-powered cars, and the computers are more likely to malfunction. Evs are likely to have 79-80% more problems and malfunctions than ICE vehicles.

        Jake Fisher, senior director of Auto Testing, said, “This story is really one of growing pains,” and, “It’s a story of just working out the bugs and the kinks of new technology.” If legacy automotive companies such as Honda worked on electric cars for five decades and suddenly switched to internal combustion engine cars, then the ICE-powered cars would be just as reliable as electric cars today. Even though an electric vehicle’s capabilities would be enticing, the reliability of a combustion engine is more practical and usable. Electric trucks have the worst reliability in the entire segment. 

        Electric vehicles have the potential to be a more attractive and accessible option for drivers worldwide, but right now the inexperience in building all electric vehicles is low. EVs have a 0.0012% chance of catching on fire, but they will burn hotter than gas-powered cars. As Jeremy Clarkson once famously said, “ If you crash an electric car, it will catch fire, and when the fire brigade comes, they normally only have water on board, so as you are sitting in a burning electric car you will then be electrocuted.” 

       Electric cars aren’t worth the maintenance, cost, and stress, but with a few more decades of testing and improvements, they might be good cars to drive and very reliable and cheap. Right now the electric car is an expensive car to maintain and buy.

The Invisible Killer

By: Jeanpaul Poker

        In the Southside of Chicago, Patricia, her husband and multiple children live in their grandmother's basement while their mother works her minimum wage job, slaving away every day to try and sustain the family. But then, sadly the Covid-19 pandemic hit,  and she had to take time off from her job. This is a story of one of the thousands of families struggling from poverty.

       Poverty has always been a problem in our society, but why does poverty even exist? Some people are in poverty because some companies don’t have very good working conditions, such as low income, bad hours, understaffing, and inconsistent management. An example of some of these companies include Hertz, Regal Cinemas, Walmart, McDonalds, and CVS. Some companies do care and try to give benefits and a good wage, but others just give what they have to give you by law and keep harvesting your labor for money. This is called Social Murder. Social murder is when companies don't care about people’s working conditions as long as they are still making money. 

       The government spends around $1.1 Trillion on issues relating to poverty. The US has many organizations such as the Affordable Care Act, the Rental Assistance programs, and Supplemental Nutrition assistance programs. The government is spending all of this money to fund these organizations, but this money isn’t being spent correctly. These organizations have some flaws such as, their focus being on the wrong things, poor execution, and social inequality. 

       A doable solution for this that the government could do is to help create well paying jobs that meet the needs of a family. The Federal government could invest $2.3 trillion into the American Jobs Plan, which is an Organization that is focused on making jobs that have decent wages, good benefits, and accessible to everyone. This plan could rebuild the economy and let Americans have financial security. There is poverty all around the world, but it is especially bad in the United States. 

       In similarly rich countries to the United states they have a significantly less amount of people in poverty.  Also, it would be better for the United States if there was no poverty. David Brady, a UCR Professor, says, “If we had less poverty, there'd be a lot better health and well-being, people could work more, and they could be more productive,” 

       We aren’t giving poverty enough attention. Poverty is killing 183,000 people, and we are just letting it happen. “Poverty kills as much as dementia, accidents, stroke, Alzheimer's, and diabetes,” says David Brady, a UCR professor. The reason you never see anyone dying from “poverty” is because it is not technically a cause of death, but it is still a major factor contributing towards death. A reason for poverty being a major contributor towards death is because many people in poverty don't have access to basic healthcare and other resources such as transportation, a sustainable source of food, and a safe course of shelter. Also, studies show that substance abuse is more common among people who are in poverty.

       Around the world there are many groups and organizations such as Oxfam, Red Cross, CARE, and Global Citizen, that are trying to help people in poverty and give food out to those in need of it. These groups are extremely helpful, and they are contributing towards the goal of exterminating poverty for good. There are also many individuals who are helping to stop poverty. They try to give people money or food. Also, to help people in poverty you don't have to go around and give people money. You can just easily online donate any amount of money to one of these humanitarian organizations to help someone in need. 

       Poverty is a growing issue that is heavily affecting our society, and the people we know. There are so many ways to help people in poverty, and we just need people to acknowledge this issue and give aid to those in need.

 Peer Pressure and Its Effects on the Mind

By: Jackson K.

       Think of a time when you did not want to do something that everyone else was doing, like drugs for example. But for some reason, you do it. Sounds weird, right?  Doing something you were told to never do, and you even told yourself you would never do it. But for some reason you just did it because you saw other people doing it. That is called peer pressure. 

