The Battle of Global Warming

This is for you, Nick and Gabriel - have fun, but be civil!!!

Of course, anyone can post, but Nick & Gabriel have been arguing about this for awhile...

From Wikipedia:

"The global warming controversy is an ongoing dispute about the effects of humans on global climate and about what policies should be implemented to avoid possible undesirable effects of climate change.

The current scientific consensus on climate change is that recent warming indicates a fairly stable long-term trend, that the trend is largely human-caused, and that serious damage may result at some future date if steps are not taken to halt the trend. Mainstream scientific organizations worldwide (Royal Society, American Geophysical Union, Joint Science Academies, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, American Meteorological Society, and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)) concur with the assessment that "most of the observed warming over the last 50 years is likely to have been due to the [human caused] increase in greenhouse gas concentrations"[1].

However, there is also a small but vocal number of scientists in climate and climate-related fields that disagree with the consensus view.

There is considerable opposition from parts of the political and business communities both to the conclusion that humans are causing climate change, and to the need to take action to reduce human effects on climate. Chiefly, opposition arises because of claims that these actions would cause enormous expense and disruption to the current geopolitical and economic situation, with no obvious recognizable short-term benefits.

This is a public and political debate. While the climate projections involved in the discussion are constrained by basic physical principles (though they depend on assumptions about emissions), political and economic effects of both global warming and mitigation are more difficult to quantify. As an example, in asking whether the costs of reducing fossil fuel dependency compare with the costs of not taking action, one is confronted by the fact that it is difficult to anticipate social or technological changes that affect such costs."

So what do you think? What is your responsibility as a member of human society? What is the US's role as a word leader? What should businesses do? What suggestions do you have? Are you worried about the world that you are leaving for your grandchildren's grandchildren? Or is this all much ado about nothing?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Whether you're at home or visiting family or friends, I wish everyone a wonderful day! Eat good food, hang with your family, take a good turkey-induced nap, watch football, and give thanks for all the good things you have in your life!

Peace!

Easier Quizzes - Boost Your Confidence!

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

You Passed 8th Grade US History

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade History?

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

Kiwi - Thinking Outside the Box!

Kiwi

Add to My Profile More Videos

(Kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand - FYI)

The Genius Quiz - I Am A Genius, Of Course!

Here's another quiz - see how you do - don't be intimidated, it helps that I've had college level calculus and I am a science teacher!

You Are 93% Genius!

You did very well on this quiz, and it seems that you are indeed a genius. Congratulations on achieving a great score. Well done!

The Genius Quiz

Fun Planet Quizzes - No Grades Involved!

Try these out and post your results in the comments section. Apparently, I have a deep affinity for Mars...

You Are From Mars

You're energetic, althletic, and totally hyperactive. You love playing sports and being in the middle of all of the action. You're independent, corageous, and brave. Unafraid to do things your way. Mars can be reckless, quick tempered, and a little too spontaneous. So think before you act - and resist your natural urges to dominate others.

What Planet Are You From?

You Should Rule Mars

Mars is a planet that shines brightly and loops wildly around the solar system. You are perfect to rule Mars, because you are both energetic and independent. Like Mars, you seems attractive and bright to others - but you're difficult to pin down. You are a great thinker, but you only think in the present and ignore the future. Full of enthusiasm and inspiration, you are into your own thing... and rather insensitive to others.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Wahsega was a good time - we had 2 days of great weather - good for those outdoor learning activities. Some cold nights - glad I bought a sleeping bag that is good for arctic temperatures! We did a little bit of everything - history, ecology, astronomy, and more.

Favorite activity? Stream ecology - we waded in the creek and dug up little critters to evaluate the health of the habitat. We found all kinds of good stuff - I personally found a couple crawdads, some mayfly larvae, and a stone fly in a weird pupae/larval stage. Brianna was in hot pursuit in the critter-finding competition (I'm sure I won, even if she did find a fish). Pioneer Life was pretty groovy, too - we panned for gold (and even found a little - not enough to pay for college, though), made hand-dipped candles, and even ate corn-bread cooked over an open flame! Forest Ecology would been great if it hadn't rained so much.

