Plastic Pollution: A Major Challenge to Environmental Sustainability In today’s society, environmental sustainability faces numerous severe challenges, among which plastic pollution is particularly prominent. Thanks to its characteristics of being lightweight, durable, and low-cost, plastic is widely used in modern life, from food packaging to industrial materials, and it can be found everywhere. However, this has also led to the proliferation of plastic waste on a global scale. A large amount of plastic garbage is randomly discarded on land and in the ocean. In the ocean, plastic waste not only…

Data’s Green Frontier: Algorithmic Approaches to Earth’s Toughest Challenges The escalating environmental crisis demands more than conventional solutions; it calls for a revolution in how we understand and interact with our planet. This revolution is increasingly being spearheaded by the sophisticated methodologies of data science, offering powerful new lenses through which to view, predict, and ultimately mitigate ecological degradation. Traditional empirical models often struggle with the inherent complexity and vast scale of natural systems, leaving critical gaps in our ability to formulate effective interventions. Data science, conversely, thrives on such…

The Financial Statements Comparison Between Exxon Mobil Corporation and Chevron Corporation Zhaojun Luo University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign-IL-61820, USA zl113@illinois.edu Abstract. The study embarked upon a comprehensive financial analysis of Exxon Mobil and Chevron, aiming to discern their fiscal health from 2023 onwards. The Exxon Mobil and Chevron are the two leading companies of energy industry. Central to this essay is answering: ‘How are these energy giants faring in today’s dynamic energy industry?” To address this question, this article will utilize the financial data from 2023 Wall Street Journal as…

Carbon Lock-in and the Limits of Green Growth The notion of “green growth”—economic growth that is environmentally sustainable—has become a cornerstone of global climate policy. Institutions like the World Bank, OECD, and UNDP promote climate-compatible development strategies that aim to reduce carbon emissions while sustaining economic expansion. However, this article argues that green growth often fails to address structural dependencies on fossil fuel infrastructures, financial systems geared toward short-term returns, and socio-political regimes invested in extractive development. These entrenched systems produce what scholars call “carbon lock-in,” making transformative change exceedingly…