The Girl Scouts of the USA is launching its first-ever STEM education initiative for middle and high-school students. CEO Sylvia Acevedo joins Cheddar to discuss what the newly-enrolled girls will get to experience when they sign up for the program. It launches nationwide in Fall 2018 and is sponsored by Raytheon.
Then, we learn about a very special photoshoot that saw Girl Scouts honoring their women-in-STEM heroes. Acevedo explains how five NYC-area girls were transformed into the likes of American computer scientist Grace Hopper, systems engineer Margaret Hamilton, and more. One girl even dressed up as Sylvia Acevedo, a former rocket scientist in her own right.
Finally, we ask the CEO to reveal her "Yes I Will" moment where she decided she'd persevere despite the odds. She gives an inspiring answer about her time in the Girl Scouts, and how it allowed her to pursue her dreams and become a rocket scientist. Acevedo hopes girls will follow in her footsteps and chase their own STEM dreams.
Threatened by possible shortages of lithium for electric car batteries, automakers are racing to lock in supplies of the once-obscure “white gold” in a politically and environmentally fraught competition from China to Nevada to Chile.
U.S. states could face some hurdles as they experiment with road usage charging programs aimed at one day replacing motor fuel taxes, which are generating less each year, in part due to fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars.