Environment & Sustainability

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

Governing Nitrogen Species: Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Inequalities, and the Rise of Earth-System Governance

Event

Harnessing the Earth’s Heat and Power: Oil Spillovers and the Development of Iceland’s Geothermal Resources, 1930s–1970s

Event

Amazing Adaptations of Aquatic Insects

Event

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

Learn

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

Learn

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

Learn

References for Consumers

Learn

References for Manufacturers

Learn

References for Producers

Learn

References for Stewards

Learn

Instructor Manual (PDF)

Learn

Student Journal (PDF)

Learn

Tracking Sheet (PDF)

Learn

Statement of Guiding Values

Learn

Owner of a Catalytic Converters Company

Learn

Chief Sustainability Officer for a Major Automaker

Learn

VP for a Defense Contractor

Learn

CEO of a Wind Turbine Manufacturer

Learn

VP for Environmental and Social Initiatives at a Consumer Electronics Maufacturer

Learn

Goals and Recommendations

Learn

Manufacturers Case Study

Learn

Playing Guide

Learn

Small-Business Chemical Entrepreneur

Learn

Government Official Working to Stop Smuggling in China

Learn

Chinese Supplier of Rare Earth Elements

Learn

Assistant Manager of a Metal Mining Company in Brazil

Learn

Director of an International Mining Company

Learn

Director of Corporate Communications for an American Mining Corporation

Learn

Goals and Recommendations

Learn

Chart showing world production of rare earth oxides

Producers Case Study

Learn

Playing Guide

Learn

Materials Scientist

Learn

Environmental Engineer

Learn

Chemist

Learn

Social Scientist

Learn

Executive Director of a Wildlife-Focused Environmental Advocacy Organization

Learn

President of a Market-Oriented Environmental Nongovernmental Organization

Learn

Goals and Recommendations

Learn

Stewards Case Study

Learn

Stewards Playing Guide

Learn

References

Learn

Executive Director of a Prominent International Environmental Advocacy Organization

Learn

Environmentalist with an American Climate-Change Organization

Learn

Environmental Activist Based in Malaysia

Learn

Environmental Activist Based in China

Learn

Environmental Activist Based in Eastern California

Learn

Spokesperson for an Indigenous Rights Organization in Brazil

Learn

Goals and Recommendations

Learn

Activists Case Study

Learn

Playing Guide

Learn

Famous Inventor

Learn

Technology Writer

Learn

Ethical Consumer Journalist

Learn

CEO of an Ethical Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Firm

Learn

U.S. Defense Department Official

Learn

Chief Merchandising Officer for a Large Electronics Retailer

Learn

Goals and Recommendations

Learn

Consumers Case Study

Learn

Playing Guide

Learn

Illustration of map showing where rare earth elements are found

Science of Rare Earth Elements

Learn

History and Future of Rare Earth Elements

Learn

Instructions for Game Play

Learn

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

Learn

Consumers

Learn

Manufacturers

Learn

Producers

Learn

Chemical abbreviations for 17 rare earth elements

Stewards

Learn

Introduction

Learn

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

Learn

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

Visit