Flint Combats Lead-Contaminated Water Effects On Child Development. Pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha discovered alarming levels of lead in the drinking water of Flint, Mich. NPR's Scott Simon asks her about an initiative she's leading to help the children affected. This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. We're watching an ongoing crisis in Flint, Mich. Governor Rick Snyder has just called on President Obama to declare a state of emergency there. Dangerous levels of lead have leached into the city's water supply. MONA HANNA-ATTISHA: Thanks for having me, Scott. SIMON: You confided in a recent interview that when pediatricians hear the word lead we freak out. HANNA-ATTISHA: We know lead - lead is a potent, irreversible neurotoxin.
SIMON: What do you do? HANNA-ATTISHA: So what we are trying to do is we are trying to throw every single evidence-based intervention at these children. SIMON: What kind of support do you need from not just the state government but the federal government? HANNA-ATTISHA: We need funding for these interventions. Pollution tutorial. Why farmers are concerned about EPA’s new rules on protected water. Clean Water Act: Better at 40. 13 059 8 CleanWater LP v4. NOW with Bill Moyers. Science & Health. Troubled Waters - A Brief History of the Clean Water Act. A Brief History of the Clean Water Act The Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 — the modern Clean Water Act — established a national commitment to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters.
The Clean Water Act has been instrumental in improving the health of rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. It has stopped billions of pounds of pollution from fouling the water, and dramatically increased the number of waterways that are safe from swimming and fishing. In April 2004, Carl Pope of the Sierra Club told NOW's David Brancaccio, "For the first time since the Clean Water Act was passed and enacted under President Nixon, for the first time, EPA reported last year that America's waterways are getting dirtier. " Model My Watershed: Simple Water Balance Simulator. ITSI Portal. The Innovative Technology in Science Inquiry project engages students in STEM activities through the integrated use of technologies that include modeling, computational thinking, and real-time data acquisition. This comprehensive project will assist teachers in preparing diverse students for STEM careers by engaging them in exciting, inquiry-based science projects.
Create ITSI Activity Elementary 3-4 Engineering Elementary 3-4 Life Science Elementary 3-4 Physical Science Elementary 5-6 Earth Science Elementary 5-6 Life Science Elementary 5-6 Physical Science Middle School Earth Science Middle School Engineering Middle School Environmental Science Middle School Life Science Middle School Physical Science High School Biology High School Chemistry High School Environmental Science High School Physics STEM Career Surveys My activities Other activities TES:MMW activities (2016 - 2017) InfoRunPart I: Exploring Watersheds (2016 - 2017) InfoRunPart II: Conservation Practices in My Watershed (2016 - 2017) High-Adventure Science.
Assessments/quizzes. Aquifers/Groundwater. Water Cycle. USGS water data. Philadelphia Tackles Rainwater Runoff Pollution. Activity 1: Podcast - Watershed Dynamics. Purpose The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the concept of rainwater runoff and its environmental consequences. This podcast provides a context for the study of runoff that follows in Activities 2-7 of this module. Overview In this activity, students will listen to the NPR podcast, "Philadelphia Tackles Rainwater Runoff Pollution. " This activity will take place in three parts. Download Teacher Overview Student Guide Answer Key. Water-Related Issues in Montana. The population of much of western and south-central Montana is increasing rapidly. Some of the increase is occurring in cities—such as Bozeman, Missoula, Kalispell, and Helena—but much of the increase is occurring outside of established cities and towns, in areas such as the Gallatin, Bitterroot, Missoula, Paradise, Flathead, and Helena Valleys.
Population increases in cities create additional demands on public water supplies and larger sewage outflows, which can affect the quantity and quality of surface water. Population increases in suburban or rural settings typically create additional demands on groundwater for individual supplies and additional stresses on groundwater quality through the use of individual septic systems. Septic systems may leach nitrates, wastewater compounds such as pharmaceuticals, and even bacteria and viruses into shallow aquifers. Current Activities We have recently completed studies in the Helena and Gallatin valleys examining these issues. Water Use Today | WaterSense. Water in Daily Life In the United States, we are lucky to have easy access to some of the safest treated water in the world—just by turning on the tap. We wake up in the morning, take a shower, brush our teeth, grab a cup of coffee and head out for the day.
