April 22, 2010
Perching on the high branch of a tree at the bottom of the driveway of my house in the Hudson Highlands of New York State, was this "animal that nobody loves," an Eastern Turkey Vulture. The Turkey Vulture is the most common vulture in the New World.
Almost exclusively a scavenger (which means it eats the carcasses of dead animals), the Turkey Vulture rarely kills for its food. The Turkey Vulture tends to hunt by itself. It uses its highly-developed sense of smell to locate carcasses even hidden beneath a forest of trees. 
The Turkey Vulture on my tree was hunting in the area of my house which includes farmland with pasture and plenty of undisturbed forested areas for perching, roosting, and nesting. The large bird nests in dark recesses beneath boulders, on cliff ledges, in hollow trees, logs, and stumps, and in abandoned buildings.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 22, 2010
COST-SAVING, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES
YOU’VE PROBABLY NEVER HEARD OF
Everyone knows that you can reduce your carbon footprint if you go out and buy a hybrid car, or replace all your household appliances with new EnergyStar models. But most people can’t afford to make these kinds of big changes.
Here are three effective actions that cost little or nothing, and you can start TODAY!
1. Consider eating vegetarian one or two nights per week.[1]
Producing one calorie of meat protein means burning more than ten times as many fossil fuels (generating more than ten times as much heat-trapping carbon dioxide) as does the production of one calorie of plant protein.
As surprising as it may sound, raising animals for food creates huge amounts of greenhouse gases. A recent report by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences concluded that almost a fifth of all greenhouse gas come from livestock production. That’s more emissions than from all of the world’s transportation (cars, buses, trains and planes) combined.
2. Get the best fuel economy out of the car you have.[2]
Not everyone can afford to buy a new hybrid, but fuel consumption is directly related to the amount of CO2 emitted no matter what kind of car you drive.
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by...
read morePosted by: Seymour Simon
April 21, 2010
Today’s Earth Day post comes from my friend and fellow science writer, Jordan Brown. Hope you enjoy it! - Seymour
On Earth Day, as we celebrate our planet’s biodiversity, and marvel at all the remarkable ways that species are interconnected, why do many people ignore the tiniest creatures?
Be honest: When’s the last time you thanked a microbe? I’m guessing “never.” You’re not alone! Most folks are unaware of the HUGE impact that teeny-tiny creatures, such as bacteria, have on our planet.
Brown, Jordan. MICRO MANIA. Morganville, NJ: Imagine Publishing, 2009. Page 13 Photo: iStockphoto
Earth Day is the perfect time to learn more about at all the little life forms that share our home. While writing my new kids science book MICRO MANIA, I learned
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 20, 2010
This past Saturday, April 17, Seymour Simon was invited to read from his GLOBAL WARMING book as part of the The Climate Rally on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The stage was placed directly in between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument, so it was quite an honor to be on the program!
Here are some excerpts from what he told the crowd about why he wrote GLOBAL WARMING:
"There is a Native American proverb that powers and informs the reasons and ideals of our approach to the problems of climate change and global warming.
Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents;
it was loaned to you by your children.
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors;
we borrow it from our Children.
I was a teacher in the New York City School System for nearly 25 years. I’ve written over 250 books for children about animals and the wonders of Earth and Space. Each year, I speak to thousands and thousands of children in schools in all parts of the country, in the South to the North, from East to West. I tell them about butterflies and polar bears, I talk to them about lightning and tornadoes; I take them on a journey from Earth to the ends of the universe using the words and images in my books. I’ve written books about nearly every science and nature subject you can imagine.
The earth is so big and the subject is so vast, that you might think that kids get overwhelmed. ‘What does all this mean to me?’ you might think that they respond. Well, you might be surprised at what they really do say. Here’s what many of them ask me: ‘Where do I fit in? What’s my place in the universe? What is it all about? And what about me?’ ”
And then he read excerpts from his GLOBAL WARMING book, with images projected on the big screen. He finished and left the crowd with the following thought:
"Knowledge empowers people with our most powerful tool: The ability to think and decide. There is no power for change greater than a child discovering what he or she cares about."
By the way, does anyone know the name of the red brick building in the background of this photograph? It’s the Smithsonian Institution - how appropriate a setting for Seymour’s Earth Day speech!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
April 19, 2010
Our Planet Earth is putting on quite a show in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! For those interested in seeing photographs, the Boston Globe.com ran a feature this weekend with twenty striking images of the volcano, including shots of people on cross country skis taking photographs at the edge of the hot lava. Talk about a study in contrasts!