       Liz, a fifteen year-old girl, went to a party with her friends. As soon as the party began, Liz’s friends rushed to dance with boys and abandoned Liz. Before they left for good, they told her to dance with a boy, or to be alone with one at least. Although Liz knew her parents warned her to not be alone with a boy at that party, Liz still went to the secluded garden alone with a boy to feel included. She knew the conceivable consequences but still did it. She got raped in that garden by the boy. She hollered for help, but the music in the party was too loud for anyone to acknowledge her cries for help. Because of all of this loud noise, the police came because of a noise complaint. Overall for Liz, that party was an awful experience.

       The only reason that Liz went alone with the boy was because of peer pressure. Peer pressure affects your mind by cluttering your risk and reward receivers. This makes you less able to determine the risks of your actions. When you make your friends happy by doing what they asked for, your dopamine catapults further than usual. This makes you more prone to continue doing risky things when your friends ask. Also, when you are driving with two or more friends, you're three times more likely to take risks. These are risks you wouldn’t take when you are alone or with one other friend. “What we are doing is very quickly, and often unconsciously, calculating the rewards and costs of different actions,” says psychologist Laurence Steinberg, a leading expert on adolescent peer influence. “When we do this calculation and come to the conclusion that the potential rewards of a particular action outweigh the potential costs, we act in that way.”

       Physiological scientists say that peer pressure’s effects reflect a far more complex phenomenon. So there are many ways to deal with peer pressure that people have suggested, one being to talk it out with a parent/guardian, school counselor, therapist, family doctor, etc. Your friends can also help you with any peer pressure you are experiencing. They can help by making you feel better and then helping you overcome the pressure. The only way any of the aforementioned solutions could work is if they seek help. Luckily, the older you grow, the more resistance you have to peer pressure. Science states that when you are 18 you have enough resistance to say no easily.  

       Peer pressure has many effects on the minds of others. Peer pressure is affecting 90% of teenagers. Most are too young to do anything about it, so they just have to sit in silence, hoping it stops. But there is no clear way to stop peer pressure; many people suffer from its aftereffects. As you get older, you gain more resistance to peer pressure, so life goes on. But the decisions made while experiencing peer pressure are the factors that change lives. The best thing we can do is help, comfort, and protect ourselves and our friends from peer pressure.

The Gender Pay Gap In Sports Needs to Close

By: Ila B.

       She dribbles down the court. She hastily makes a pass, and she receives it again to skillfully make her shot. She wins herself and her team yet another game. She has the expertise, the awards, the fame, but none of the pay she deserves.

       In the NBA, the maximum pay for men is $45,781,000, whereas women are paid a maximum of $235,000. Former Women’s National Basketball Association player Maya Moore had a salary of $117,000. Her accolades include, four time WNBA Champion, six time WNBA All-Star, Scoring Champion 2014, two Olympic Gold Medals, two NCAA Championships, two Team USA World Championships, and she is the only three-time winner of the Wade Trophy (top college basketball player). Maya Moore earned many more awards, yet she only played for eight seasons! LeBron James, a well known NBA player, has similar honors to Maya, but it took him 21 years to rack up all those titles.  LeBron James is paid $47 million, and Maya was paid a pathetic 1/500 of what his salary. Other sports have disproportional pay as well. 

       Take, for example, the USWNT (US Women’s National Soccer Team). The men’s U.S. Soccer team is paid a maximum of $600,000, while the women’s team is paid a maximum of $200,000. Not to mention the pay gap in the FIFA World Cup.

       Last year in Qatar, the U.S. men were evicted at round 16. They won 13 million. If the women’s team were to be dismissed at round 16, which would be a historic loss for them, they would win a measly $1.9 million in comparison. The USWNT has won four world cup titles: 1991 ,1999, 2015, and 2019. The only time the men’s team made it to the semi-finals was in the 1930s. The women’s winner of the World Cup would receive $4.3 million, while the men’s team would receive $42 million.           

       This gap in FIFA prize money is trying to be solved by U.S. Soccer. According to an article from ESPN Soccer, “The two teams would pool together their FIFA prize money and then split it equally among both teams.” After donating 10% of the prize money to youth soccer programs, the women would receive $6.7 million, which would be more than the winner of the Women’s World Cup would receive! Other countries, however, are not participating in splitting the FIFA money in such a way. 

