Science
The environment, the world we live in, is super cool. It gives us oxygen to breath, food to eat, and places to play. It is important to take care of our beloved earth because she gives so much back to us. By planting plants, being gentle to animals, and becoming aware of our space we occupy, the world will become a better place to live. Click around this page to see and learn about different areas of science that keeps our environment healthy and on the right track.
Animals
(Hellbender Salamander)
We love our dogs and cats and do everything to keep them healthy. But what about the other animals in our ecosystem. Are they hurt by human's actions and waste? In a simple answer, some animals are very hurt by human actions. So much so, scientists have compiled a list of animals that are in jepordy of becoming extinct. This list, called the "Endangerd Species List" has over 1,000 species of animals on it; that does not even begin to dive into the number plants also on that list. If we do not protect these animals, they will eventually die off. Some animals like Polar Bears, Panda Bears, Siberian Tigers, Red Foxes, Asian Elephants, and Sloths are at endangered. In the state of Indiana, we have 19 animals on the endangered species list. One specific animal is called the Hellbender Salamander. These slimy creatures (see above picture) trudge on the bottoms of rivers and streams in Indiana and helps keep the river healthy. Luckily, many scientists devote time to saving this 150 million year old animal and the numbers are starting to increase. For more information on this creature, click here. For the rest of the list of endangered animals in Indiana, click here.
These beautiful animals need us to help them by living with a conscious mind toward our ecosystem. Just by walking or riding a bike to a friends house or turning off the sink when brushing teeth, we help these animals fight against extinction.
These beautiful animals need us to help them by living with a conscious mind toward our ecosystem. Just by walking or riding a bike to a friends house or turning off the sink when brushing teeth, we help these animals fight against extinction.
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Plants
Plants gives us food to eat and beautiful smells to smell. They are special, compare to us, because any waste they produce is used by other living creatures in the ecosystem. For example, plants give off oxygen as waste and then humans breathe in the oxygen to live. We, as humans, make some waste that is not used by other living creatures in our enviorment. Some examples of this are plastics, styrofoam, car exhaust, and some metals. This can be detrimental to our ecosystem becasue it pollutes it and hurts it.
But plants are simple living things by gathering food from their environment and just growing. We can learn a few things from plants and make sure our waste is used by other things in our environment. For more information on how plants grow and live, click here. Something that we can do to increase the health of our environment is to plant plants. Ask your mom or dad to plant a vegetable garden, flower garden, or herb garden. On top of watching the plants grow, you will start seeing other insects and animals enjoying your plants. Bumblebees, ladybugs, and butterflies love plants and will visit quite often. Something that we can do to increase the health of our environment is to plant plants. Ask your mom or dad to plant a vegetable garden, flower garden, or herb garden. On top of watching the plants grow, you will start seeing other insects and animals enjoying your plants. Bumblebees, ladybugs, and butterflies love plants and will visit quite often. |
Something that we can do to increase the health of our environment is to plant plants. Ask you rmom or dad to plant a vegetable garden, flower garden, or herb garden. On top of watching the plants grow, you will start seeing other insects and animals enjoying your plants. Bumblebees, ladybugs, and butterflies love plants and will visit quite often.
Some great plants to start out with are tomatoes, lavender, daisies, tulips, or lilies. Remeber that there are three kinds of plants that you can buy. These are annuals which will grow for only one season, perennials which will grow for many growing seasons, and biennials which will grow for only two seasons. Once you pick your plants, all you need is a little sunshine, soil, and love. Happy Planting! |
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Weather
The weather is super cool because it controls the actions of our lives. If it is rainy, we have to cancel our outside plans; if it is cold outside, we cancel our plans to the pool. Weather is an amazing concept because it describes the state of the atmosphere. The atmosphere is the space between the earth and space; it is the clouds and the sky. Weather embodies the characteristics of temperature, thunderstorms, cloudiness, precipitation or, humidity. All of these characteristics define our four seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall) and differentiate between them. Rain and mild temperatures, for example, usually defines spring in Indiana; snow and coldness describe winter. If some part of the weather is out of sync for the season, scientists (called meterologists) record it in comparrison to the "normal" behaviors. Meterologists also track the patterns of weather and predict what it will do next. There are some concrete cycles of weather, like the water cycle, while other areas (like temperature) fluctuate more often. The water cycle explains the precipitation of earth and how it connects to the mositure in the soil and the bodies of water on earth. As water from earth evaporates in to the air, it is captured by the clouds. The clouds collect so much moisture that they fill up so much they have to release some. This is rain, snow, ice, or sleet that comes down to the earth. Look at the chart below and understand the water cycle.