Water is an important part of our daily lives and we use it for a wide variety of purposes, but do we really understand how much we use? The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home. Roughly 70 percent of this use occurs indoors. Nationally, outdoor water use accounts for 30 percent of household use yet can be much higher in drier parts of the country and in more water-intensive landscapes. For example, the arid West has some of the highest per capita residential water use because of landscape irrigation.
The Water Around Us Water also plays a big role in our local communities. Where does all this water come from? Understanding Our Own Water Use Commercial, Industrial, Agricultural & Electric Water Use. Gicima. These layers have been selected based of their importance to groundwater related programs and data. Click on features in the map or see below for more information: Bulletin 118 Groundwater Basins: This layer depicts groundwater basins and subbasins as originally described in DWR Bulletin 118 "California's Groundwater" (2003) and updated June 2014. For more information about Bulletin 118 visit the website: Groundwater Management Plan: This layer depicts existing groundwater management plans statewide. Adjudicated Groundwater Basins The information shown in this layer was originally developed for the California Water Plan Update, 2013.
CASGEM Groundwater Basin Prioritization: This layer depicts information developed for the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring Program (CASGEM). Confronting a World Freshwater Crisis. Vital Water Graphics. The terms of the equation remain simple: for the next few decades, given the volume of available water, and under the present circumstances, will it be possible to provide enough water to a population forecast to be at least 9 billion by 2050 (according to the medium hypothesis proposed by the United Nations) using a volume which will be roughly the same as it is now? In the context of stress and scarcity, the challenge will be to find creative ways to manage water resources without emphasizing already existing disputes and conflicts.
This is raising important questions: is it reasonable to envisage more long distance water transfer without threatening water reserves and harming environmental balance? Which are the countries and regions that will suffer the most due to lack of water? And in which countries will an important part of the population still have to wait for decades before being supplied with improved water? A Little Bit of Water, A Lot of Impact : Feature Articles. The moisture trapped in the soil affects a lot more than the health of crops and trees. by Kathryn Hansen Design by Joshua Stevens November 4, 2015 Look at natural–color satellite images and it becomes clear that most of the water on Earth (about 97 percent) is stored in the oceans.
Next you might notice some on the land: liquid water fills lakes and rivers, while frozen water blankets the poles and mountaintops. In the atmosphere, water is visible in the countless tiny droplets that compose the clouds, though there is plenty of moisture even in cloud-free skies. Soil moisture has many expressions and influences in Earth's climate, from evaporation to freezing and thawing ice to droughts and floods. Not immediately visible, however, is the water residing in the soil. Compared to the amount of water stored elsewhere on the planet, the amount in the soil is minuscule. Active radar sensors transmit microwave radiation toward the ground and measure the echoes. The Gravity of Water : Feature Articles. The GRACE mission offers a novel and much neededview of Earth’s water supplies By Holli Riebeek Design by Robert Simmon September 12, 2012 The signature of drought was easy to read in the southern United States in the summer of 2011.
It was in the brown, wilted crops and the bare fields. It was in the clouds of dust that rolled across the sky and in the shrinking reservoirs. It was in the fires that raced through crisp grasslands and forests, devouring homes and wilderness. Two ranchers walk across the plains of drought-stricken West Texas in July 2011. Drought was harder to see as 2011 drew to a close. This lingering, subtle drought was also visible to a highly unusual pair of satellites. In Nebraska, Brian Wardlow and colleagues at the National Drought Mitigation Center watched the drought long before and after the average citizen paid heed. Measurements of underground water storage (aquifers)—rather than surface water (lakes, rivers, etc.)
