Spring into action!You don't have to tackle global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. or rain forest destruction to help the environment. You can make a difference right in your own backyard. Worried about not doing enough for the environment? You're not alone You're Not Alone may refer to:
Here are three stories of teens who went "out there" and changed their local environments. Maybe they'll help you get ideas and take action. After all, says 13-year-old Sarah Moss of Normal, IL, we can solve some big problems "if everybody does a little bit." GUARDIANS OF THE CREEK Last December, 15-year-old Kenny Schimm was on his way to fish in Percival Creek in Olympia, WA. But Kenny canned the trip when he noticed "something nasty" streaming into the creek. It looked like sewage, he reported to his environmlental sciences class. The students had been keeping tabs on pollutants in the creek, so they decided to do some new tests and compare the results with their old data. To test for bacteria, a main component of sewage, they collected water samples and incubated them overnight. The next morning, they counted about a thousand times more bacteria than they had previously found. "We knew something was really wrong and we had to fix it," recalls 14-year-old Angelique Harner. The class alerted the city sewer department. Within hours, a crew discovered sewage overflowing from a clogged line near the creek. When the problem was fixed, bacteria levels returned to normal. Kenny's class is a part of a worldwide network of student river watchers. URBAN GARDENERS Can't get our into nature? Bring nature to your doorstep! That's what That's What is one of the more idiosyncratic releases by solo steel-string guitar artist Leo Kottke. It is distinctive in it's jazzy nature and "talking" songs ("Buzzby" and "Husbandry"). students in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. and New Haven New Haven, city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many , CT, did--by turning vacant lots into gardens. Mott Hall middle schoolers in West Harlem, NY, studied the kinds of wildlife that flourished in their neighborhood when Native Americans This is a list of Native Americans (first nations and descendents) Cherokee
Science classes at the school tend the garden. "We put in a compost pile Noun 1. compost pile - a heap of manure and vegetation and other organic residues that are decaying to become compost compost heap cumulation, heap, pile, agglomerate, cumulus, mound - a collection of objects laid on top of each other ," says 12-year-old Baldwin Pena. "We take weeds and leaves that fall from trees and let them decompose de·com·pose v. de·com·posed, de·com·pos·ing, de·com·pos·es v.tr. 1. To separate into components or basic elements. 2. To cause to rot. v.intr. 1. . Then we use them as fertilizer." In New Haven, students planted vegetables in vacant lots. "First, we cleaned up trash," says 12-year-old Cassandra Mitchell. Then they made compost for fertilizer and built houses for birds and bats--natural predators that will eat insect pests. FISH SAVERS Members of Kids For A Clean Environment (Kids FACE) in Orlando, FL, could see that Lake Apopka Lake Apopka is one of the largest lakes in Florida in the United States. It is located west of Orlando and mostly in Orange County, but the western part is in Lake County. , near their hometown, was having difficulty sustaining life. "There were a whole bunch of dead fish and a lot of algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that and grunge grunge - /gruhnj/ 1. That which is grungy, or that which makes it so. 2. [Cambridge] Code which is inaccessible due to changes in other parts of the program. The preferred term in North America is dead code. at the shoreline," recalls group leader Scott Graham. To bring plant and animal life back to the lake, the kids decided to hold a sock drive. They had learned from local environmentalits that sand-filled socks could weigh down plant seedlings so their roots could take hold in the lake bed. Fish could then spawn among the plants. The problem: The kids needs lots of socks. Scott's group offered an ice cream party to the class at their school that could collect the most socks--new or used. They ended up with 1,500 socks in all. "We took all the socks down to Lake Apopka, puts plants into the socks, and then put the socks into holes we dug right near the shore," Scott recalls. It may take five or more years for the lake to recover, but Scott's group gave it a running start. To save a lake in your area or take on a variety of environmental problems, join one of the 2,000 Kids FACE chapters in the U.S.: |
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