       The gender pay gap is embarrassingly large, and Maya Moore as well as the USWNT are but two examples of these inequalities. Things are being worked on to improve these unfair situations, but more must be done to even out the unequal odds. 

Teachers Deserve Better

By: Grace G.

       Picture yourself sitting in a classroom, and the students are talking and disrupting the teacher who is simply trying to do their job and teach. Have you wondered how much teachers get paid to deal with all that? Well, it’s not as much as you might think. 

       “I truly love teaching,” says 52-year-old Hope Brown, “but we are not paid for the work that we do.” Teachers experience very little reward or appreciation for what they do, unlike their counterparts. At least 95% of teachers have bachelor's degrees,  just like their peers, such as engineers or bioscientists. Teachers only earn 76% of the average salary that's earned by similarly educated professionals. That's 23.5% less on average. For example, a bioscientist makes about $69,880. A teacher only makes around  $53,800 to $57,840. “My younger brother, who’s an engineer—his bonus is more than my salary,” she says.

       Most of the supplies teachers have in their rooms aren't funded by the school. An average teacher spends $450 on supplies without getting paid back. “Utility companies do not care that you had a great day with one of your students. They don’t care that you’re coaching the soccer team. They want you to pay for the services that they provide you,” says NaShonda Cooke, a teacher and single mother of two in Raleigh, N.C. Another thing teachers aren’t paid for is the time they spend coming in over break to grade papers or to spend extra time helping students. This adds up to an average of 17.5 unpaid hours each week.

       The underpaid teacher problem goes beyond the education community, but also to the teacher’s personal lives and their children. A teacher named NaShonda has to skip her doctor appointments to be able to pay for her daughter's college education. “It’s not about wanting a pay raise or extra income,” she says. “It’s just about wanting a livable wage.” Many teachers also have student loans or debt that they still need to pay off for even choosing this career path. 60.8% of teachers who have bachelor's degrees have student loan debt. They pay $342 a month due to student loans; that’s $4,104 a year per teacher. 

       Unfortunately, the struggle of being a teacher doesn't just end in poverty. Teaching is ranked 20th in the most dangerous jobs in America. Teachers are basically on the frontlines when it comes to school shootings or bombings. A teacher named Jean Kuczka worked at Central VP High School, and she had died protecting her students. “She had put herself between the gunman and the students,” said a colleague. Alexis Allen-Brown, a former high school student at Central VP High School says she wasn’t surprised to hear what happened with Ms. Kuczka. “When I found out, the first thing I could think about was… that’s how much she cared about the students,” Allen-Brow said. “She was going to save those babies.” Pretty heart-wrenching, right? Teachers are not paid enough for that. 

       Students are also affected by the underpaid teacher problem. Due to the low pay range of teachers and the dangers, nobody wants to be a teacher.  86% of public schools in the US struggle to find teachers, which affects the future generation and the nation. Without teachers, there would be nobody to teach the youth how to read, write, do math, or know the history of the world. 

       Now do you see how underpaid teachers are? It's time the world realizes how important teachers are, and how much more recognition they deserve for their work and sacrifices. If the world did appreciate teachers, the education system would be much more improved. If teachers had better pay, it would affect students positively.

Animal lab testing is cruel

By: Fiona M.

       Cries of dogs, hisses of cats, and squeaks of mice. That is what an animal testing lab sounds like. Some people think of animal testing as putting some makeup on a dog or putting lipstick on a cat. But animal testing is not that innocent; it's barbarous. Your favorite beauty company most likely uses animal testing where they shove pipes down throats of animals of all kinds just so you can use their product. Is that what humans are? So greedy we will do anything to get what we want? Animal testing makes it so that 110 million animals in the U.S.A die each year from getting brutally tortured and then put in a box to die. Animal testing is absolutely diabolical. 

       Animals of all kinds get abused from animal testing, from domestic pets like a dog all the way to farm animals like pigs to exotic animals like monkeys. These kinds of animals get abused every day by getting their bones crushed, their brains getting damaged, and getting drowned. After that only twenty percent of animals get pain relief. A quote from Peta says, “Video footage from inside laboratories shows animals who cower in fear every time someone walks by.” After this mad abuse animals get tumors, some might become blind, and some animals fight for their lives with cracked skulls. Most hapless animals do not make it as they either die from the experiment or they get dumped in a cage and left to die after all that anguish they had to experience; only three percent of animals survive.

