The Fourcast JADE March 2022

JADE

The Fourcast Magazine The Hockaday School Volume 5, Issue 1 March 2022

What’s Planet B? How climate change is affecting Earth

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About Jade:

In 2017, The Fourcast added a new magazine to its traditional coverage. Named for the stone set in the ring of all graduating seniors, which was designed by Tiffany in 1917, JADE offers an in-depth look at the most pressing issues to the Hockaday community. Former Hockaday Dean of Upper School Ed Long once remarked that Ela Hockaday chose the jade stone because she considered it to be a symbol of wisdom. In honor of the stone’s legacy, JADE hopes to help inform the community and foster knowledgeable conversations about challenging topics.

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Contents

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The Politicization of Climate Change

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Rising Temperatures, Rising Terror

The Democratic and Republican parties differ as to causes, effects and solutions to global warming.

Activists, researchers and journalists draw explore the connection between climate change and an increase in human trafficking.

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Climate Action Through Education

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Dallas Weather Goes to Extremes

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Cutting Clothing Consumption

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The Lorax - 50 years later

Upper School courses explore effects of the climate crisis and inspire them to make a change.

Global becomes local as severe weather events affect how North Texans lead their lives.

The fast fashion economy adds tons to waste to the world.

Concerned students are finding ways to fight back.

Half a century ago, he spoke for the trees. The message of Dr. Seuss’s Lorax still resonates today.

ON THE COVER

Art by Veronica Fang, Contributing Artist Design by Katherine Grace Estess, Jade Editor

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Pushing a personal agenda False narratives from companies, social movements impact climate action

By Elisa Carroll, Web Editor, and Caroline Bush, Assistant Photo Editor

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limate change is one of the most polarizing topics in the political scene today, with different statistics cited supporting differing views. Especially in social settings, the variety of opinions among the public about this topic has never been so obvious. For a topic so rooted in science, how is there so much difference of opinion?

At the heart of the climate change debate are statistical fallacies warped to benefit specific groups. Whether through misused statistics, false solutions or manipulated social trends, lies are prevalent in the climate change conversation.

ANALYSIS

society,” Lumley said.

While individual actions can make a small difference, when compared to the fossil fuel emissions of big companies, the efforts of the general population do not stand a chance.

In fact, according to the magazine Harvard Politics, “Only 100 investors and state-owned fossil fuel companies are responsible for around 70 percent of the world’s historical GHG emission.” The list includes companies like ExxonMobil, BHB Billiton and Gazprom, names that many Americans are familiar with, according to Disclosure Insight Action.

Drivers of climate change A University of Michigan study As world population grows larger each day, the force of climate change shows average American households have produced only about 8.1 metric on the Earth grows increasingly tons of carbon dioxide out of the 33 fierce. While these two growing billion tons that have been produced factors are linked, it is a common misconception that population is the globally. While big companies often talk about how individual actions biggest driver of climate change. alone will make a difference, this However, while population comparison reveals that the efforts does drive climate change in some average people make have miniscule aspects, it is not the biggest factor effects on the problem as a whole, in the growing crisis – companies according to The Guardian. are. Professor David Lumley heads The Carbon Majors Report the Department of Geosciences at identifies how this small group the University of Texas at Dallas, of big producers has the power to with a PhD in geophysics from systemically change the current Stanford University. situation. It has become clear that “if Dr. Lumley noted that while fossil fuels continue to be extracted natural climate change processes worsen the situation, the main source at the same rate over the next 28 of climate change comes from man- years as they were between 1988 and 2017, global average temperatures made emissions. would be on course to rise by 4C “It is fairly clear that man-made by the end of the century,” The greenhouse gas emissions are also Guardian reported. having a significant effect on the Senior Naz Soysal is passionate atmosphere, climate, global weather patterns and hence on the earth and about sustainability. Her involvement

in debate has led her to learn a lot about the topic of climate change from a multitude of angles.

“From oil companies like BP to the mass emissions of the cattle industry, the effects of climate change stem directly from the actions of corporations,” Soysal said.

“If we can curb those industries, we can drastically reduce our climate output.”

Misleading the public

With the rise in concern over the state of the planet and the recognition of the role of big companies, many of these corporations are forced to evolve to maintain a positive reputation in the public eye. To achieve this, companies may present themselves as combating climate change.

Even though oil and fossil fuel companies may advertise themselves as turning to more sustainable methods and renewable resources, they still spend substantially more on practices that continue to accelerate the poor state of the planet.

Since the beginning of 2020, the Energy Policy Tracker collected data and found that “the world’s major economies have spent more funding fossil fuels through new or amended policies than clean energy,” according to the BBC. “From articles on their website to a tweet allowing individuals to calculate their personal carbon footprint, BP engages in greenwashing to reduce accountability on its own environmental harms, like its massive oil spill,” Soysal said.

Some companies even censor or

5 ignore information related to their effect on the climate to prevent the reduction of their output and profits. In late October, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform questioned fossil fuel companies like ExxonMobile and BP about their role in spreading misinformation for the sake of self-preservation.

Even before this hearing, “five states and more than a dozen cities had filed lawsuits alleging that the oil industry misled the public as local governments contend with rising seas, more intense fires and other effects of climate change,” The Washington Post reported.

Despite the negative effects of greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuels, moving to more sustainable and renewable sources of energy is not so simple.

“It took more than 100 years, paid for by very profitable enterprises, to build the society we have today which is based almost totally on fossil fuel energy,” Lumley said. “We cannot simply and quickly convert to renewable forms of energy such as wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, nuclear etc. without disrupting our world economies and entire way of life.”

While the conversion to cleaner sources for energy is gaining traction, it is important to have patience. Lumley said it will most likely take 30 years or more to undergo this transition and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The government has continually proposed solutions on “how to achieve net-zero GHG emissions” by a certain year, but each time these solutions are proposed, the date of achieving this goal is pushed further into the future.

Dr. John Geissman is a retired research professor who used to head the Department of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Dallas. He said many of the solutions proposed are going to prove ineffective.

Art by Ela Guo

“The proposals are too little, too late,” Geissman said. “The solutions that are being talked about, with the exception of geoengineering us out of this crisis, are by and large based on the science. I question, thinking realistically, whether we can alter the course quickly enough.”

Save the Turtles

The rise of the “Save the Turtles Movement” is a prime example of how incomplete information can affect climate practices. The movement spread over social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok in 2019, quickly trending and inspiring efforts to help the environment.

The movement began as an effort to reduce plastic waste in oceans, specifically by pushing the public to stop the use of plastic straws. The solution was simple, and people complied: no more plastic straws.