The volcano continues to erupt in Iceland, and air travel is still disrupted in northern Europe and Great Britain. If you look at this satellite image, you can see why:
Photo: AP Photo/NEODAAS/University of Dundee
The land mass at the top/left of the photo is Iceland. The two land masses at the bottom/center of the photo are Ireland and Britain. You can see why no planes are flying out of England - the country is enveloped in volcanic ash.
This volcano has not been studied extensively, so scientists do not know how long the eruptions might continue. From what has been observed so far, there will not be a significant impact on Europe’s weather. It takes a very big volcanic event to impact weather across a continent, or across the globe. When Mount Pinatubo erupted in the Phillippines on June 15, 1991, scientists estimated that 20-million tons of sulfur dioxide and ash particles blasted more than 12 miles high into the atmosphere. The eruption caused widespread destruction and loss of human life. And, the gases and solids injected into the stratosphere enveloped our globe for three weeks.That volcano caused an average 10% drop in temperatures, affecting the world’s weather that year.
The eruption of the Tambora volcano in 1815 (in what is now Indonesia) was one of the biggest weather influencers ever, triggering the famous Year without a Summer in 1816.
Scientists do not agree on whether even a huge volcanic eruption (much bigger than the one we’re experiencing this week) could ever have a long-term impact on climate.
Remember, weather is different from climate. When you talk about weather, you are talking about what is happening in the atmosphere that day in a particular location. Weather tells you whether to wear a raincoat one day, or a sleeveless shirt and...
read morePosted by: Seymour Simon
April 18, 2010
When I was in Washington, DC this weekend to speak at the Climate Rally in honor of Earth Day, I picked up this hand-out, provided by The Alliance for Climate Protection, Earth Day Network and The Nature Conservancy.
CONSIDER THESE SOBERING FACTS:
· Climate change is linked to stronger hurricanes, more drought and increased coral deaths from bleaching.
· One-fourth of the Earth’s species will be headed for extinction by 2050 if the warming trend continues at its current rate.
· Oceans span 70% of the Earth’s surface. And only one percent of oceans are protected.
· The current pace of sea-level rise is 50 percent faster than in the last century.
THINGS THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY OR FRIENDS CAN DO:
· You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.
· Plant trees. A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
· Turn down that air conditioner! Air conditioning and heating account for almost HALF of electricity use in the average American home.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 15, 2010
In Iceland today, hundreds of people have been evacuated as floodwaters rise from the eruption of the volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier. This is the second time it has erupted in less than a month. As water gushed down the mountainside, rivers had risen up to 10 feet by Wednesday night.
The volcano’s smoke and ash poses a threat to aircraft because it can affect visibility, and microscopic debris can get sucked into airplane engines and can cause them to shut down. Airports are closed across Western Europe, including London’s Heathrow, where up to 180,000 people fly in a typical day.
Iceland is a volcanic island, so this type of event is not unexpected. I included some spectacular photographs of explosions of Icelandic volcanoes in my Collins/Smithsonian book, VOLCANOES.
In 1963, an area of the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland began to boil and churn. An undersea volcano was exploding and a new island was being formed. The island was named Surtsey, after the ancient Norse god of fire.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 7, 2010
One of the things we thought was really great at THE TECH in San Jose is their annual competition.
Called "The Tech Challenge," it is an annual team design challenge for grades 5 through 12. Using the scientific process, entrants design a hands-on project intended to solve a real-world problem.
Here is how they describe this year’s challenge:
You and your team need to design and build a solution that can help rid the Universe of Space Junk one item at a time - and your mission is to get an inoperative satellite to burn up upon re-entry by attaching two Hall Thrusters, Size "D" Batteries will be used to represent the thrusters, to its thruster docking ports - and it must be done from the deck of your temporary home - The International Space Station.
There are lots more details on the Tech Challenge 2010 Website.
Whether you are entering yourself or simply going to see what kids have come up with, this is bound to be lots of fun.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
April 7, 2010
We’re in Silicon Valley this week, talking to various developers about educational apps that we might create with some of my content. While we were there, we visited THE TECH in San Jose - an excellent museum of technology and innovation.
While I was there I asked this robot: WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AUTHOR? Press PLAY for his response!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 6, 2010
Each year in the week before Earth Day the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launches a program called National Environmental Education Week, offering resources for kids, teachers and families to use in order "to get involved in lessons and activities that teach valuable environmental skills."
EE Week inspires environmental learning and stewardship among K-12 students by connecting educators with environmental resources to promote students’ understanding of the environment. The website offers Teacher Resources including lesson plans, a promotional tool kit, and a video message from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson which explains the scope of the program.
These are free resources, available to all. Explore and enjoy!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
