environmentalism Archives

Personal Report: The Devastating Consequences of a World Without Animals

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By Jenifer Hernandez, age 10 Imagine a world where there are no animals. Without them, would humans even survive? A 2022 report published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services found that billions of people rely on around 50,000 wild species of animals and plants for their food, medicine and income. How …

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Youth Climate Strikers Continue to Push for Change

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By Luca Cantagallo, age 13 and IndyKids staff Hundreds of youths skipped school for another Youth Climate Strike on March 3, 2023, to protest against climate change. As the group grew, the chants of “People over profit!” rang through the air. This annual event originated with Greta Thunburg’s 2018 Fridays for Future (FFF) protest that …

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Frankentree: The 40 Fruit Tree We Didn’t Know We Needed

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By Chris Ramírez, age 11 Surely just one tree could never grow a whole fruit salad? Well, it turns out one can, and it’s all thanks to Sam Van Aken, an art professor at Syracuse University in New York. The Tree of 40 Fruit does exactly what its name suggests: It grows 40 different fruits …

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U.N. Reaches Agreement to Protect the High SeasBy

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Muhammad Hasnain Hassim, age 11 and IndyKids staff The world’s governments reached an agreement on March 4, 2023, at the United Nations on the new High Seas Treaty, an international pact to protect marine life and stop pollution in the high seas. The high seas are international waters where no country’s government has rules restricting …

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FDA: Testing on Animals No Longer Mandatory

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By Yoremaily Maldonado, age 10 and IndyKids staff Pharmaceutical companies will no longer be required to test new drugs on animals, thanks to a new law passed earlier this year. Animal rights advocates have been petitioning for years to overturn the 85-year-old law that required companies to test new drugs on animals to see if …

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Interview with Native American Scholar, Charlie Amáyá Scott

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Charlie Amáyá Scott is a 28-year-old transgender scholar, advocate and social media influencer who lives in Aurora, Colo. She grew up in Chinle, Ariz., in the center of the Navajo Nation. Charlie, who uses “she” and “they” pronouns, is currently working on her Ph.D. in education at the University of Denver.

Good Climate News: The Ozone Layer Is Healing!

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By Miloš van den Bosch, age 11 and IndyKids staff

A U.N. report published in January on the Montreal Protocol announced that the hole in the ozone layer is on track to recover by 2040.

Puerto Rican Lizards Morph to Survive City Life

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By Emile stanley, age 12 Urbanization has drastically changed the natural world as we know it. Now researchers at New York University have found that the Puerto Rican crested anole has evolved to survive life in the city. Lead researcher Kristin Winchell studied the genomes of city-dwelling adult male anoles and found that they tended …

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How Cooking Skills and Gardens in Schools Improve Students’ Health

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By Khanya Stroman, age 13 Gardens are not just for the good for the way they smell and look, but they can also improve the long-term health of kids, a new Texas-based education program has found. Elementary and middle school kids from low-income backgrounds have participated in the Texas Sprouts program. The students learned about …

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Could Worm Spit Save Us All?

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By Grace Stevens, age 11 Federica Bertocchini, the Spanish National Research Council lead scientist, found one solution to the world’s microplastic problem in her own backyard. In October 2022, she released her team’s research on how wax worm saliva can break down certain plastics. “My beehives were plagued with wax worms, so I started cleaning …

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