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:idea: NOAA's Bay Watershed Education and Training.

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01:00:57 am, by Pablo Edronkin, 368 words
Categories: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Meteorology and Climatology, Aquatic and Water Ecosystems, Education, Grants

NOAA Awards Santa Barbara Area Environmental Education Grants

NOAA has announced the presentation of seven education grants totaling nearly $374,000 to Santa Barbara Channel area schools and non-profit groups. The grants, part of NOAA's Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program, will support environmental education projects focused on NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Funding was awarded to school districts and nonprofit organizations, many benefiting underprivileged students. Programs will take place in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and focus on two areas: meaningful watershed educational experiences for students; and professional development for educators. Several projects received funding up to $60,000.

Among the seven grantees are:

:idea: Oak Grove School (Ojai): Students from three schools learn about community stewardship through restoration activities such as soil sampling, invasive plant removal, seed collecting and native planting of the historic Ojai Meadows Preserve, located directly adjacent to the schools.

:idea: Ventura County Office of Education (Ventura County): Students explore a diverse marine environment through active participation in monitoring and data collection on their local Channel Islands and live interaction with researchers and scientists.

:idea: University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara and Ventura counties): Teachers are provided with instruction on how to integrate watershed studies into their ongoing curricula, how to select watershed curriculum materials, and how to provide hands-on, inquiry-based field experiences to their students.

"This area is a natural learning laboratory to be used by our teachers to teach about the value of the coastal environment and the connection between land and sea," said Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Chris Mobley. "These grants will provide an opportunity for students to see, touch and learn about our national marine sanctuaries and the watersheds that lead to them."

The NOAA B-WET Program was established in 2002 to enhance environmental stewardship among students, teachers and communities through education. Recognizing that an educated community is the key to understanding and sustaining the nation's ocean and coastal environments, NOAA has developed B-WET programs across the United States.

Author / Source / Credit: NOAA

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:idea: NOAA's Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

:idea: NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

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Tags: b-wet, channel islands, noaa grant, santa barbara

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12:20:19 am, by Pablo Edronkin, 256 words
Categories: Aeronautics, Air Travel, United States of America (USA), Educational Games, Education, Prizes and Rewards, Tournaments

NASA Challenges Students to Imagine Supersonic Airliner

WASHINGTON - A new NASA competition is challenging students in high school and college to research and describe a small, supersonic airliner that could enter commercial service in the next decade.

During the upcoming academic year, individuals and teams of high school students will prepare well-documented short papers describing what needs to be accomplished to make supersonic flight available to commercial passengers by 2020. Advanced curriculum high school students and college participants will prepare longer papers that depict a highly efficient, environmentally friendly commercial aircraft that would emit only low sonic booms and be ready for initial overland service in 2020.

The competition is intended to encourage students to develop science and engineering skills and choose careers in aeronautics research and development.

The Fundamental Aeronautics Program of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington is sponsoring the competition and will review and score the entries. Submissions will be judged on informed content, imagination, innovation, creativity, relevancy, organization and writing.

High school winners may be eligible for individual cash awards of up to $1,000 and team awards of up to $1,500. University-level winners may be eligible for paid student internship offers and cash awards of up to $5,000. Cash awards and paid internships are subject to the availability of funds, and only U.S. citizens are eligible to receive them.

For more contest information and submission guidelines, visit: http://aero.larc.nasa.gov/competitions.htm

Author / Source / Credit: NASA

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Tags: airliners, concorde, supersonic

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2008-09-06

11:43:53 pm, by Federico Ferrero, 505 words
Categories: Climate Change, Meteorology and Climatology, Australia, Renewable Energy Sources, Unclean Energy Sources

Garnaut Gives Up on Safe Climate

Canberra, Friday September 5, 2008: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd must go far beyond the 5 to 10 per cent 2020 target recommended by economist Professor Ross Garnaut, which flies in the face of the UN range agreed in Bali last year.

In his report, Professor Garnaut has all but given up on reaching a global agreement to combat catastrophic climate change.

´This is the Government´s chief climate change advisor suggesting Mr Rudd write a death warrant for the Great Barrier Reef, the Kakadu National Park, and our international reputation´, Greenpeace head of campaigns Steve Campbell said.

Professor Garnaut´s suggestion that we accept an atmosphere with 550 parts per million greenhouse gas concentration would mean up to 39 per cent of the worlds species would become extinct, that there would be a 77 per cent chance that the Greenland ice sheets would melt irreversibly and 87 per cent of the worlds coral would die.

´Accepting this kind of damage to the planet is completely immoral´, Mr Campbell said.

Professor Garnaut said today it would cost less than 1 per cent of gross national product for our contribution to keep carbon pollution down to 450 ppm.

´That is nothing to pay to secure the future of this planet,' Mr Campbell.

´It is far too early to give up on achieving a global agreement to achieve a safe climate.

´All countries must adopt a war footing and play to win this fight.´

There is hope of reaching a good global outcome, but it is vital that Australia positions itself as a leader.

The best way to do this is to adopt a target that shows international leadership. That means Mr Rudd must commit to reducing carbon emissions by at least 40 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020.

´Mr Rudd must use his international negotiation skills to get the rest of the developed world to do the same,´ Mr Campbell said.

At the UN climate change talks in Bali last year, an emission reduction target range of 25 to 40 per cent for developed nations.

Professor Garnaut suggests Australia directly contravenes that agreement.

If Mr Rudd accepts such a weak target, he is telling the rest of the world Australia is not the leader on climate change it appeared to be at Bali, Greenpeace head of campaigns Steve Campbell said.

´He is saying that Australia puts profit over the security of our planet. Australia has a lot to lose from climate change and it is in our best interests to be leading with our own targets now, in order to bring about a global agreement,´ Mr Campbell said.

Reducing emissions by more than 40 per cent on 1990 levels is achievable.

Earlier this year, Greenpeace released a report called Australias Energy [R]evolution, which contained modelling proving that emissions can be cut by 37 per cent by 2020 in the energy and transport sectors alone by rolling out large-scale renewable energy and implementing energy efficiency measures.

Author / Source / Credit: Greenpeace Autralia Pacific

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