What can students do to make a difference?

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/03/11-steps-for-starving-students-that-will-make-a-difference.php?campaign=daily_nl

The above link explains the following suggestions. There are great images, charts and graphs along with the explanations.

1. Live in walkable, transit oriented neighborhoods, whether in large cities or small towns.

2. Get a Bike. 

3. Do the free, cheap and easy stuff first.

4. Live within the Comfort Kidney.

5. Put on a sweater (or a Hawaiian shirt) 

6. Cut back on Red meat. 

7. Eat local and seasonal food. 

8. Can all you can. 

9. Go minimalist. 

10. Live in less space. 

11. Relax.

Coverage of the disaster in Japan

Common Dreams is a national nonprofit, progressive, nonpartisan citizens' organization. They put together information about environmental, social justice and peace issues.

You can follow their coverage of the disaster in Japan at a special page they set up. There is a live Twitter feed about the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear emergency as well as many articles about these issues.


The New York Times has a very informative multimedia slideshow about how a reactor shuts down and how a meltdown could occur. The video clip we watched showing how the Japanese reactors work is here.

Radiation from Japanese Nuclear Plants Heading Our Way

 There is no reason to panic at this point, but we do need to pay attention to what is going on in Japan. Radioactive fallout may make its way to the US and if it starts to contaminate agricultural land on the west coast we may need to monitor our food supply to make sure the toxic radiation isn't magnified as it moves up the food chain to us.

The flow of wind around the globe will spread the radiation from the Japanese nuclear disaster around the globe. This interactive feature of the New York Times predicts the dispersal of the radiation.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/16/science/plume-graphic.html?ref=science

GREAT summer opportunities of all sorts... including medicine and disease investigation

The following summer opportunities are in a wide range of fields including psychology, law, theater, digital video production, 3D modeling, creative writing, medicine, science and more. Please read through them and see what interests you. Some of them even pay you to have a great learning experience over the summer.

Psychology Summer Program

This summer, IIT Institute of Psychology is offering "Psychology in Everyday Life" to introduce high school students to the profession of psychology. The one week workshop will be a rich learning experience designed to help students make the connection between psychological principles and human behavior in everyday life. Students will acquire a broad array of facts about the developing child, the aging adult and everything else that occurs across the lifespan.

Cost $485 (some scholarships available)

When: June

Applications are due: May

http://www.iit.edu/undergrad_admission/psychology_summer.htm

Contact: Kristin Moriarty 312.567.3502 kmoriar2@iit.edu

Pritzker School of Medicine (YSTP)

The Pritzker School of Medicine Office of Multicultural Affairs is now accepting applications for their summer Young Scientists Training Program (YSTP). This is a 10-week summer program for up to ten outstanding minority high school students to gain experience in research, medicine, and the biological sciences. Students work in the laboratories of University of Chicago faculty where they learn basic or clinical research in the areas of diabetes, endocrinology, nutrition, obesity, digestive, liver, urologic, kidney, or blood disorders.

When June – August

Deadline March 20

Information and apply: http://pritzker.uchicago.edu/about/diversity/pipeline/ysp.shtml

Goodman Theater General Theater Studies

A FREE six-week theater intensive for students 14 to 19-year-old in the Chicago metropolitan area, General Theater Studies gives students the opportunity to learn skills from local theater professionals that are instantly applicable not only to the world of theater, but also their world at large. This summer program is designed to validate the voices of its participants, get them to examine their own potential for creativity and introduce them to all elements of the creation of theater, both on stage and behind the scenes. GTS will culminate in public presentations of an original performance created by the participants!

Cost: Free

When June – July

Applications http://www.goodmantheatre.org/Education/Programs/Theatre.aspx

Contact 312.443.5581 or email education@goodmantheatre.org

The Chicago Summer Business Institute (CSBI)

CSBI provides a six-week paid internship program for high school sophomores and juniors each summer.  These internships take place at various banks, accounting, engineering, and law firms throughout the Loop and business districts.  In conjunction with a 28-hour workweek, students attend half-day classroom seminars and workshops every week where they learn about the financial markets, attend seminars given by successful business executives, and participate in team building programs.

Eligibility Requirements:

Student must currently be a Sophomore or Junior;  

Student must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher;  

Student must attend either a public, parochial or private high school;  

Student must be a resident of the City of Chicago;  

When June - August

Deadline: March (must attend readiness workshop on April 2)

For information or to apply: www.cityofchicago.org/CSBI

Contact Debra Carson, Program Director at 312-545-7855 csbi1999@comcast.net

Project Exploration’s Discover Your Summer Guide

Discover Your Summer is a guide to summer science opportunities. It is filled with information on more than 175 programs in Chicago, the Midwest, and beyond.