But plastic straws only make up 1% of all plastic waste in the oceans,

drawing the question of how much impact giving up plastic straws can make. According to a study in the journal Science, nearly 9 million tons of plastic waste end up in the oceans every year. However, only 2,000 tons are plastic straws.

When it became clear that plastic straws were no longer going to suffice, metal straws became the new alternative. People raced to the stores to buy their own substitutes for plastic waste.

A research project conducted at Humboldt State University revealed that the amount of energy used to make 90 plastic straws is equivalent to the energy necessary for producing a single metal straw. The amount of carbon emissions from one metal straw is equivalent to what comes from 150 plastic straws, according to Esquire Magazine.

Metal straws reveal the danger of the media in climate change. When trends begin, it is difficult to stop the spread of misinformation.

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The Politicization of Climate Change Environmental priorities point of contention between major parties Jane Clark, Opinions Editor, and Zoya Haq, Co-Arts & Life Editor

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ver the past decade, climate change has joined immigration, healthcare and gun control rights on the ever-growing list of hyper-partisan American issues.

Since the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change announced that climate change’s damage will become irreversible by 2030, this global issue has redefined American legislative priorities, shaping the presidential terms of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Youth Activism Republicans Although most student organizations combating climate change affiliate themselves with the political left, one pioneering conservative climate organization is the American Conservation Coalition.

Entrepreneur and youth activist Benji Backer started the ACC while a student at the University of Washington as a “limited-government, free-market environmental group that believes we need to act now to find solutions.”

Karly Matthews, the group’s communications director, said ACC allows young conservatives to enter the fight for climate action, one they

are often excluded from.

“I was motivated to join ACC as a lifelong conservative [who] wanted to productively engage in environmental conversations,” Matthews said. “I was tired of the – admittedly deserved, at times – ‘climate denier’ label.”

Matthews added the politicization of climate change makes it harder for both Democrats and Republicans to join together and approach the issue from a solution-oriented mindset.

“Climate change has become a political wedge issue between the two major political parties in the United States, but I truly don’t believe it should be,” Matthews said. “We all share our natural environment and should be united in our desire to protect it for future generations.”

ACC’s approach to climate activism synthesizes education and action. Its Market Environmentalism Academy introduces young conservatives to market-based environmental solutions; after engaging in a set of online courses, these students can then interact with their local ACC branches via community cleanups, speaking engagements and educational film screenings.

Democrats

A Yale study shows 87% of Democrats who are Millennials or younger support climate activism that urges elected officials to reduce global warming.

American activists like Jamie Margolin, founder of youth organization Zero Hour, and Isra Hirsi, co-founder of the US Youth Climate Strike, are left-leaning upstanders in the fight against climate change.

According to the Zero Hour website, Margolin co-founded the organization with fellow student activists Nadia Nazar, Madelaine Tew and Zanagee Artis. As a group, they “realized that a national day of mass action, led by youth, would be an ideal platform to ensure that young voices were not only centered in this conversation, but that elected officials and adults would hear their voices loud and clear!”

With a similar hope — to introduce young voices to the climate fight — student activist Isra Hirsi organized hundreds of youth climate strikes during the spring of 2019. Inspired

by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Isra and two other students,

Art by Macy Moskovic

7 Haven Coleman and Alexandria Villasenor, wanted to make an impact on their surrounding communities by rallying in united change.

The daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Hirsi fostered a passion for climate activism from a young age, joining her school’s Environmental Club at 14 and co-organizing the Climate Strikes at 16.

The Science of Climate Change Republicans

According to the Pew Research Center, 9% of Republicans believe climate scientists understand climate research and are providing accurate information on it to the public.

A 2021 CAP study found that 139 representatives and senators in the 117th Congress deny the existence of human-generated climate change. Fifty-two percent of House Republicans and 60% of Senate Republicans comprise this group, almost 25% of Congress.

Former President Donald Trump’s views on climate change reflect those of his party’s leadership.

“Global warming is based on faulty science and manipulated data,” Trump said in 2012. He further elaborated his climate stance in 2015, saying, “I’m not a believer in man-made global warming. It is going to start to cool at some point.”

Democrats

Eighty-four percent of liberal Democrats believe human activity contributes greatly to climate change, according to a Pew Research Center study. The key candidates who ran for the Democratic presidential ticket in 2020 — Pete Buttigieg, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and current President Joe Biden, to name a few — noted climate change among their top policy priorities.

Biden is placing climate regulation at the top of his policy agenda. In an April 2021 statement, he announced America will aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions

to half of 2005’s levels by 2030.

“Climate change is the existential threat to humanity,” Biden said. “The science behind it is not a hoax.”

The Paris Climate Agreement The Trump Administration

Trump stated his intention to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement in his 2016 platform, and followed up by announcing the withdrawal of the United States on June 1, 2017.

“This includes ending the implementation of the nationally determined contribution and, very importantly, the Green Climate Fund, which is costing the United States a vast fortune,” Trump said that day at the White House.

He said according to the National Economic Research Associates, compliance with the agreement could cost America 2.7 million jobs by 2025.

“This includes 440,000 fewer manufacturing jobs which is not what we need,” Trump said.

Economist Marc Hafstead of Resources for the Future said if economic growth picks up, the United States’ leaving the Paris deal could mean overall U.S. emissions drop only by 10%, while the track the United States was on before the withdrawal would be 15% to 17%.

The Biden Administration

After Biden declared his intention to reenter the Paris Climate Agreement Jan. 20, 2021, the United States formally rejoined Feb. 19.

Biden signed an executive order initiating a 30-day process to reenter the pact hours after taking office. By rejoining the agreement, the United States plans to increase efforts to advance clean energy to adhere to Paris Climate Agreement goals in curbing climate change.

Biden’s plan is to rally international leaders and cut emissions even more than the goals under the Paris Agreement. Biden and Harris have said they intend to support climate

justice and the clean energy economy.

Texas Republicans

Led by Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Republicans are embarking on a campaign against “green energy,” arguing for the continuance of oil- and gas-based energy to support Texans in those industries.

With the influence of fossil fuels in the state economy, Texas politicians have opposed federal- and state-level environmental regulations.

After Biden’s January executive order to cease oil and gas leasing on federal land, Abbott vowed to sue the federal government for threatening Texas’ natural industries.

“We’re here for a singular purpose today,” Abbott said in January, “to make clear that Texas is going to protect the oil and gas industry from any type of hostile attack launched from Washington, D.C.” In November, COP26, one of the largest climate conferences in the world, was held in Scotland. While Gov. Abbott received an invitation, he decided not to attend, leaving Texas unrepresented at the global event.

