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.
Database of Periodic Tables There are hundreds of periodic tables in web space, but there is only one comprehensive database of periodic tables & periodic system formulations. If you know of an interesting periodic table that is missing, please contact the database curator: Dr Mark R Leach. Harrington Periodic Tables So we start this effort tabula rasa (without preconceived ideas). 1) All atoms have a default "common denominator" structure at 270 mass units, irrespective of the element under discussion. Top of Page KAS Periodic Table The KAS periodic table reproduces and depicts the nuclear properties of chemical elements. The Segre Chart is based on the number of protons, Z, and the number of neutrons, N. Location that remains near the Neutron Dripline of element. Read more here, here and here. Sensu or Fan Periodic Table By NAWA, Nagayasu – A Japanese schoolteacher and periodic table designer – a "Sensu" or fan periodic table: URENCO Periodic Table Clock Face Periodic Table In 2014 Prof. Triadic Networks © Mark R.
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.
Water-related Education Materials for High School | The Water Project The following are suggested lesson plans for water-related activities in the high school classroom: The following stand-alone activities are age-appropriate for Grades 9-12: Interactive: EPA’s Interactive Water Cycle View a short animation to learn about the stages of the water cycle EPA’s Interactive Water Treatment Cycle Learn about the water treatment cycle and appropriate vocabulary words with this interactive poster Understanding Watersheds Watch a video to explain what a watershed is EPA’s Interactive Build Your Own Aquifer Learn what aquifers are, how they work, and why they are important EPA’s Interactive Water Filtration Lesson Learn how water is filtered, and follow the instructions to make your own water filter Word Games (may be too young for older students): Drinking Water Word Search Search for drinking water vocabulary words Groundwater Word Search Search for ground water vocabulary words Water Cycle Crossword Puzzle A crossword puzzle that helps to teach about the water cycle
34 Surprising Facts You Need to Know About California's Drought California, like much of the West, has been locked in a years-long drought scientists say could be a harbinger of things to come. Tree-ring records show that droughts lasting decades have hit the region in centuries past, and a warming climate will make much precipitation in and around the state—now delivered in the form of snow, which conveniently stores water for dry summer months—more difficult to capture. The nation's largest state by population and agricultural production need not be a victim of natural forces, however. Policy and infrastructure affect how water is used and delivered, and both have seen updates in recent years. With coordination, modernization, and compromise among regions and economic interests, California should still be able to provide enough water for a growing population and a growing economy. The illustrations below show some of the major sources of water that are drying up, and some of the consumers of water that might have to make do with less.
Nearly Half the World Lacks Access to Clean Water and Sanitation—and That’s the Good News | TakePart Quick, name two things you take for granted nearly every day. Did access to clean water and working sewer lines pop into your head? If they didn’t, here’s something that might help you remember—more than 2.5 billion people worldwide lack access to basic sanitation services, and around 748 men, women, and children don’t have clean water on tap. That’s according to the latest report from the United Nations World Health Organization, which found that while access to sanitation and clean water is improving, major gaps remain in developing countries. Called the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water, the report surveyed 94 countries to analyze the world’s strengths and weaknesses in regard to water, sanitation, and hygiene. “Water and sanitation are essential to human health,” Maria Neira, director of the WHO Public Health and the Environment Department, said in a statement. Here’s what the report has to say about water and sanitation in 2014:
Two Billion People Are Running out of Water Forget about peak oil—we should be worrying about peak water: Groundwater basins that supply 2 billion people are being rapidly depleted, according to a new study. Worse: No one knows how long those reserves will last. A research team led by scientists at the University of California, Irvine, examined the world’s 37 largest aquifers between 2003 and 2013 and found that one-third of them were “stressed,” meaning more water was being removed than replenished, according to one of two studies published Tuesday in the journal Water Resources Research. The eight worst-off aquifers, labeled “overstressed,” had virtually no natural replenishment to offset human consumption. The scientists determined the Northwest Sahara Aquifer System, which supplies water to 60 million people, to be the most overstressed. The findings are alarming, especially as humans increasingly pump groundwater during times of drought. So, Why You Should Care? RELATED: Looking Down From Orbit to Save Water on the Ground
takepart Earlier this year, an obscure United Nations document, the World Water Development Report, unexpectedly made headlines around the world. The report made the startling claim that the world would face a 40 percent shortfall in freshwater in as soon as 15 years. Crops would fail. The U.N. also concluded that the forces destroying the world’s freshwater supply were not strictly meteorological, but largely the result of human activity. Though the U.N. looked at the issue across the globe, the solutions it recommended—capturing rainwater, recycling wastewater, improving sewage and plumbing, and more—need to be implemented locally. We’ve looked at eight cities facing different though representative challenges. Tokyo shouldn’t have a water problem: Japan’s capital enjoys average precipitation similar to that of Seattle or London. Betting on the rain will be a precarious strategy for the world’s most populous city and its suburbs, home to more than 30 million people. But according to the U.S.
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)
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 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.)
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.