       Many animals live their life in the lab, but some are lucky enough to be released from the lab. A nonprofit organization called the Beagle Freedom Project has shut down a tick and flea testing lab in Nowata Oklahoma, surrendering 200 cats and dogs and six groups of pigs. The lab was 30 acres long and made of small cages and electric fencing surrounding. All these animals were saved and got immense help. These animals got to be free instead of an object like they were in a lab. The project has given these animals the health that they need and upgraded their tiny cages to dog pens and barns with lots of landscape. Those animals will also get adopted to a forever home to get the life they deserve. Founder Shanon Keith says,  “This has never before been accomplished. We are overjoyed that not only will we give more than 200 dogs and cats their freedom and identity, but that we will also transform an animal testing facility into a place of hope, happiness, rehabilitation, and love."

       “Testing cosmetics on animals is both cruel and unnecessary because companies can already create innovative products using thousands of ingredients that have a history of safe use and do not require any additional testing,” says the Humane Society of the United States. The United States makes it legal to test cosmetics on animals, allowing them to infect animals with disease and stab their eyes with needles. Only 400 companies in the United States have a bill that would end animal testing in the U.S.

       The United States isn't the only one who uses animal testing; out of 195 countries, only 45 have either partially or fully banned animal testing. Animal testing isn't even accurate, which is unquestionably heinous. In this generation we are trusting products that might not even be human safe. Animals are way different from humans. A mouse does not have the same abilities as a human, yet here we are. There are many alternatives for animal testing like cell based testing where they use donated human cells or grow cells. Also, there are sophisticated computer models where computers predict the safety of drugs. These are faster, cheaper, and more reliable than a wild animal.

       48% of adults think animal testing is reasonable for science. Animal testing is a big problem, but there are solutions. Some ways we can start to end or slow down the rate of deaths is to support businesses that don't use animal testing. Another way we can help is to stop buying from the popular companies that use animal testing. Some popular products that use animal testing to look out for are Crest toothpaste, Windex, and Dove. To find brands that don't use animal testing  look at bottles that say animal friendly, or if it has a little animal on the back so you can know that you just saved a life.

       Animal testing is basically legal animal abuse.There are lots of people that think animal testing is okay. Imagine your pet, or your neighbor's pet, or one of your family members' pet, stuffed in a cage and tortured to their death just so you can use face wash. As the percent of animals in labs rises, and the years go on, one day all of those animals may be extinct. One can’t change the way of the ocean, but one can start a wave.

E-Cigarettes

By: Emmett R.

        20% of the modern day youth use electronic cigarettes; that’s only one out of every five!  Nowadays they’re found woefully everywhere. This is inevitably the result of the avaricious e-cigarette companies trying to trick us into buying their malicious products and thinking that they are only mere harmless devices. They only do this so the companies can yield money off of our own harm from the various toxic chemicals e-cigarettes produce. The plentiful hazardous chemicals and side effects of abusing e-cigarettes demonstrate that various e-cigarette brands are trying to trick us, and their deception is harming our society.

       Simah Herman, a promising 18 year-old woman who was tricked into abusing e-cigarettes, stated days after being in the hospital, “I just remember feeling like absolute...nothing. Like I just couldn't do anything, I couldn’t drink water. I couldn’t move. Like, I literally just wanted to crawl out of my skin.” The auspicious teen was hospitalized and put onto a ventilator after being unable to breath in the back seat of her frightened father’s car. She then fell into a medically induced coma, and once she rose up from this, she vocalized, “I asked for, like, a pen and paper because that was the only way I could communicate,” Simah Herman said. “And I wrote, ‘I want to start a no-vaping campaign.’ That was the first thing I did when I opened my eyes.”

       One of the leading factors in e-cigarette companies tricking us is the fact that e-cigarettes come in many different eye-catching colors and flavors. In an NLM (National Library of Medicine) article,  Kristen Jones, DO and Gary A. Salzman, MD stated, “This is especially concerning because studies have shown that flavor is one of the most important factors adolescents consider in trying e-cigarettes.” These various colors, flavors and even advertisements are aimed at adolescents and youth, in result, making them motivated to go out and try to find themselves an e-cigarette of their own. Another part of this problem is exposure from advertisements and others in our society, and one study showed that 78% of middle and high school students have seen at least one e-cigarette advertisement. 