Democrats

In February 2021, Texas House Democrats launched a climate, environment and energy caucus aiming to bring conversations surrounding climate change to the legislature. This is the first environment-focused caucus in the Texas Legislature’s history.

State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) said while Texas Democrats disagreed on many of the goals of the caucus, one universal goal rang clear.

“We want the legislature to be led by science on this issue,” Anchia said.

According to state Rep. Erin Zwiener, some Republicans were invited to join the caucus, but declined; because of the economic influence of the oil and gas industries, climate change has become a party line issue in the Texas Legislature.

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Rising temperatures, rising terror Climate-related natural disasters linked to risk of human trafficking

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Maddie Stout, Editor-in-Chief

ur oceans are becoming more acidic. Our glaciers are shrinking. Our coral reefs are disappearing.

Our planet is changing drastically, but Earth itself is not the only thing affected by climate change. No, global rights is more than an environmental issue – it’s a human rights problem.

As greenhouse gasses continue to flow into the atmosphere, the possibility and frequency of extreme weather events continues to rise. Over the past 50 years, climate and weatherrelated disasters have increased by five times, and this is only increasing, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

With this comes the inevitable destruction of homes, water sources and food sources, all of which are listed by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These disasters displace millions of people, forcing them to move to new cities or countries and abandon their previous lives. Not only does this affect the economy, it can also lead to human trafficking.

What is human trafficking?

Often referred to as a form of modern-day slavery, the Department of Homeland Security defines human

trafficking as “the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.”

While common in all parts of the world, human trafficking is especially prevalent in areas of lower economic status, as traffickers often target individuals seeking support, such as shelter, food or money.

Human trafficking can be divided into two categories: labor trafficking and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking forces an individual into a service or area of work, including agriculture, food service and construction, although it can and does occur in every industry imaginable, according to the Polaris Project.

Sex trafficking, as defined by Shared Hope International, occurs when one is forced to perform a sexual act in exchange for an item of value.

Climate change connection Since traffickers often search for individuals with low self-value or in need of support, those displaced by natural disasters are often an ideal target for trafficking. In many instances, entering labor or sex trafficking is the fastest, most accessible way to make money in an unfamiliar environment.

Already, this problem has impacted

millions around the world. According to a report from the International Institute for Environment and Development and Anti-Slavery International, a drought in northern Ghana led many young men and women to migrate to major cities.

There, many of the women began working as porters, putting them at high risk for trafficking, sexual exploitation and debt bondage, The Guardian reported.

In Bangladesh, a similar situation occurred: following severe cyclones that reduced the amount of land available for farming, traffickers began targeting widows and men wanting to cross the border into India to find employment and income. Trafficking victims were often forced into hard labor and prostitution, according to The Guardian.

Bernard Ferguson, a journalist from the Bahamas, returned to his home country following Hurricane Dorian for a story in The New York Times Magazine. Ferguson found that in addition to the detriment to the actual land, the people of the Bahamas faced many consequences.

“The landscape is forever changed, but what’s most terrifying for me is the effect Dorian had on people’s psyches,” Ferguson said. “In the aftermath,

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If you really want to help people suffering from climate disasters, become more aware about them.”

- Journalist Bernard Ferguson people feel no hope, so they’re putting themselves in situations they otherwise wouldn’t be in.”

Consequences

As a whole, human trafficking is a billion-dollar criminal enterprise – people are bought and sold at a rate second only to drugs, CBS DFW reported. However, unlike narcotics, human beings are “reusable”: one person can be exploited time and time again, making them far more valuable as a currency.

While human trafficking can be extremely lucrative to those profiting from it, the practice has a major negative impact on the world economy due to the significant loss of human and social capital.

Additionally, the physical wellbeing of trafficking victims is obviously negatively impacted. Victims report serious consequences to their mental health such as anxiety, depression and a numbness or detachment from

9 feelings and social interaction, the UT Austin Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault reported.

There could be as many as 250 million climate refugees by 2050, according to The Revelator. A study from 2016 warned that as much as one-eighth of the world’s population – around 1.4 billion people – could be forced over 600 miles from their homes due to rising natural disasters.

Considering the risk these displaced people have for entering trafficking, it is likely that climate change will infringe on the human rights of millions in the future.

Ritu Bharadwaj, a researcher for the International Institute for Environment and Development, calls on world leaders to address the connection between climate change and human rights in The Guardian.

“The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking that’s being fuelled by climate change,” Bharadawaj said. “Addressing these issues needs to be part and parcel of global plans to tackle climate change.”

As for addressing the problem on a local level, Ferguson said the most important thing people in the United States can do is spread awareness.

“If you really want to help people suffering from climate disasters, become more aware about them,” Ferguson said. “They’re not talked about in the United States, and that’s on purpose.”

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Climate action through education Biology, Impact and Zoo, End of the World classes highlight environmental issues Caroline Petrikas, Photo and Graphics Editor and Lacy Green, Staff Writer

Biology, Impact and Zoo With project topics varying from microplastics to irresponsible dog breeding, the Upper School social impact course “Biology, Impact, and the Zoo,” teaches students to recognize prevalent problems within their communities and to devise solutions.

While students are not limited to choosing from only environmental issues, many tackle problems related to climate change for their final project.

Led by Biology teacher Brandi Finazzo, the class covers traditional biology content, but differs because students learn to apply knowledge and skills to a real world situation.

“Over the course of a year, students build empathy by talking to people within the community and involved in their topics, develop a prototype or solution to their specific problem and ultimately compete in a ‘Shark Tank’ endeavor for funding to implement their solution,” Finazzo said.

After locating their problem and devising a solution, students present their prototypes to Dallas community and business leaders, including a representative from the Dallas Zoo, who then judge the competition and select a project to fund and implement.

The first quarter of the class covers the different intricate relationships that make up our hierarchy of life, Finazzo said. Then, students can understand when people affect one piece of this biological system, it affects everything else in that system.

The social impact portion of the class begins in the first unit and continues throughout the year.

After the introduction to these systems, students participate in a “changemakers” survey that reveals

the five largest contributors to climate change and inspires students to think about their individual impacts.

According to CNN’s “Project Drawdown,” refrigeration chemicals are one of the leading causes of climate change, and curbing the chemical output from refrigerators would equate to removing 673 million cars from the roadway.

“A lot of times in the past four years, the survey has provided a foundation for teams to pick their topic,” Finazzo said. “When they take the survey, it blows their mind because there are so many things that impact climate change.”

When Barbara Lou ‘21 participated in the class in 2020, the survey inspired her group to develop a solution to refrigerator disposal.

“After learning an overwhelming fact about improper fridge disposal during the brainstorming process, it opened my eyes on how much our daily actions impact climate change,” Lou said.

