PDS AP Environmental Science 5th Period 2011-12

*Note: Since we did not have enough folks to take this topic, here is a guest post by RayS and MattP from the other class. Pikachu, quick use thunderbolt! Critical Hit! Foe’s Blastoise fainted. For the millions of you that have played Pokemon, it seems obvious that electricity is water’s kryptonite; they don’t mix! But [...]

Floods are surpluses of water and a natural consequence of stream flow in a continually changing environment.  Floods mainly occur in streams or moving bodies of water.  There are two main causes of flooding: natural and anthropogenic. Causes of Floods: 1. Natural. Like I said before, floods are a natural occurring phenomenon.  All rivers and streams [...]

        Although it seems like it’s just sea water out there, we seldom forget about the black liquid that taints our deep blue. Oil is always finding its way into the ocean whether it’s through 1) natural seeps (47%), 2) consumption of petroleum/ run off (38%), 3) transportation of petroleum/leaks and oil [...]

*Note: Since I forgot to ask for a scribe, this is a guest post by EvanR from last year from a similar lesson. A nice, concise post with links to more info. It is based on this 12 minute video about one of the first voyages to document the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Some scientists [...]

*Note: This is a guest post by RayS in the other class, scribe for our all day field trip. Today we visited one of Charlotte’s waste water treatment plants, and did some water testing at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve! The waste water treatment plant was all about going to “away”. When you flush things down [...]

Yes, I had to do it. I try to teach environmental science without preaching, but this one topic is hardest for me to avoid. There are probably hundreds of other posts out there on the topic, but I still feel the need to let this out (sorry as it is a bit long with the [...]

For the first two action-packed days following our return from the R&R of Spring Break, the focus of our in-class discussion in APES was Water Resource Issues. In nearly ninety minutes of never-dull, thoroughly engaging lecture and discussion, we covered, in brief, what our freshwater resources are, why our society experiences freshwater shortages, what solutions [...]

Kinda weird to discuss fishing/aquaculture in an agriculture unit? Well, we do get some calories from the water so yes! Today we watched a good bit of the PBS documentary Empty Oceans, Empty Nets. Feel free to click around the movie web site if you want want to explore the issues further. What were the [...]

One of the parents that organized the recent Global Day just shared this with me. I thought it fit to share with you guys since we have been learning about ocean currents this unit. The clockwise flow of the gyre in the north pacific is driving debris from the Japanese tsunami towards our west coast… [...]