A Voting Guide for Minors
As a young person who is highly invested in politics, the discovery that I would miss the cutoff age for the general election by eight months was a hard blow. The blow was especially difficult because I had suffered many before. I sat aside as voting for a plastic bag ban in California commenced, and […]
Stop “Catching ’em All”
Two universes collided this past week as Nintendo released its newest addition to their line of Pokemon games: Pokemon Go. The new game uses augmented reality (AR) to bring the world of Pokemon to life quite literally in players’ backyards. Players use their smartphones to search for any Pokemon that might be near them. The […]
Let JGI Be Your Spirit Animal
Three Roots & Shoots Essentials Every day, around the world, young people are making a difference in their communities through their participation in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. Through their creative and inspired projects Roots & Shoots members tackle problems facing people, animals and environment. Each group project is unique to their own community, but […]
Community Collaboration in Action: Recycling Campaign
Chris White teaches third graders at Elm Street School in Rome, Georgia. Recently, she and her students completed a Roots & Shoots project that combines kindness with recycling. Chris shares how her students collaborated with their community to make this project a success. Coming Up with an Idea Every year, third graders at her school […]
Solving The Global Litter Problem
Littering is an ever-increasing worldwide problem. Chances are, you’ve seen litter scattered along roadsides, floating in waterways, or blowing across a parking lot. The well-being of people, animals, and the environment is compromised by litter. People can become injured by items such as broken glass and are susceptible to disease caused by unsanitary conditions. Animals […]
Social Media: My 5th Reason for Hope
For years I have talked of my four reasons for hope: the energy, commitment, passion and sometimes courage of young people once they are aware of the problems facing us, and are empowered to take action; the human brain; the resilience of nature, and the indomitable human spirit. It was during the Climate March in […]
Protecting the Ocean’s Top Predators
Last Thursday at a news conference on Capitol Hill, the advocacy group Oceana announced a new bill to help protect sharks from extinction. Many were on hand to support this cause, including actor Morgan Freeman, who lent his voice to bring attention to the brutal practice of shark finning. The Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act […]
Taking Action for Lions on the Anniversary of Cecil’s Death
On July 1, 2015, an American dentist shot and killed a lion named Cecil on his quest for a trophy to bring back from Africa. Cecil wasn’t just any lion, however. He was a very beautiful and very beloved lion, who just so happened to be part of a decade-long Oxford University study. The event […]
Remembering Elie Wiesel
It was a great honour for me to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace along with Elie Wiesel. Having survived the horrors of the Nazi death camps that killed his father, and almost killed him, it would be understandable if thoughts of hatred and a desire for revenge had coloured the rest of his […]
He Married the Wrong Jane
Warner Bros. Pictures just recently released their own version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ famous story, Tarzan of the Apes. The film tells the action-packed story of Tarzan who, after 10 years of living in civilized society, returns to Africa with his wife Jane. Tarzan’s story was a big inspiration for Dr. Goodall when she was […]
