Inside Global Warming

Over the last 15 years, much attention has been given to global warming, and whether the increase in the Earth\u27s temperature in recent decades threatens the survival of life on Earth. Release of the films The Day After Tomorrow (2004), where North America is rapidly plunged into a new ice age, and An Inconvenient Truth (2006), where Al Gore focuses on the future impacts of global warming, has raised much public and media attention on the subject. As such, it\u27s important that science teachers understand the basics behind the scientific phenomenon, the controversy surrounding the topic, and how to discuss and explore global warming with their students

How Bright is it to Use CFLs? A Look at the Controversy

Commonly referred to as CFLs, compact fluorescent light bulbs are rapidly replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs for residential use. However, controversy and even comic parody have arisen surrounding CFL use. CFLs contain small amounts of mercury, and several public forums and news agencies have been announcing that the breakage of a CFL in one\u27s home may result in exposure to dangerously high mercury levels that can cause serious physical side effects. The purpose of this article is to introduce the basics of how incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs work, explain why the switch to CFLs is being promoted, and summarize the potential hazards of CFL use for the residential consumer

Inside the Rainforests of the Sea: Coral Reefs and Their Endangerment

This article focuses on coral reefs and their endangerment

Issues In-Depth: Advancing Understanding of Drug Addiction and Treatment

While most school districts utilize a drug abuse resistance curriculum, as science teachers, it is our responsibility to understand the science behind drug addiction in order to most effectively educate our students against drug abuse. In the last two decades, increases in scientific technology have permitted significant discoveries surrounding the neurobiology, genetic components, and treatment of drug addition. This article addresses the latest scientific knowledge about drug addition and treatment with information that can be used in the middle school setting, focusing on cocaine addiction to illustrate the points discussed. (Contains 2 online resources.

Are You What You Eat? An Inside Look at High-Tech Food

If we abide by the familiar saying you are what you eat, it is understandable that people may be concerned with the incredible advances in food science technology and their possible impacts on human health. For example, in recent years high-tech scientific processes such as genetic modification, irradiation, and cloning have all been used to increase the safety of food supply, create foods that are more appealing to eat and easier to produce, and increase crop yields. This article will summarize a few hot topics in food science, address what is currently known about the safety of these processes, and present resources on the subject to use with your students

Making Science Teams Work

Science teachers, likely have more experience with students working together than teachers in any other subject area due to teaming students for hands-on activities. While the importance of teamwork is emphasized in the National Science Education Standards, getting teams to actually work-meaning getting students to share equally in the academic assignments and to interact in a positive and productive manner-often eludes even the best of teachers. It has been the author\u27s experience as a middle level science teacher that effective teaming requires careful planning, clear communication with students and parents, relevant motivational strategies, and arranging the classroom and activities to facilitate teaming-all in the first week of school

The Pet Food Recall Puzzle: Who, What, Why, and How Much

Last spring, North America was gripped in the largest pet food recall in history. News outlets reported tens of thousands of dogs and cats becoming ill, and many dying, as a result of ingesting contaminated pet food. Several pet owners have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of the pet food products. I think this is an excellent real-life science story to use with students to show science investigation in action, and to discuss the intersections between the role of regulatory agencies and the public. In order to understand the case, you first have to know the facts. We\u27ll begin with a timeline; unless otherwise noted, all dates occurred in 2007. Below each significant date are questions that can be explored with students

The Ins and Outs of Curbside Recycling Programs

In recent years, numerous municipalities in the United States and abroad have implemented either mandatory or voluntary curbside recycling programs. In most of these programs, household trash is sorted into paper, metal (steel and aluminum), and plastic products prior to its collection and then transported for processing into recycled materials. While the materials are not recycled at the curbside, the term curbside recycling generally now represents both the collection and sorting phases for these household materials. Before we get into specifics, please note that this particular article will only address the third R of solid waste management--recycling--and not reducing or reusing materials (3Rs = reduce, reuse, recycle). These three processes are all means by which waste generation is decreased, but each is distinctly different from the others. The definition of recycling is limited to the collection of existing materials or products that are then used as the raw source, or stock, for the production of new materials. The materials collected are diverted from the waste stream, thus decreasing the total amount of solid waste generated

Roll Tape? Recommendations Regarding Video Viewing in Public School Classrooms

The writer provides some guidelines and a review of the laws regarding television or movie viewing in public schools. In general, if a teacher wants to use a video in class, the video should be tied to instruction and parents should be notified if the nature of the video might be construed as objectionable in any way to a reasonable observer

Cloning: A Critical Analysis of Myths and Media

The writer discusses cloning and the teaching of science and media literacy. She provides information on cloning and presents myths about cloning perpetuated by the media. She then provides activities that improve students\u27 media literacy and critical thinking through an investigation of the media\u27s portrayal of cloning