Environment & Sustainability

Miners Hauling Electronics Amidst Pollution

C&EN: Rare Earths’ Magic Comes at a Cost

Media Coverage

Take a Watery Journey through History and Science with Institute’s New ‘Downstream’ Exhibition Opening September 14

Press Release

Archival photo of Forest Service after the 1910 fires.

Paradise Is Burning

Distillations Podcast

Black and white photo of Sonny Boy the Woodpecker

The Death of the Lord God Bird

Distillations Podcast

Official Netflix movie poster for Space Sweepers

Inverse: Netflix’s Sci-Fi Epic Reveals a Real-Life Cosmic Danger

Media Coverage

Downstream

Plastic Wares Sales Display Featuring Dow Styron 1949

The Pulse: The Miracle and Menace of Plastic

Media Coverage

Magnifying glass over rare earth element

The Case of Rare Earth Elements

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The Instrumental Chemist video title image

‘The Instrumental Chemist: The Incredible Curiosity of Arnold O. Beckman’ Released Nationwide on Video on Demand

Press Release

The Instrumental Chemist

Research

Illustrated portraits of Hoyt Hottel and Maria Telkes

The Sun Queen and the Skeptic: Building the World’s First Solar Houses

Distillations Article

Consultant to Medical Device Makers

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Philadelphia Earth Week, Fifty Years On

Distillations Article

Image of the Johnny Horizon environmental test kit

Distilled #13: An Environmental Cowboy from the 1970s

Distillations Video

Historical photo of Philadelphia's Fairmount Water Works

How Philadelphia’s Water Pollution Problems Shaped the City

Distillations Podcast

References for Activists

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References for Consumers

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References for Manufacturers

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References for Producers

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References for Stewards

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Instructor Manual (PDF)

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Student Journal (PDF)

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Tracking Sheet (PDF)

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Statement of Guiding Values

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Owner of a Catalytic Converters Company

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Chief Sustainability Officer for a Major Automaker

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VP for a Defense Contractor

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CEO of a Wind Turbine Manufacturer

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VP for Environmental and Social Initiatives at a Consumer Electronics Maufacturer

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Goals and Recommendations

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Manufacturers Case Study

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Playing Guide

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Small-Business Chemical Entrepreneur

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Government Official Working to Stop Smuggling in China

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Chinese Supplier of Rare Earth Elements

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Assistant Manager of a Metal Mining Company in Brazil

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Director of an International Mining Company

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Director of Corporate Communications for an American Mining Corporation

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Goals and Recommendations

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Chart showing world production of rare earth oxides

Producers Case Study

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Playing Guide

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Materials Scientist

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Environmental Engineer

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Chemist

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Social Scientist

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Executive Director of a Wildlife-Focused Environmental Advocacy Organization

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President of a Market-Oriented Environmental Nongovernmental Organization

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Goals and Recommendations

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Stewards Case Study

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Stewards Playing Guide

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References

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Executive Director of a Prominent International Environmental Advocacy Organization

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Environmentalist with an American Climate-Change Organization

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Environmental Activist Based in Malaysia

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Environmental Activist Based in China

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Environmental Activist Based in Eastern California

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Spokesperson for an Indigenous Rights Organization in Brazil

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Goals and Recommendations

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Activists Case Study

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Playing Guide

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Famous Inventor

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Technology Writer

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Ethical Consumer Journalist

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CEO of an Ethical Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Firm

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U.S. Defense Department Official

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Chief Merchandising Officer for a Large Electronics Retailer

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Goals and Recommendations

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Consumers Case Study

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Playing Guide

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Illustration of map showing where rare earth elements are found

Science of Rare Earth Elements

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History and Future of Rare Earth Elements

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Instructions for Game Play

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Two women standing on street dabbing their eyes

Smith Griswold Sells the War against Smog

Distillations Article

The Hill: R&D, Not Greenland, Can Solve Our Rare Earth Problem

Media Coverage

Silhouette of a vulture in front of a low sun.

Poison Pill: The Mysterious Die-Off of India’s Vultures

Distillations Article

Activists

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Consumers

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Manufacturers

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Producers

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Chemical abbreviations for 17 rare earth elements

Stewards

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Introduction

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miners hauling electronics that are causing pollution

Rare Earths: The Hidden Cost to Their Magic

Distillations Podcast

Periodic table with cellphones depicting US and China flags

Green Tech Media: A Strategic Approach to Rare Earth Elements as Global Trade Tensions Flare

Media Coverage

Fire in the Cuyahoga River with a firefighter boat blasting water

The Myth of the Cuyahoga River Fire

Distillations Podcast

Where Lies Humanity’s Salvation—Conservation or Innovation?

Distillations Article

Vaughn Bell poses with her work Village Green.

Sensing Change Exhibition

Museum

Suburban house with electric car in driveway

Mashable: Do Something Good for Earth Day

Media Coverage

Rare Earth Elements Project

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Making the Deserts Bloom

Distillations Podcast

Periodic table showing rare earth elements

GreenBiz: Reimagining Rare Earth Elements in a Sacrifice Zone-Free Future

Media Coverage

Nor Any Drop to Drink

Distillations Article

Roger Eadley-Pryor takes a guided kayak tour of the Schuylkill River led by Drexel chemistry professor Pete DeCarlo and University of Pennsylvania environmental humanities professor Bethany Wiggin.

Imagining a Way Forward

Distillations Article

Helitrim trimming potentiometers on the moon

The Folly of the Martian Back-Up Plan

Distillations Article

If You Smell Something, Say Something

Distillations Article

Styrofoam, a Practical and Problematic Creation

Distillations Article

Woman irritated by smog in LA in the 1950s

Fighting Smog in Los Angeles

Distillations Podcast

Whatever Happened to Acid Rain?

Distillations Podcast

Whatever Happened to the Ozone Hole?

Distillations Podcast

Imagining Philadelphia’s Energy Futures

Research

Tummy Trouble

Distillations Article

Women wearing orange yoga pants and yellow sneakers

The Yoga Pant Problem

Distillations Podcast

Anticipating the Future: Historical Narratives, Imagination, and Innovation

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