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Abstract

As undergraduate students with a keen interest in environmental issues, we have pursued various research projects related to climate change education, advocacy, and scientific research. We are excited about the opportunity to present our projects, which will expose us to people with diverse backgrounds and knowledge of global climate issues. One of our co-authors is researching U.S. environmental law, specifically regulatory policymaking, and is exploring why environmental protection is difficult to litigate. Despite having environmental laws, we lack concrete protection for the environment, humans, animals, and future generations. The U.S. ranks 43 out of 180 nations for the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), demonstrating a need for further research in this area. The other co-author is investigating new methods of converting sunlight into electricity, specifically the development of dye-sensitized solar cells using pigment from blueberries to absorb sunlight. These semi-reflective and semi-transparent solar cells have a much cheaper production cost and easier recycling process than traditional solar cells, making them a promising solution to current downsides of solar harvesting such as heavy metal mining and large land areas. Our projects align with critical aspects of adapting to climate change, observing impacts, minimizing future impact, and implementing protective measures, making them essential to environmental work. We believe that our research can make a significant contribution to the field of environmental science, and we seek a grant to help fund our work and attend the IUGG conference in July.