       E-cigarette advertisements not only market e-cigarettes' distinctive flavors, but they also cloak the true identity of e-cigarettes in a whole other way. They do this by making them seem like a method to quit conventional cigarette smoking. But the evident problem with this method is that the companies did not have any pukka statistics or information to support their bold claims. The most dreadful part of these devices is the high risk of addiction from the nicotine these devices contain.  This problem is so salient because once you're addicted to these devices it is usually tremendously challenging to quit using e-cigarettes. This implies more exposure to all of the toxic metals, chemicals and substances that e-cigarettes produce, including nicotine.

       The harsh truth is that e-cigarettes are also a gateway drug; e-cigarette companies are realistically tricking adolescents into a much deeper and darker down spiral than they think is imminent. Once you're hooked on e-cigarettes, it is a threatening path up ahead. People that operate e-cigarettes are more likely to develop addictions to other drugs. According to Kristen Jones, DO and Gary A. Salzman, MD, “Adolescents who use e-cigarettes are 3.6 times more likely to report using combustible cigarettes later in life.”

       There is an abundance of toxic chemicals used in e-cigarettes that can harmfully conflict your life with serious illnesses. The American Lung Association discussed in an article that, “A study from the University of North Carolina found that the two primary ingredients found in e-cigarettes—propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin—are toxic to cells.” Some more of these atrocious chemicals include acetaldehyde, acrolein and formaldehyde. These chemicals can cause lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, acute lung illness, COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and many more diseases. Acrolein is also used in weed killer, along with that, the nicotine in e-cigarettes also increases depression, anxiety severity and sleep problems. Usually e-cigarettes have an even higher concentration of nicotine than conventional combustible cigarettes.

       As you can see, e-cigarettes are quickly becoming a bigger and bigger problem over the years, and increasingly more people are being tricked into trying one of these frightening, horrid devices. Just because more and more people around the world are being fooled into using e-cigarettes doesn’t mean you should, or that they’re harmless. So next time you see someone you know using or looking for an e-cigarette, try to inform them about the numerous consequences of using e-cigarettes. As a result, you could liberate them from causing themselves sizable harm to their bodies.

Climate Change must be stopped

By: Elwenn P.

       Over the past century the health of our planet has slowly deteriorated due to global warming. Many people know this but still don’t know how it affects them. Climate change is the cause of many problems on earth. Climate change causes global warming, rising sea levels, severe storms, increased drought, extinction of species and many other significant problems. The intergovernmental panel of climate change has even stated that, "climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future."

       Around the 1970s the Great Barrier Reef in Australia was one of the most beautiful places on earth. Thousands of species of colorful and unique coral, fish and mammals thrived together. The balanced ecosystem was a safe haven for many species, where they were able to live in harmony with humans. Now, just 50 years later, that same reef is dying. 91% of the coral is bleached or dead, fish populations have dropped over 70%, and the mammals are rapidly losing their sources of food. What happened? Climate change. 

       The Intergovernmental panel on climate change isn’t the only one recording changes in the climate. NASA and the NOAA have also recorded that global temperatures have risen 1.8 degrees fahrenheit from 1901 to 2020. They have also recorded sea levels rising, glaciers melting, arctic ice depleting, and all these things are happening at alarmingly fast rates.    

       To understand how big this problem is you first have to understand what climate change is, and how it happens. Climate change happens when people burn fossil fuels, like coal, oil or gasoline. These fossil fuels create a lot of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide. The greenhouse gasses get trapped in the atmosphere and pile up to create a layer of gas between the sun and the earth. Then when the sun shines and heats up the earth, the heat gets trapped in the layer of greenhouse gasses and can't escape the atmosphere. Over time the surface of the earth gets hotter and hotter until it is irreversible. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect, and the greenhouse effect causes global warming, one of the many things that cause climate change.

       Climate change is currently affecting the natural world, and it has caused many habitats to die. These habitats include coral reefs, mangroves, wetlands, and several different types of forests. This has left many species to become endangered. Polar Bears, Ringed Seals, Monarch Butterflies and Koalas are some of the animals that are being driven to extinction because of this. One species that has already gone extinct because of global warming is the Bramble Cay melomys. The mammal's habitat was a small island off the coast of Queensland, Australia. They depended on the leafy shrubbery for shelter and food. The vegetation on their small island was killed by the rising sea levels, leaving them completely defenseless. 

       Now that climate change is affecting animals, it won’t take long for it to start affecting humans; in fact, it already has. Climate change causes more natural disasters (heatwaves, wildfires, tropical storms, etc.), which take more than 90,000 human lives a year. Bad air quality can also cause diseases such as strokes, aggravated asthma, lung cancer and other respiratory problems. It has also been affecting communities in irreversible ways. The NOAA states that, “Nearly 40% of the United States population lives in coastal counties, meaning millions of people will be impacted by sea level rise.” They even state that, “Some communities are projected to possibly end up at or below sea level by 2100.”