Best moment? Walking around the pond in the warm sun and finding dozens of salamanders hanging out and soaking up the warmth.

Second favorite? Watching the kids pull KP - Cleaner? $5. Mop? $15. Watching students mop the floor in unison? PRICELESS!

So here's to the Bob-Cats - best learning group on the trip - you guys rock! And here's to the girls of cabin 12 - we toughed it out in our unheated cabin - and your hair still looked great! And to all the ECMS AC Crew - woohoo!

I Love a Good Sci-Fi Disaster Movie!

I even like bad sci-fi disaster movies if the special effects are good!

Movies will stretch the science a little (sometimes a lot) to make the plot better or to use more interesting special effects. The biggest question I have while watching is, "Could that REALLY happen?"

Moveis I enjoyed, even though the science might have been a little weak, include Volcano, Dante's Peak, The Day After Tomorrow, The Core, Deep Impact, and The Poseidon Adventure. Twister and Armageddon have some good scenes, but the plot and/or the acting were so ridiculous that I didn't really enjoy them. Can you think of others?

There are some sites devoted to analyzing the science behind movies. Two are Bad Astronomy and Insulting Stupid Movie Physics

What are your favortie sci-fi or disaster movies? What is the best special effect you've ever seen? Which movies seem the most likely to happen? How about least likely to happen? Can you think of questions related to movies you've seen?

And Yet Another Favorite Volcano! Happy Belated Birthday Surtsey!

First, I wanted to post a couple more pics from Crater Lake. One is a cross section showing the layout of the lake, and the other is of Phantom ship, another volcanic island in the lake.

Another favorite volcano is the volcanic island Surtsey. Surtsey is cool because it was actually "born" on November 8, 1963. It's been particularly interesting to botanists and biologists, because they got to study how plant and animal life arrive and thrive in a new and barren location. Read more here.

Another Favorite Volcano!

How could I forget Crater Lake? This volcano absolutely fascinated me as a child. During an eruption about 7,700 years ago, the top of the volcano collapsed into the empty lava chamber, creating a huge caldera that filled with water - this became the lake. The original peak of the volcano became an island in the middle. Cool, eh?

Oh, Bummer!!

Well, the weather just did not cooperate today, and so we were unable to view Mercury's transit of the sun. What we were hoping to see was the tiny disk of Mercury as a round shadow crossing the face of the sun as shown in the image above. More infomation about Mercury's transit can be found here.

I was disappointed - I have never had much luck very transits. I've had much better luck with eclipses. Have you seen an eclipse (solar or lunar)? What did you think?

Extra Practice for Tomorrow's Test

Quiz links for tomorrow's test - be sure to e-mail the results to charmagne.quenan@cobbk12.org

Mineral Quiz
Same in Spanish
CRCT Style
Interactive Tutor

Rock Quiz
Same in Spanish
CRCT Style
Interactive Tutor

(If the Interactive Tutor gets an "abort" message, click on it, and hit your back button - weird, but it works - or go to the glencoe site through one of the other quiz links, and use the menu on the left to find the interactive tutor).

For more help, check out the following BrainPop movies here: Fossils, Weathering, Types of Rocks, and Mineral Identification

Good luck!

Yet Another Diet Coke and Mentos Video

Oh, this was just too cool - I had to share!

Even if you've seen the reaction, this one displays some serious artistry!

Dialogo language school and Cobb County

Here is the video of my trip with Cobb county teachers to Brazil. You will see Salvador, the city I stayed in, some of the field trips I went on (including a high school where we watched the kids rehearse a play), and unfortunately for you, some footage of me trying to samba.

Enjoy (or not, as the case may be).

Mt. Everest Summit Video / Film - Everest Peace Expedition

An amazing and touching summit video from The Everest Peace Project's Everest Climb for Peace. History was made as they had the first Israeli - Palestinian summit push; and a joint Israeli/Palestnian flag was raised on the summit. www.everestpeaceproject.org ... The closest most of us will get to the summit most likely - amazing...