Lou’s project, dubbed “The Cooler Earth,” devised a convenient solution for consumers: embedding QR codes on the back of new refrigerators that directed consumers to input their zip codes on a website. The website identified the nearest eco-friendly disposal locations for old refrigerators, Finazzo said.

Lou’s project ultimately won the Shark Tank and then partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They are currently finalizing legal obligations with the EPA to implement their QR code.

Lou’s final project successfully illustrated the class’ mission.

“It taught me that much of our

individual choices as consumers play a part in impacting the climate, and that to capture the key to consumers’ empathy could create movements and transitions toward a more sustainable society,” Lou said.

Finazzo loved seeing Lou’s and all of her students’ projects reflect what they had learned about climate change and taking action.

“Seeing my students articulate their understanding and why their design is useful is a huge source of pride for me, because we’re not going to solve global warming in some small way, it’s going to be an accumulation of steps,” Finazzo said. “It’s exciting to watch them contribute to these small steps that can make a difference.”

End of the World If the Earth’s temperature continues to rise at the current rate, when will the world come to an end? That’s the question a group of seniors explored in the new semester science course, the End of the World.

After being added to the course catalog last spring, the End of the World became a resource for students to explore how the world may one day come to an end, as well as to focus on the effects of climate change.

The class was added to the curriculum with three main goals: - To help students see how their understanding of physics, chemistry, and biology can be integrated and applied to try to address the fundamental question: how might human civilization one day end?

- To teach students tools in risk analysis — the art of making decisions given uncertain or incomplete information.

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Q&A with All Green Club President Charlie Hamilton Caroline Petrikas, Photo and Graphics Editor

What does All Green Club do on campus?

Around campus we strive to make Hockaday more “green.” For example, this year we’re hoping to hold a battery and possibly plastic bag drive. Since those things are not things people normally recycle, then we can take them to specific places where they do recycle them.

Why is the club important to the school?

Giving back to the earth which we come from is honestly critical because obviously climate change is a really, really big problem that is currently and will be affecting the world for years to come. And I think any way that we can help make Hockaday a better and greener and cleaner campus is really important for its local and national effects.

- To reinforce the mindset and thinking skills embodied in the Tenets of Student Excellence in science.

Dr. Marshall Bartlett, Science Department chair, began the year by defining risks and identifying existential risks to humanity. He tasked groups with picking a topic to analyze and present to the class.

Among topics varying from natural disasters, technology, and human behavior, seniors Christiana Miele, Bailey Smith and Sofia Abel chose to focus on the existential risks of climate change.

“Our goal was to determine the year by which all humans would die if the Earth warmed at the same rate it is now, assuming we don’t fix our ways or

Why did you decide to get involved?

I decided to get involved because a couple years ago, my parents went vegan and at first I really objected to it because I thought that was weird.

But eventually I jumped ship and became vegan too. It was more for health reasons originally, but then I got really into all the environmental reasons too. Seeing how much just diet can affect things and how horrible the climate change crisis is really made me want to get involved in any way I can.

How does the club plan to increase sustainability in the school community?

We’re planning to meet with either Ms. Day and figure out how to make the campus more green. There are qualifications every school has to meet to be considered “green” or sustainable.

nothing kills us before then,” Abel said.

The group’s metric risk was the rate of global warming, and they presented the risk in years, not as a percentage, which differed from the other projects in the class.

After working on the project for two weeks, the group came to a conclusion about the effects that our actions will have in the future.

“Our conclusion was that if the Earth’s temperatures continued to warm at the constant rate they are now, humanity will die by the year 2661,” Abel said. “However, if the rate of temperature rises exponentially, we will die far before then.”

While the results of the presentation

yielded disturbing results, the group members were able to project the risks of climate change.

“It taught me about how real this is and how drastically it could affect Earth,” Miele said.

“The Earth’s global temperature naturally wavers and follows a pattern going from being as warm as it was in the 1800’s to being as cold as an ice age.”

Although the course is new, there has still been heavy enrollment, prompting the possibility of remaining in the course catalog for years to come to educate seniors on the risks of climate change.

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Female education and the climate crisis How educating women has potential to reduce global emissions

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Remy Finn, Sports Editor, and Juliana Blazek, Features Editor n February of 2020, climate activists Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai met for the first time during a visit to Oxford University.

Individually, the two women represent powerful activism. Yousafzai advocates for quality education for all girls around the globe, and Thunberg challenges world leaders to act on the ongoing climate crisis. Together, however, they encapsulate the synthesis of these two problems: the connection between women’s education and climate change.

The two topics are more interconnected than they might seem. Citing Project Drawdown, UNESCO ranks educating girls and women the sixth most important issue out of 80 to find a solution to combat climate change. Female education directly connects to climate change in two ways: through population and involvement in scientific fields.

Balancing a Career and Children

“As women become more educated and seek higher education, it is a time strain and an investment in themselves to think about having children and starting a family,” Brandi Finazzo, Upper School science teacher, said. “There’s often a struggle between women who want to be moms, but also women who want strong time-consuming careers, and unfortunately, time is limited, so they tend to put off having kids until they reach what they consider to be a stable and balanced point in their life and then they open themselves up to the idea of starting families.”

According to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data on women ages 40 to 50, the median age at which those with a master’s degree or more first give birth is about 30. This is greater than the median age of first birth for women with a high school diploma or less, which is roughly 24.

“I was very goal oriented growing up, so I wanted to make sure that I had a secure, stable career before I had kids,” Finazzo said. “In my mind, I felt like it

wasn't a choice between kids and a career, but then in my early 30s, I decided that I did want to settle down and have kids, and at that point, I already had a career established, so it felt completely doable for me.”

The Effect on the Environment

A study published in Environmental Research Letters presented having one fewer child as the most impactful way to reduce carbon emissions given current production, with researchers calculating that it equated to a reduction of 58 tons of carbon dioxide for each year of a parent’s life. The figure was found by adding the predicted emissions of the child and all their descendents, then dividing this by the parent’s lifespan.

In the UK, Blythe Pepino created BirthStrike, an organisation geared for women and men who have chosen not to have children due to the impending “climate breakdown and civilization collapse,” reported the Guardian.

Pepino said BirthStrike does not aim to discourage people from having children, or to condemn those who have them already, but to communicate the urgency of the crisis.

Women in the Workforce

Girls are also underrepresented as both leaders throughout the world. The organization UN Women calculates that gender parity in national legislative bodies will not be attained before 2063.

According to The Center for American Progress, although women hold about 52 % of all professional-level jobs, they are significantly behind men in every field in regards to leadership positions. With more girls receiving knowledge in science, technology, engineering and math fields, they will be able to continuously grow as leaders in the fight against climate change. According to USAID’s Climate Links, if more women take on the role of environmental activists, the world can continue to see more protected land areas,

a reduction in climate footprints, and changing environmental laws.

Encouraging Girls to be Educated According to UNESCO estimates, 129 million girls globally do not attend school, which includes 32 million of primary school age and 97 million of secondary school age. Poverty, child marriage, gender bias and violence are just a few examples of the myriad ways in which young girls are prevented from attending school.

In getting more girls to have the opportunity to attend a school and receive an education, girls currently enrolled in school can learn about empowerment and the opportunities that they can have in the world. Several Universities around Dallas offer courses surrounding feminism in correlation to gender and power, allowing women to be empowered to pursue any career of their choice.

“Educated women can help the environment by implementing everyday changes in the home, teaching their children, educating others, conducting scientific research, leading corporations and changing policies by becoming political leaders,” Dr. Claire L. Sahlin, professor at Texas Woman's University, said.

At Texas Woman’s University, administrator Dr. Claire L. Sahlin used to teach a course on feminist propectives of environmental issues, encouraging her students to become more aware of their effect on the environment.

“I think we need more leadership and science programs for girls from a young age, so that girls will grow up with the confidence to change public policies and to pursue scientific discovery,” Sahlin said. “Programs encouraging girls and women to travel abroad can be very beneficial in helping us see that the things we often take for granted and believe that we need are rather things that we desire and want, often to the detriment of the environment.”

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Art by Grace Hoverman

“The median age at which those with a master’s degree or more first give birth is about 30. This is greater than the median age of first birth for women with a high school diploma or less, which is roughly 24.”

- Pew Research Center

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Dallas weather goes to extremes Global warming creates local consequences as community deals with climate shifts

By Ambyr Baker, Assistant Sports Editor, and Aadya Kuruvalli, Assistant Web Editor

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n recent years, Dallas has observed Cycles of carbon that move through been growing in extremity. As of 2021, data shows that East Texas has been unusual weather patterns ranging the air, water, rocks, plants and experiencing an increased amount of from the tornado of October animals help maintain this balance. rainfall. This trend is only expected 2019 to the blizzard of February The carbon cycle becomes disrupted to continue to increase rapidly over 2021. These disasters left some people when too much carbon is added to the next 15 years, without homes signaling serious or jobs, resulting consequences in poverty and in for East Texas some cases, death. communities.

Environmental The change science teacher in rainfall will Jessie Crowley said disrupt the yearly extreme weather is harvest cycles of an observable result Texas farmers, as of climate change. too much rain can “Climate keep certain plants change refers to from growing. long-term changes Quickly in the average changing climates weather patterns are something observed in local, Texas is unprepared regional and for. The blizzards global climates,” across the state she said. in February 2021 Since the wrecked the beginning of infrastructure of the Industrial major cities across Revolution, the state, collapsing human actions like homes, causing deforestation, the Photo by Landry Grover power outages and, burning of fossil During the mid-February snowstorm of 2021, senior KK Swango makes a in some extreme fuels, pollution and snow angel on a playing field near her home. The snow shut down roads and cases, death. manufacturing caused power outages for days as the state power grid failed.

Some might have led call it karma that Texas’ weather is to excessive concentrations of the atmosphere which leads to the changing so suddenly; according greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. subsequent effects seen on weather to the U.S. Energy Information According to a 2017 NASA article, and climate today.

Association, the state is the largest a well-documented consequence of While many propose alternative energy producer and consumer in climate change is global warming, energy sources as a solution to the the nation. In 2018, Texas had a a phenomenon that has led to a changing climate, options are limited carbon dioxide emission level of 684 cascade of additional repercussions in Texas as it pertains to where million metric tons, almost doubling like melting glaciers, rising sea Texans source their energy. While California’s 356.6 million metric tons. temperatures, changes in plant shifts towards sustainable sources are If this same blizzard had hit a state blooming times as well as an increase occurring, most of the state relies on more prone to freezing temperatures in the frequency of natural disasters, the burning of fossil fuels to power such as Minnesota or New York, the including storms, floods, heatwaves homes and vehicles. and droughts.

All across the state, the weather has government would have been prepared

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Photo by Lili Beck

Businesses at the Preston-Forest intersection were among the hardest hit when a tornado swept through North Dallas in October 2019. The area continues to recover from the effects of the storm. for it. But Texas had never experienced a snowstorm of that magnitude before and because of the government’s lack of readiness, people suffered.

“The government has known these were coming for a while now,” junior Aubrey Burns, secretary of the Young Democrats club, said. “We need to stop thinking of climate change as some far-away thing and be aware that this is happening right now.”

Pollution helps increase the state’s total temperature. In 1895, the average high temperature for Texas was 76.6 degrees. In 2020, it reached a high of 78.8 degrees, and more than half the increase came after 2000.

Climate change affected the community during the 2021 blizzard when some students were left without power. School was canceled for a week due to the closing of the roads.

Teachers were unable to conduct online school because of homes that had no electrical power.

The rapidly increasing effects of

“

You can’t deny science forever. The faster we act, the least damage it will do to the economy.”

- Senior Elise Little All Green Club president climate change signal bad news for Texas communities.

Texas, a state whose infrastructure is centered around industries such as agriculture and oil, relies heavily on external conditions during growing seasons. Drastic changes in the weather equal changes in the harvest seasons. However, there are steps the government can take to lessen the effects of climate change in Texas.

All Green Club President senior Elise Little said the economical short-

term consequences of cutting carbon emissions should not outweigh the state’s future prosperity.

“You can’t deny science forever,” Little said. “The faster we act, the least damage it will do to the economy.”

With Texas experiencing more intense rainfall and severe weather leading to lost lives, homes and infrastructure, the public and state leaders are becoming increasingly aware of climate change and global warming’s inevitable consequences.

Crowley said she does not think Texas is immune to the effects of climate change; however, recognition will be the first step toward change.

“The best thing we all can do to bring this issue to the forefront is to talk about it,” Crowley said. “I think the more we think about these issues, the more we will be able to make connections to how climate change impacts us today and future generations to come.”

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Local organizations take action From Sierra Club to City Council, groups work to address environmental harms Hanna Zhang, Copy Editor

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rom local government and large industries to high-speed rail and household recycling, climate change has impacted the lives across the nation, and citizens of Dallas are no different.

As such, the City of Dallas and its residents have been working to combat climate change, from local Dallas City Council environmental plans to sustainable construction projects to household recycling.

According to Victoria Howard, it’s been easy for people to kick the can down the road in terms of climate action and not have to worry about paying the “environmental piper,” but that time has ended. Howard is the chair of the Conservation/Eco-Action Committee for the Dallas Branch of the Sierra Club, the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to addressing environmental issues.