       The window of time left to stop climate change is rapidly closing, and many people aren’t doing anything about it. To stop climate change humans need to reduce their carbon and fossil fuel emission. This means stopping factories from mass producing, but realistically there isn’t much one person can do to stop big factories. Instead of waiting for the impact of climate change to start becoming irreversible, do something. Things you change in your own lifestyle to help include eating less meat and dairy, not flying as often, using your car less, reducing your electric usage, recycling whatever you can, and respecting natural spaces, such as public parks, forests, and lakes.

       Climate change is one of the biggest problems worldwide. It has affected millions of people, and it won’t stop. Even if it means sacrificing small luxuries, it will all be worth it, even if progress takes years, decades or even centuries to see. If humanity could bond together and try to solve this problem the generations of the furthest future might just be able to live together on a healthier planet.

 

Air Pollution

By: Ella Z.

       The air that we breathe, the very thing that keeps us alive, might not be as safe as we think. Air is one of the natural resources we need to survive, yet we constantly pollute it, whether we know it or not. Pollution happens every day, every hour, and every minute. This spikes the question of how dangerous and damaging is air pollution?

       Air pollution takes the lives of many, and one of them was a girl named Ella Kissi-Debrah. She was just nine years old but had died after having an asthma attack. Her asthma was severe, and she had been exposed to high levels of dangerous air pollution prior to her death. She lived in Lewisham, southeast London, which was near one of the capital’s busiest roads. Vehicle emissions and many other factors of air pollutants played a role in her death. After the tragedy, it helped open the eyes for people to be more aware of the invisible killer.

       About 5 million people become victims of air pollution, and that number is constantly increasing. A staggering 90% of people worldwide breathe polluted air. Moreover, only 10% of people worldwide breathe air that meets WHO (World Health Organization) standards. Millions of reported deaths are caused by a toxic environment. You and the earth’s health both rely on clean air, and poor air could cause fatal organ damage, and death. 

       Air pollution is deadly, but what is pollution? Pollution is the introduction of any matter, or form of energy to an environment. It's not able to be dispersed at a faster rate than it is introduced, which causes the air to be in a harmful state. Air pollution specifically is the release of pollutants that invade the air. This is detrimental to the health of humans, and our earth. Air pollution comes from anthropogenic sources as well as natural causes.

       Natural causes for air pollution are volcanic ashes and wildfires. Only 15% of wildfires start naturally; when an environment becomes hot, dry, or lightning strikes upon the ground. We can’t prevent these disasters from happening, but disappointingly almost 85% of wildfires in the US are born from people. They utilize fire along with disregarding the hazards. These mistakes could start anything burning to ashes.

       Fires are an immense problem, but with the fire comes the smoke, and ash. Smoke contains gaseous air pollutants like nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and if these are inhaled, carry dangerous health problems. Ash could float in the air, and just like smoke, it's dangerous when it enters your system.

       Unfortunately, ways we pollute our air are the use of fossil fuels, transportation, and electricity. Fossil fuels produce energy for us to go from place to place. Additionally, they light up our homes and create an easier path for us. While these are great, our vehicles use about two billion barrels of oil each year. This alone emits up to 1.5 gigatons of carbon dioxide. The US electric power sector uses coal, and coal releases Nitrogen oxide that contributes to respiratory illnesses. These fossil fuels produce up to ⅔ of the sulfur dioxide in the air. This gas poses a threat to our health, and symptoms like irritated eyes, and lungs might mean the air around you is toxic. The burning of fossil fuels also produces carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas, colorless gas, and if interfered with your bloodstream, could result in heart damage.

       We as people could start to approach new ways of reducing the amount of air pollutants being released. Instead of using tons of gasoline from vehicle emissions, you might make different choices for transportation. Taking a walk, riding a bike, and when it comes to driving, make better car decisions. Electric cars are said to be better for the environment, but choosing a car that gets better miles per gallon of gas works too. Solar and wind systems generate energy and use no fossil fuels.

       It’s time we begin to take our first steps towards better air quality, and a  better environment. We need to start paying attention to the things we use. We can all contribute in our own ways. Things might not be as convenient in the long run, but if everyone unites to solve this problem we can make a significant change. We can still protect ourselves, and our planet, from air pollution.