Environmental Science
“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ” The study of environmental science is a multidisciplinary approach to exploring the world and the interactions that shape it--past, present, and future. This unit involves branches of physics, chemistry, geology, biology, ecology, and many other "-ologies"! During the unit, we have opportunities to discuss ethics, energy use, and our own environmental impact. The size and scope of current environmental issues require that our future scientists be well-versed in not only the sciences but also in the integration of these systems.
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Topics:
Here's what we're doing. . .
We are learning the basic terms of environmental science: habitat, ecosystem, resources, population dynamics, etc. We have also spent time investigating the impact of changes in resources and gas concentrations in the environment.
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Resources:
Isle of Royale--get some background and 50-year data on the populations of moose and wolves.Including a 5-minute video. NC Species--this has great links to threatened and endangered species in our state. Keystone Species--this 4 minute video demonstrates how the introduction of wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem not only impacted the fauna but the actual physical geography of the park Hydrothermal Vents--lists and describes some of the unusual organisms that live where sunlight never reaches! Climate trends--this is an Earth Observatory website put out by NASA that has several different trends graphed through the years. Creature Comforts--this short claymation video documents animals in zoos. |