All of our youth programs are free, eliminating the cost barrier that prevents low-income students from accessing dynamic out-of-school time science programs.

For information or to apply: http://www.projectexploration.org/dys/

Contact 773.834.7614 or email dys@projectexploration.org

National Bar Association  Crump Law Camp

The National Bar Association Crump Law Camp was established to provide students entering the ninth through eleventh grades (between the ages of 14 and 17) with an introduction to the American judicial system. Campers will be housed on the campus of Howard University and live in a protected campus environment. The inaugural two-week camp was held at Howard University School of Law. The camp provides students with an exciting academic and social agenda, which includes field trips in the Washington, DC area. The competitive highlight of the camp is the Evett L. Simmons Mock Trial Competition. The four winners of this competition are invited to the NBA's Annual Convention. Washington, DC.

Cost: varies Free-$1400 (sliding scale)

When: July

Deadline: April

Information or apply: http://www.nationalbar.org/lawcamp/index.shtml  301-249-8355

CDC Disease Detective Camp

The CDC Disease Detective Camp (DDC) is a 5 day academic day camp for high school juniors and seniors during the upcoming school year. Campers will take on the roles of disease detectives and learn how CDC safeguards the nation's health.

When: June session and July session

Deadline: April

For more info and to apply to go http://www.cdc.gov/museum/camp/index.htm

Expressing yourself through writing: (For African Americans only)

African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute (AAAMSLI)

The African American Adolescent Male Summer Literacy Institute helps connect young black males to literacy as a possible way out of violence and poverty. Students read and write about their plight and issues affecting their generation, while learning valuable life skills. "The institute focuses on using a variety of fiction and non-fiction texts as tools to support African-American adolescent males to write about the multiple contexts that shape their lives". The institute features reading, writing, spoken word and mentoring to help nurture the next generation of socially conscious readers and writers. Five young males will be selected for a two-day trip to Harlem in August, and have their writings critiqued by Walter Dean Myers.

Cost: Free (students paid a $150 stipend)

When: July, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays

Where: UIC Reading Clinic, 1040 W. Harrison St. (L268 - level)

For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu

http://aaamsli.blogspot.com/

Contact: Alfred W. Tatum, Ph.D. Director of the UIC Reading Clinic/Associate Professor (312) 413-3883 atatum1@uic.edu

African American Adolescent Female Summer Literacy Institute (AAAFSLI)

See above, but for females 11-17 yo

Contact: Lynette Danley ldanley@uic.edu at 312-996-4508 (office)

The summer academy at DePaul – Media, digital video, 3D digital animation

This is a week long program held at DePaul University's Loop campus for High school students. They will receive hands-on instruction using the latest equipment and technology and will be taught by faculty from DePaul's School of Cinema and Interactive Media with real world experience.  Areas of focus will include digital cinema production, 3D computer modeling and animation for games and cinema and computer game development. This intensive week-long session will provide motivated students with a valuable educational experience as well as an advantage in today's competitive world of college admission.

Cost $750

Deadline: June 1st

When: July

http://www.cim.depaul.edu/summeracademy/

Information contact: gocdm@cdm.depaul.edu

The High School Summer Institute at Columbia College

This is an intensive non-residential 5-week program for creative high school students that have completed their sophomore, junior, or senior year of study who want to immerse themselves in the visual, media, and communication arts.

Students spend the summer exploring their ideas, developing the technical skills that bring their ideas to life, and earning college credit while they’re at it. High School Summer Institute students study with the same working professionals and scholars who teach Columbia’s undergraduates. Students also hone their craft in Columbia’s state-of-the-art facilities—film and video production and post-production studios, photography labs, animation labs, graphic design labs, dance studios, concert halls, theater stages, radio station, recording facilities, art studios, performance spaces, television studios, and more.

When: July – August

Application Deadline: June

http://www.colum.edu/Admissions/hssi.php

"Get switch, save planet"

This is a YouTube clip, so it won't work at school. Sorry if your computer is sounding an alarm suggesting that you are accessing inappropriate content. 

This clip says a lot about why your ecological footprint in the US is different than it is for someone in China. No matter what decisions you make here in the US, you can't help but use a lot of energy and resources.  In the US we don't have water heater switches in our bathrooms; in China they do.

When I was 10 years old I visited my older sister in Israel. Before a shower there, you had to turn on a switch to a solar water heater that was on the roof of the building where she lived. That was in 1974. Why don't we have anything like that here in the US?

Biodiversity

There are some interesting sources of information about biodiversity on the web. This unit you will need to use both web resources and your text to explore issues around biodiversity.

