Environmental Quality (5-12)

* Natural ecosystems provide an array of basic processes that affect humans. Those processes include maintenance of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the water cycle, disposal of wastes, and recycling of nutrients.  * Materials from human societies affect both physical and chemical cycles of the earth.  * Many factors influence environmental quality, these include population growth, resources, over consumption, capacity of technology, poverty among many.  (NSES, 1996)

The amazing website that Carl Wieman created is called PhET. The name of this Java applet is called The Greenhouse Effect. Students being to answer questions such as just how do greenhouse gases change the climate? Students select the level of atmospheric greenhouse gases during an ice age, in the year 1750, today, or some time in the future and see how the Earth's temperature changes. Add clouds or panes of glass. To see all the PhET interactives click on the link in this sentence.

The name of this "learning tool" is called Global Warming. This web site comes with strong online activities and tutorials that help students understand the concepts and dynamics on this important issue. Virtual Courseware for Earth and Environmental Sciences is an incredible suite of programs & is supported by  the U.S. National Science Foundation & the California State University System. Flash is required.

NASA continues to be a leader in science education! This "learning tool" is called the "Earth Observatory: Data & Images". Here you can explore data sets in a very visual way. Scroll your mouse over Atmosphere, Oceans, Land, Life on Earth, and Heat & Energy to see the specific variables you can choose. Select the variable and then build an animation to see it change over time. We recommend this site in many areas of learningscience.org

The National Weather Service is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S). This site is a treasure trove of useful data for students and teachers. When you get to the site you will see a map of "Warnings and Forecasts". Look to the tabs at the top of this map to explore Graphical Forecasts, National Maps, Radar, Rivers, Air Quality, and Satellite data.

This "learning tool" is called Get a Wif of this Harbor. The purpose is to use satellite data to investigate the biological health of the ocean. A clever combination of remote imaging and clear directions make this a nice lab for students. This is another NASA site from Earth Observatory.

Global Warming Facts and Our Future is a tremendous site to use when discussing the effects humans have had on Earth.  Students can read more about global warming in the topics at the left & there are four great interactives on the right that tackle issues such as changing CO₂ concentrations, future surface temperature, etc.  This “learning tool” is brought to us by Koshland Science Museum.

Greenhouse Effect is a “learning tool” that comes to us from one of the most innovative science education companies, Explorelearning.com. They call their simulations Gizmos. They are a subscription site, but they allow you to see this Gizmo for 5 minutes.  Shockwave is required.

France brings us this elegant and easy "learning tool" does a wonderful job of giving students an overview of how a sewage treatment plant operates. The name  is Une Belle Riviere. Just click the "fast forward" double arrows a few time to get the hang of the process that they are illustrating. This conceptually clean tool was developed through the Space Museum of France. Flash is required. Students do not need to know French to learn from this interactive, the design is so good.

Croak puts your students face to face with facts about ecosystems and ecological balance, water pollution, natural and exotic invaders and predators, and more. Find out why the frog population is declining by interviewing various people around town, investigating leads regarding pollution, predation, poaching, and more. This “learning tool” is brought to us by Access Excellence.

Clean Up Dumptown is a project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 9 office in San Francisco.  Students learn about programs designed to recycle and reduce waste.  Teachers can assign specific goals to include reducing the amount of a particular kind of waste going into the landfill by a particular amount or set research goals - determining the impact of composting on the waste stream, for example.  Shockwave is required.

Students learn how to clean our water with this wonderful simulation entitled Water Treatment. After a short introductory video students must determine just the right amount of everything to clean their water! This interactive was produced by Wonderville and the groundbreaking pioneers of science education at  Science Alberta.