Why should you care? For many people in California, smog checks are a mandatory thing every other year. This is to reduce the hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides that are released by the engine. Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, also Continue reading →

Feedback loops can be used to describe many systems. Negative feedback loops happen when the effects of the system don’t add to the causes of it. The effects of the system can weaken over time if the feedback loop interferes Continue reading →

Cadmium in batteries Cadmium (Cd) is a metal used in almost every day of our lives. Cadmium joined with nickel creates a rechargeable battery called nicad. Nicad is used in rechargeable devices such as  calculators as well as aviation batteries. Continue reading →

After the Flint, Michigan water crisis in 2014, water quality has been a big concern for many Americans. The water supply for Flint had changed to using the Flint River as its source, but due to insufficient water treatment, lead Continue reading →

What are Furans and PCBs? PCB stands for polychlorinated biphenyls and PCBs had started to become an environmental concern in the 1980s and 1990s. PCBs are persistent in the environment and have the ability to bioaccumulate in living organisms. In high Continue reading →

If you are a California native, you would have heard of The Salton Sea. The Sea is actually a lake located in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys that was accidentally made (Fig. 1). A massive flood from the Colorado River Continue reading →

What is Mercury? Mercury is an element which at one point in time was used broadly as a commercial material. Due to its unique characteristics of being both a liquid and capable of conducting electricity, it served and continues to Continue reading →

Pesticides are  a common cause of chemical pollution in US water systems. Pesticides are chemicals commonly used to shield crops from depletion by insects, animals, and other plants, like weeds or fungi, and are commonly used in agriculture. Pesticides get Continue reading →

Although it is the base below our feet often supporting us, many of us tend to forget about soil. It is what grows our crops, filters water, and provides a home for many organisms. It is also a crucial carbon Continue reading →

NPR recently published an article about the future of the US recycling industry. Last year, China stopped accepting plastic waste imports. This is where much of the United States’ recyclables had been sent previously. This has caused a controversy about Continue reading →