Start at Biodiversity 911
http://www.biodiversity911.org/biodiversity_basics/learnMore/whatisbiodiversity.html   

Read through each section and answer the following questions on a separate sheet to turn in by 2/25

• Diversity of Life

1. How many species are there on earth?  Of all those species how many are mammals?

• Three Levels of Diversity
2. Describe the three levels of diversity.  (don't just list them, explain what they are too)
• The Gene Scene
3. Give some examples of genetic traits in humans.
4. Why do you think genetic diversity is important for a species?
• Culture and Nature
5. How do you think that nature - the environment in which a particular group of people live- affects culture?  (culture includes things like attitudes, ways of life, religion, clothing, art, music, technology)
• A Watery World
6. Why are wetlands, mangroves and other watery ecosystems important for the planet?
• The Big Picture
7. Draw a diagram that shows the big picture of biodiversity. Be sure to include how the three levels of diversity interact. 
• Countless Connections
8. Give an example of how, if one species becomes extinct, another species may also become extinct.
• So What?
9. When you click on "So What" you get more links. Please read through these links and select ONE to write about. Write a short paragraph explaining why the link you chose demonstrates the importance of protecting biodiversity. 

• The Power of Plants

• A Diverse Prescription

• Biodiversity and the Bottom Line

• All Species Count

• What's the 911?

10. Finally learn what you can do. 

Go to http://www.biodiversity911.org/TakingAction/TakingAction.html  and select 3 steps you think you or your family can take to improve biodiversity in Chicago and around the world.

  
Your reading assignment for this unit is:

Read and take notes on Ch. 10 in the ES text. Keep these notes in your binder. Due 2/25

Answer the following Biodiversity questions on a separate sheet to turn in Due 3/1

All questions must be answered in complete sentences which re-word the question so the reader understands what you are talking about.

P. 244 Questions 2 & 3

P. 249 Question 1 – This is a short essay in which you must take a position and defend it.

P. 251 Quesiton 1

P. 257 Questions 1, 2 &3

P. 259 Questions 8-15 – Answer the multiple choice questions by writing out the question and the answer you select along with the letter of the answer. Go back to the chapter to make sure your answers are correct.

Our Ecological Footprints

The Ecological Footprint movie we watched in class can be downloaded at the following link. You can either download the whole move, or do it scene by scene. Note that the movie at the link below has a short introduction and conclusion from the Environment Minister of Australia because the state of Victoria in Australia helped to fund the movie.

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/about/documentarydvd.asp


The following link will take you to a website at which you can calculate your own ecological footprint. 

http://files.earthday.net/footprint/flash.html

Follow the steps below and answer the questions as you work. 

1. Go to the site and select the United States as your location. Why do you think the site gives you different choices of countries and continents? Do you think ecological footprints the same or different in different locations?

2.  Before you begin, predict how many planets it takes to support your lifestyle.

3. When you get started you don’t have to put in your e-mail… just get started. You will have a choice between “Basic Information” and “Detailed Information.” Please select detailed information so you can get an idea of all the factors that go into your footprint.

4. Why do you think the types of meat and dairy foods you eat are important to your footprint?

5. You may not know where your food comes from… If you grow a garden or buy food at a farmers market, it is grown nearby. If you eat fruits and veggies in the winter in Chicago, that produce must have been grown far away. Why do you think the distance your food travels is important to your footprint?

6. Click on the different types of housing to see which is closest to the building in which you live. Why does the type of house or apartment you live in matter? 

7. Would having more people living in your household make your footprint bigger or smaller? Why?  

8. Here in Chicago, most of our energy does NOT come from renewable resources. Our homes are mostly heated with natural gas and our electricity comes mostly from burning coal and nuclear plants. Unless you have solar panels on your home or a wind turbine in your yard you use 0% renewable energy. Just estimate as well as you can when it asks you about how much your household spends on gas and electricity.

9. When you are answering questions about travel, keep in mind that it is about one mile between Armitage and Diversy or between Cicero and Pulaski. Big main streets in Chicago are about a mile apart. A typical large SUV gets about 13 miles per gallon (MPG) and a  small car such as a Honda Civic gets about 20 MPG. A hybrid Prius can get about 40 MPG.

10. Summarize your ecological footprint:

How many Earths?_____ How many acres? _____ Tons of carbon dioxide?_____

Roll over the pie chart to get % for Food ____ Shelter _____ Mobility _____ Goods ____ Services ______

Which 2 areas do you have the most control over? _____________________________________________

11. Explore the site for a few minutes and write about some actions you can take to reduce your footprint.  What is one action you are ready to take?

12. Please comment on your footprint in the comments section of this post.  Was your footprint more or less than you expected? What was most interesting about the questions on the quiz? What was most interesting or surprising about your results?  What changes do you think you will make? Please describe the experience of finding your environmental footprint. Sign your comment with your first name and last initial to get credit.