“I think everyone is beginning to see on a day-to-day basis how climate change is affecting everyone,” Howard said. “The catastrophic weather events that plagued not only the United States, but other countries around the world are now becoming weekly occurrences.”

The Conservation Committee, operating on a volunteer basis, focuses on a myriad of climate solutions ranging from urban gardens to Superfund sites, contaminated areas that require cleanup. Some of the committee’s projects include

working with local resident partners in both the Superfund sites in Dallas and Garland respectively, fighting numerous Concrete Batch Plants in

energy consumption, implementing energy efficiency programs, conserving water and increasing the tree canopy in the city. The Dallas Environmental Commission leads the CECAP, whose members who have been nominated and approved by the City Council.

“I always tell people that if they want to change the world they need to vote, follow their local zoning and city policies and control where their money is spent and support green businesses and enterprises,” Howard said. “I have several Dallas Sierra Club colleagues on the Environmental Commission and am so excited to see the positive environmental changes they will create!”

Graphic by Aadya Kuruvalli Senior Naz Soysal said she has been particularly West Dallas, the Greening of Dallas passionate about combating climate Public Schools and the creation of change and has been pressuring native pocket prairies, parks and on the national level to get nature reserves. environmentally beneficial policies “The Dallas Sierra Club was passed, whether that’s urging Rep. instrumental and so supportive of my Van Taylor or other politicians to sign work on trying to reinstate curbside on to the New Green Deal or other recycling in my small town in 2017,” environmentally friendly policies.

Howard said. “Although I had heard “As young people, this will be our of the organization for years, I had livelihood if we don’t do anything to never worked with them before. When solve it,” Soysal said. “Whether that’s I reached out to them for help, I was so more fires, cities like Miami sinking struck by their kindness and support or even just continued national that I offered to volunteer with them disasters, continued imbalances in long term.” weather patterns or an increase in In terms of local city policies, The climate refugees, we’re all going to be City Council passed a Comprehensive affected by it.”

Environmental and Climate Action City organizations also have been Plan in May 2020 and will soon begin focusing on include the construction their appointment to implement the of the Texas High-Speed Rail. plan. This plan includes reducing city Partnered with construction group

17 Webuild, railroad company Texas Central plans to create a high-speed train line modeled after Central Japan Railway’s Tokaido Shinkansen train system, to connect Dallas to Houston.

With the aim of reworking Texan mobility with sustainability in mind, the high speed rail plans to link the two major cities with an expected travel time of under 90 minutes. From an environmental perspective, the rail is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 700,000 tons annually and will avoid the presence of 14,630 vehicles on I-45, the highway connecting the two cities, per day.

“I think it’s probably a good solution especially because it’ll prevent people from using airplanes or other modes of transportation that are likely more environmentally harmful,” Soysal said. “We just have to be careful, because in the pursuit of something like the High-Speed Rail, we shouldn’t be, say, going over Native land or otherwise harming the environment in our construction of that sort of thing.”

The rail is also expected to be six times more energy efficient than a car. Considering traffic jams, it often takes more than four hours to travel between Dallas and Houston.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, this number is expected to exceed six hours by 2040.

With this number in mind, the rail is designed to help avoid the ever-

increasing amount of carbon dioxide emissions that will likely result from the influx of cars on the road.

“On a national level, I’m always frustrated by too many talking points and too much inaction,” Howard said.

“

I always tell people that if they want to change the world they need to vote, follow their local zoning and city policies and control where their money is spent and support green businesses and enterprises.”

- Victoria Howard Conservation/Eco Action Chair, Dallas Branch of Sierra Club “I’m ready for more policy changes that hold big polluters accountable.

Unfortunately, in most cities and countries change doesn’t happen until the issue becomes so bad that it changes the monetary risk or reward

balance for the powers that be.”

Senior Cristiana Miele, a member of the Community Service Board said a great way to start taking action is to recycle more at home, while taking other non-recyclable materials to Recycle Revolution.

Recycle Revolution is a non-landfill recycling and compost collection service located in Dallas that, through their community drop-off centers and residential collection programs, accepts non-recyclable materials such as Styrofoam, cardboard and batteries, which are then composted into organic waste.

Another option she recommends is participating in park cleanup at White Rock Lake through the For the Love of the Lake organization.

“Small things can help build up to everyone becoming more sustainable which would make it easier to combat global warming,” Miele said.

Like Miele, Howard said on a dayto-day basis, it’s best to start small when it comes to helping improve the environment.

“Leave the leaves that fall from your trees! There’s no need to use a gas-powered leaf blower that causes pollution,” Howard said. “Use Zoom, rather than spend an hour in your car, to attend a meeting. Eliminate all Round Up and equally toxic lawn care chemicals. There’s lots of small and painless ways that we can all change our environment.”

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Cutting clothing consumption Students fight fast fashion’s environmental effects

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By Lea Whitley, Castoff Editor, and Harper Harris, Staff Writer hat are the real costs on the environment of that new pair of Zara jeans you bought for Black Friday? What about the homecoming shoes you wore from Lulu’s? The nonprofit Clean Clothes Campaign estimates three out of five fast fashion items Americans buy end up in landfills.

Statistics published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation give another glimpse into the true environmental costs of people’s wardrobes. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and overseas shipping combined. And at the rate emissions are rising, the industry’s greenhouse gasses will rise more than 50% by 2030.

Without consumers making a change, the World Bank argues, efforts to make the fashion industry more sustainable are in vain.

Sophomore Erin Antes and seniors Claire Cahoon and Premanshi Argawalla said making an impact is easier than it seems. By implementing regular thrift shopping into her routine, Antes actively reduces her environmental output.

“At first I only went thrifting for the ‘trendi-ness’ of it,” Antes said.

“But then I realized that buying second-hand clothes makes me feel really good. By re-using clothes and not contributing to fast fashion companies, I am adamantly reducing waste and helping the environment.”

Antes realizes, though, that

shopping habits are hard to break. So, she offers some advice to shoppers.

“Instead of shopping online and ordering from fast fashion companies, create a wish list of items you have been wanting,” she said. “Then, every once in a while, you can go on a thrift excursion to find new stuff..

“

The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and overseas shipping combined.”

- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

While Antes uses thrifting to make change, Cahoon and Agarwalla have created apps to intersect their interests in climate change and fashion.

“Both fashion and social impact are things I have been passionate about since I was little,” Cahoon said. “I am interested in sustainable fashion because it is the intersection between the two.”