Earth Observatory : Home. By Steve Graham, Claire Parkinson, and Mous Chahine Design by Robert Simmon October 1, 2010 A previous version of this article, published in 2000, is now archived as a PDF file. Viewed from space, one of the most striking features of our home planet is the water, in both liquid and frozen forms, that covers approximately 75% of the Earth’s surface. Geologic evidence suggests that large amounts of water have likely flowed on Earth for the past 3.8 billion years—most of its existence. Believed to have initially arrived on the surface through the emissions of ancient volcanoes, water is a vital substance that sets the Earth apart from the rest of the planets in our solar system. Earth is a water planet: three-quarters of the surface is covered by water, and water-rich clouds fill the sky. Water, Water, Everywhere Water is practically everywhere on Earth.
Despite its small amount, this water vapor has a huge influence on the planet. The USGS Water Science School: All about water! USGS Home Contact USGS Search USGS The USGS Water Science School The USGS Water Science School Welcome to the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Water Science School. We offer information on many aspects of water, along with pictures, data, maps, and an interactive center where you can give opinions and test your water knowledge. Interactive Water Cycle diagram (three age levels) Water Cycle for Schools | Teacher resources The USGS Water Resources of the United States provides water information that benefits the Nation's citizens. Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices U.S. Education | U.S. Drought Portal. Education A variety of organizations and agencies have produced educational materials on drought. This section identifies some of the best of those materials and divides them into information for K-12 students and teachers and information for general audiences.
Drought for General Audiences The American Water Works Association website includes WaterWiser. Its goal is to be the premier water conservation, efficiency, and demand management information resource. Drought, heatwave and wildfire are among the topics addressed by the Florida Red Cross Disaster Education, Preparedness, Planning and Mitigation Library. The Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) recruits volunteers across the country who monitor and report precipitation.
Drought for K-12 and Above "Drought for Kids" from the National Drought Mitigation Center gives an overview of drought - the science, the impacts, and what people can do to prepare for drought. 2009_04_29_kids_activity_grades_9-12_buildingamodelaquifer.pdf. Lesson_plan09.pdf. Small Grants for K-12 Science Teaching - You Can Get One! Materials for Hands-On Learning If you are an enthusiastic science teacher, you can probably make a long list of lessons that would be easier to teach and more engaging for your students if you had the proper materials for a hands-on lesson.
You have probably purchased the materials needed for some of these lessons out of your own pocket. It is Easy to Obtain Outside Funding Did you know that there is a website named DonorsChoose.org where you can post a very brief description of your project, and people interested in helping you and your students will contribute the money needed to make it happen? Lots of teachers ask for Earth science teaching kits that contain rocks, minerals or fossils.
How Much Can You Ask For? Most of the teachers who write successful proposals are asking for materials that cost between $200 and $600. If your project is successful, you don't receive a check. Does Every Project Receive Funding? Many projects are funded, but not every one. Who Are the Donors? Go for it! For Teachers (Grades 9-12) | Drinking Water. You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more. * This link will open up a large file that may take several minutes to open based on your internet connection speed. (Requires Adobe Flash Classroom Lessons Tracking Pollution - A Hazardous Whodunit PDF (2pp, 237K) - n activity for the class trying to figure out who is responsible for the water pollution and who has to pay for the cleanup in the town of Riverville. - Teachers Guide PDF (2pp, 252K) Building a Model Aquifer PDF (2pp, 256K) - Step by step instruction on building your own aquifer.
Resource Management: Protecting your Drinking Water PDF (2pp, 176K) - This activity will help you estimate your ground water vunerability. Decision Making - A Mock Town Meeting on a Proposed Tank Farm PDF (2pp, 208K) - Your class will represent all of the citizens of Priceford. Games & Activities Question & Answer Game PDF (2pp, 128K) - A card game that you can print and cut apart the individual cards. Give Water - The Water Project. Water-related Education Materials for High School | The Water Project. 12-395. EnvLit - Working Groups - Water Cycle. 34 Surprising Facts You Need to Know About California's Drought. Nearly Half the World Lacks Access to Clean Water and Sanitation—and That’s the Good News | TakePart.
Two Billion People Are Running out of Water. Takepart. A New Theory About What's Causing Oklahoma's Earthquakes. Trunks. Montana Water. Headwaters2.pdf. Exhibit4.pdf. Once-vast Aral Sea dries up to almost nothing.