Global Warming Interactive, Global Warming Simulation, Climate Change Simulation First Mammal Species Goes Extinct Due to Climate Change The humble Bramble Cay melomys has disappeared from its island in the Great Barrier Reef. Climate Change Making Calendars Run Amok People in Central Asia are recalibrating their system of time to adapt to a changing ecosystem. The Great Energy Challenge The National Geographic initiative is a call to action to become actively involved, to learn more and do more—to change how we think about and consume energy so that we can all help tackle the big energy questions. U.S.' The Arctic Is Melting.
Home Page Breathingearth - CO2, birth & death rates by country, simulated real-time Dangers of Fracking Catching the Wrong Species This article in NSTA’s December 2014 issue of “The Science Teacher” describes a classroom activity that uses engineering design to help students model modern fishing gear to minimize bycatch in the tuna fishery. (Bycatch is non-targeted marine species typically caught in fishing gear). The lesson uses the 5E instructional model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) and outlines a number of techniques to deepen student understanding of the concepts the model represents. The classroom model employs common household items (e.g., different types of beans, marbles, tennis balls, and buckets) to create a model of the ocean. Working in teams, students modify their “fishing gear” prototype at least three times to target more of the species they want to catch and to minimize catching non-target species.
Garbology Featured Activity: Waste-Less Lunch Lead your students in learning about natural resources used in common packaging materials. Challenge your students to conserve natural resources through their lunch choices. Check out this and other Garbology lessons for the classroom » Featured Activity: Conduct a Waste Assessment Do you know how much waste your school puts in landfills each week? Learn how and check out other Garbology activities » Featured Activity: Composting With the FBI The FBI turn waste into healthy soil. Bring Garbology home » Predicting Insect Development Using Degree Days | Entomology ENTFACT-123: Predicting Insect Development Using Degree Days | Download PDF by Lee Townsend, Ric Bessin, and Doug Johnson, Extension EntomologistsUniversity of Kentucky College of Agriculture Since insects are cold-blooded animals, temperature plays a major role in their growth and development. There is a threshold temperature for each insect; for example, 48 degrees F for the alfalfa weevil. No development occurs when temperatures are below that level. Insects have an optimum temperature range in which they will grow rapidly. The threshold and maximum temperatures for development of an insect are used to calculate the number of degree days for a specific day. Accumulation of degree day totals usually begins in one of two ways. With integrated pest management (IPM), degree day accumulations are used to predict important events in the life of an insect. The easiest way to calculate degree days for a specific date is to add the daily high and low temperature and divide by two. References
The Roof Is Growing! | Teacher Resources The Roof Is Growing! The Roof Is Growing! is a classroom program developed by the American Society of Landscape Architecture (ASLA) to engage and educate middle school students (grades 6-8) about green roofs and their environmental benefits. A green roof is a roof substantially covered with vegetation. Using an interactive program and a workbook, students gather facts about green roofs. Green Roof Education Components The Green Roof is Growing! Teacher's Guide: A downloadable, print resource to assist teachers with program implementation. Website: An interactive program that allows students to gather information about green roofs and their environmental benefits. Student Workbook: A downloadable, print workbook that directs students through the Green Roof web component and associated activities. Field Trip: If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, consider making a field trip to see the green roof on ASLA's headquarters. Academic Standards The Green Roof Is Growing! More Classroom Activities
Calculating Degree Days This page explains how Degree Days.net calculates degree days. If you just want heating or cooling degree-day data, there's probably no need to understand the calculation processes in detail - just use our Degree Days.net tool to calculate the degree days for you. But you might find our answers to these calculation-related questions useful if you're curious, or deciding whether to get your degree days from here or another source, or if you're comparing data from our site with data from elsewhere. How do you calculate the degree days? We start with temperature data from Weather Underground. For weather stations that are shown with a bar and stars (see right) - all the "airport" stations and the higher-quality personal weather stations - we use detailed temperature readings taken throughout each day, turning them into degree days using the Integration Method that is explained in this Google Knol about degree days. Why two different calculation methods? It depends on the weather station.
Heating & Cooling Degree Days - Free Worldwide Data Calculation Modules & Activies Main Page Using climate science models and NASA satellite images and data sets, students apply problem-solving methods and scientific inquiry skills to address six climate-related scenarios. More Each of the problem-based learning scenarios also includes teacher pages to help educators implement the modules into their classroom teaching. All of the materials are free. Our only request is that teachers register for the site to access the module-specific teacher pages and complete a post-event survey. More Login Whether you’re new to problem-based learning or have extensive experience using this type of instructional approach, we encourage you to view our problem-based learning pages. The Exploring the Environment legacy modules include four variations on problem-based learning—activities, basic, comprehensive, and advanced. Scientists are explorers. Problem-based learning is designed to stimulate discussion within classes, among teachers, with scientists, and across communities.
The Energy Lab | NOVA Labs The world’s energy consumption is predicted to grow by 56% in the next 25 years*. As the demand for energy swells, the stores of fossil fuels we currently depend on are dwindling and becoming more costly to obtain. The burning of these fossil fuels also discharges carbon, which has long-lasting negative effects on the environment. In the Energy Lab, you’ll design a city’s renewable energy system by analyzing the same data as the experts. Design a Renewable Future The Challenge You’ll be presented with energy profiles for five different cities across the United States. Design Depending on a location’s resources, your renewable energy system design may include solar, wind, geothermal, or biomass power. Test your system When you have designed your system, you can test it against yearly historical data. Power up When the test is complete, you’ll power up your renewable energy system and find out if you met your production goals. Videos Are you ready to Design a Renewable Future?
Wastewater treatment upgrades result in major reduction of intersex fish -- ScienceDaily Upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant along Ontario's Grand River led to a 70 per cent drop in fish that have both male and female characteristics within one year and a full recovery of the fish population within three years, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo. The 10-year study, published in Environmental Science and Technology found that the microorganisms used to remove ammonia in the wastewater treatment process also reduced the levels of endocrine disrupters in the water, which caused the intersex occurrences in fish to dramatically decline. "Having long-term data of the fish population, before and after the wastewater treatment upgrades makes this a truly unique study," said Mark Servos, Canada Research Chair in Water Quality Protection in Waterloo's Department of Biology. "The changes to Kitchener's wastewater treatment system have had a much larger positive impact then we had anticipated." Endocrine disruption in water systems is a worldwide phenomenon.