In her Biology, Impact and the Zoo

class, Cahoon created an app, SWAPT, that encapsulated the importance of sustainable fashion. The app helps shoppers find affordable and sustainable clothing.

“Creating the app was natural – I found a true passion working on this issue, and that really served as the promoting factor,” Cahoon said.

She continued working on the app for her senior seminar class, Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Economics and Social Entrepreneurship.

“You can input non-sustainable clothing options, and it will generate similar options that are sustainable,” Cahoon said. “It will then utilize this data to continue to recommend more sustainable clothing for you.”

In Kristen Blevins’ Breaking the Glass Ceiling class, Agarwalla created an app called Lenen that offers a platform for people to decrease waste by sharing clothes.

“Honestly, the statistics are terrifying enough,” Agarwalla said.

“Two hundred and eight million pounds of waste were generated by single-use outfits in just 2019 alone, and currently one in two people are throwing their unwanted clothes straight into the trash.”

Agarwalla is invested in spreading the word that fast fashion can cause irreversible changes to the planet.

“With the increased cost of fashion — not just monetary cost — and its lack of sustainability, the fast fashion industry is reversing any positive movement towards climate reform,” Argawalla said.

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Q&A

Q&A

with Claire Cahoon

with Premanshi Agarwalla

What is your app’s purpose?

The app raises awareness about the dangers of fast fashion and combats the problem by making it much easier to find cute and affordable sustainable clothing!

Why are you interested in sustainable fashion?

Honestly, the statistics are terrifying enough.

208 million pounds of waste were generated by single-use outfits in just 2019 alone. Currently, 1 in 2 people are throwing their unwanted clothes straight into the trash. This means that 64% of the 32 Billion garments produced each year end up in the trash.

How does the app work?

You can input non-sustainable clothing items that you like, and the app will generate similar options that are sustainable. It will then utilize this data to continue to recommend more sustainable clothing for you.

Why is sustainable fashion important?

Sustainable fashion is important because the fashion industry is much bigger of a pollutant than many people realize. While fast fashion/ sustainable fashion isn’t the only culprit, it plays a big role.

Additionally, from a human rights standpoint, workers in the fast fashion industry work under dangerous conditions and receive low wages.

What are other ways to shop sustainably?

Thrifting is a great way to get new clothes in an environmentally conscious way. Upcycling and clothing swaps are also great, but there are many more ways. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the damage of the fashion industry, and new practices are constantly evolving!

What prompted the creation of your app?

I knew that it’s almost impossible to get people to stop buying fast fashion products altogether, so I decided to address the issue from the backend. After one buys from companies like Zara and Shein, what can they do to minimize their additional harmful impact on the environment?

The answer is my app.

What are other ways of recycling clothes you encourage others to use?

Any form of re-using clothes is better than completely getting rid of them, which is why I am so passionate about this borrowing concept!

I uniquely value the concept of my app because it encourages a cycle of borrowing, extending the lifetime of an article of clothing across many closets.

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What YOU can do to help Taking simple steps can reduce your carbon footprint

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By Anna Gum, Co-Editor-in-Chief

have often heard the notion that large corporations are solely responsible for climate change and we — civilians — are incapable of making an impact. I’ll admit I’ve even had that thought myself.

And, yes, it is true that just 100 companies contributed more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions from 1751 to 2010, according to a 2017 report

by Climate Accountability Institute. Individuals, however, as consumers, also hold responsibility and can make a positive impact on the environment.

Living more sustainably does not have to include turning your back on each of these 100 companies or deleting your Amazon Prime account. Simple, consistent changes in your daily routine can significantly reduce your carbon footprint and positively impact the environment.

During the 2019-2020 school year, the All Green Club organized an advisory activity in which each advisory read about ways to save energy and turned the lights off in their classroom, using natural light from the classroom’s windows instead. That activity alone made me significantly more conscious of all the electricity I use and waste on a daily basis, contributing to the 35.74 quadrillion Btu of electric power consumed in 2020, according to eia.gov.

My mom used to have to pester me to turn off the lights in my room and closet before I left my house because I did not even consider how much energy I was senselessly wasting by leaving on lights I didn’t need. I now try to

OPINION think about the impact my actions really have whenever I feel too lazy to switch a light off at my house.

Air drying your clothes, replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs and using less hot water are also simple ways to lower your impact on the environment.

According to energy.gov, LED lights are more efficient, using at least 75 percent less energy than incandescent light bulbs. They additionally emit significantly less heat and last longer.

Other products like smart thermostats allow you to adjust your house’s temperature when you are away, limiting the energy and money you spend on air conditioning and heating.

Adjusting meat consumption, and specifically beef consumption, also cuts down on a large contributor to climate change.

Cattle, as the primary agricultural source of greenhouse gasses, are responsible for producing roughly 220 pounds of methane per year, according to ucdavis.edu.

Going vegetarian or vegan is not a realistic option for everyone, myself included, but simply being aware of how much red meat you consume is a step in the right direction.

I have found that limiting the red meat I consume has been an easy adjustment with health as well as environmental benefits.

For those who do not want to cut meat out of their diet, recycling and reusing products is a convenient and feasible way to live more sustainably without

significantly altering your daily routine. Clean paper products, plastic bottles and aluminum cans all can be recycled.

You can also allow your clothes to be reused by donating clothes that no longer fit you or that you do not often wear. While it is easy to ignore the outgrown, unused clothes in your closet, remembering both the environmental and community impact of donating clothes has been an important change in my life.

Senior Naz Soysal has implemented several of these means into her life and has additionally decided to go paperless. Beginning May 2021, Soysal replaced all of her paper notes, homework and handouts with digitized versions on her iPad. “I think Hockaday people use a ton of paper so being able to alleviate that impact even just a little bit is a small step but an important one,” Soysal said.

While going paperless and purchasing an iPad is not realistic or affordable for everyone, it has saved Soysal money as she no longer has to buy folders, notebooks or textbooks. She said she also found it to be a relatively easy and beneficial transition.

“Keeping things organized was initially a struggle… but now it’s a lot more convenient to be able to keep everything in one place and I’m able to stay much more organized,” Soysal said.

Accommodating teachers who post their handouts online as well as newer technologies and apps have also aided her transition.

“One of the biggest things that has made this so much easier is

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Art by Mia Carley

the proliferation of alternatives,” Soysal said. “Now there are so many note taking apps that didn’t exist 20 years ago… even things like the Apple pencil.”

Senior Haley Coleman has similarly changed her daily routine in an effort to live more sustainably. During quarantine in 2020, she started biking, and once in-person classes began again, she

continued biking as a means to get to school. While she has to drive to school on days when she has to carry sports equipment or take her sister to school, she has worked to replace driving with biking whenever she can.

“I feel like one of the most important things you can do is lead by example,” Coleman said. “Since I started biking to school, I have seen

three other students try it and have even been approached by a faculty member who talked about biking to school and selling his car.”

Elise Little, president of the All Green Club, emphasized the importance of finding ways to live more sustainably that fit within your lifestyle.

“Turn off the lights when you’re not home!” Little said. “And recycle!”

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Speaking for the trees - 50 years later

Semicentennial anniversary of ‘The Lorax’ reminds us of its timeless message

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By Elisa Carroll, Web Editor

r. Seuss’ “The Lorax” celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

The book was adapted into an However, with the animated movie released in 2012 recognition of this famed work of starring Danny Devito, Zac Efron children’s literature, the anniversary and Taylor Swift. Despite the mixed represents how the message “The Lorax” presented in 1971 is still just as reviews, particularly about the film straying too much from the relevant today, five decades later. original text, the message Most everyone is familiar with was still very clear. In the bright illustrations of fact, according to Forbes Truffula trees, Humming Magazine, the movie was Fish and Bar-Ba-Loots.

No. 1 on Netflix for the “The Lorax” tells the entire month of July story of the 2021 during the height greedy Onceof the pandemic and while ler whose the continental United States ambition and was suffering from a recordentrepreneurship in the breaking heat wave. invention of the Thneed Whether 1971, 2012 or causes him to destroy the 2021, the lessons in “The environment around him, Lorax” consistently ring ignoring the protest of the true, showing how in Lorax, who “speaks for 50 years, the message has not the trees.” changed, but the state Dr. Seuss’ book Art by Sarah Roberts of our environment has has sold over 200 only worsened. million copies, and its popularity and nature as a children’s book makes it a common tool in elementary schools to teach kids about environmentalism, BBC News has reported.

The character of the Once-ler constructs a striking analogy to how capitalism exploits the environment.

Although “The Lorax” particularly calls out deforestation, the story can apply to other industries that deprive the planet of non-renewable resources, negatively affecting the planet’s health.

The Lorax, an advocate for the trees in the story, cautions against the Once-ler’s greed and destruction of the environment. However, his message is ignored until it’s too late, a sad sentiment that is even more true today than it was in 1971.

OPINION

UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot,

nothing’s going to get better.

It’s not.

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Chipping away at climate change Innovators take on challenges, ensure it’s not all bad news

By Olivia Garcia, Business Manager,and Melody Tian, Staff Writer

With all the coverage of the irreversible effects of climate change, it can be hard to focus on the good, especially when opinions on social media can dramatize the severity of the problem. But if people don’t focus on the good, they may get discouraged and stop fighting for change. So put aside your environmental fears for one second, and read up on some hopeful news.

Ithaca, New York becomes the first U.S. city to begin 100% decarbonization of buildings.

Forty percent of Ithaca’s buildings were constructed before 1940 and equate to 40 percent of its carbon footprint. Ithaca will move away from natural gas and propane and instead focus on electrifying these buildings. This means instead of using fossil fuels for heating and cooking, the buildings will use electricity. Additionally, the city plans to install solar panels and energy efficient heat pumps.

Luis Aguirre-Torees, the city’s director of sustainability, said the plan is not to rely on government money, but instead to tap into private investors and combine with government incentives. Ithaca has already lined up $100 million in private financing from private equity partner Alturus.

The city hopes to become carbon neutral by 2030. While Ithaca is the first U.S. city to take this step, there are hopes many more cities will follow.

Twitter has recently announced a new strategy to fight climate change lies by steering users to more reliable information. According to Blacklinko, Twitter has one of the

biggest user bases for any social media with almost 400 million users, so it is crucial to give their users information from reliable sources.

According to The Washington Post, researchers from New York University and Brown University concluded that suspected bot

Art by Sarah Roberts

accounts were responsible for about 25% of climate-related tweets in 2017.

By using a strategy the company calls “pre-bunking,” Twitter will help users distinguish between authoritative information and misinformation.

Along with Twitter, other apps are also adding new regulations to combat climate change. Google banned ads that spread climate misinformation. The policy also applies to YouTube advertising.

Google Maps has added a function to show the lowest-carbon route for car journeys.

The world’s first battery-electric

freight train was unveiled in September. The FLXdrive batteryelectric locomotive, developed by a rail freight company called Wabtec, worked with Carnegie Mellon University to develop zero emission technology. Railroads facilitate approximately 16.5% of U.S. carbon each year and with railroads being an integral part of the American economy, carbon emission can be largely cut down.

The new cherryred, 75-foot-long train can move 1.7 billion tons of goods shipped on American railroads each year and reduces fuel consumption by 11%.

Wabtec’s next mission is to cut the consumption of diesel by nearly a third, which is expected to roll out in two years.

Fifteen-year-old Vinisha Umashankar has designed a new model for ironing carts in India that could have a positive impact on the country’s air quality. Currently, Indian vendors go door to door and press clothes each day using charcoal burning ironing carts. However, burning charcoal emits particulate matter that pollutes the air.

Each cart, on average, uses more than 11 pounds of charcoal each day. Umashankar’s design uses solar panels to power a steam iron box, eliminating the harmful effects of the carts. Each cart has solar panels fitted on its roof. Five hours of sunshine can operate the cart for six hours, and energy can be stored in a battery to provide power on cloudy days.

Umashankar’s new design is gaining global recognition and has the potential to significantly affect India’s air quality.

JADE | The Fourcast Magazine The Hockaday School 11600 Welch Road Dallas. Texas 75229 214.363.6311 Volume 5, Issue 1 March 2022

JADE is a magazine supplement to The Fourcast, The Hockaday School’s student newspaper. Magazine Editor: Katherine Grace Estess Staff Writers: Maddie Stout, Anna Gum, Libby Hill, Elisa Carroll, Remy Finn, Lea Whitley, Campbell Harris, Hanna Zhang, Lacy Green, Olivia Garcia, Ambyr Baker, Caroline Petrikas, Jane Clark, Juliana Blazek, Melody Hu, Zoya Haq, Hanna Amerson, Kailey Bergstedt, Caroline Bush, Aadya Kuruvali, Melody Tian, Bennett Trubey, Harper Harris Faculty Adviser: Julia Copeland Editorial Policy: JADE Magazine is written primarily for students of the Hockaday Upper School, faculty and staff. JADE has a press run of 600 and is printed by Greater Dallas Press. It is distributed free of charge to the Hockaday community. Opinions are clearly marked and are the expressed opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect that of The Fourcast staff, its advisor or any other member of the Hockaday community. Any questions or concerns should be addressed to Katherine Grace Estess at kestess22@hockaday.org.