Rapid changes at Earth's surface, largely in response to human activity, have led to the realization that fundamental questions remain to be answered regarding the natural functioning of the Critical Zone, the thin veneer at Earth's surface where the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere interact. EARTH 530 will introduce you to the basics necessary for understanding Earth surface processes in the Critical Zone through an integration of various scientific disciplines. Those who successfully complete EARTH 530 will be able to apply their knowledge of fundamental concepts of Earth surface processes to understanding outstanding fundamental questions in Critical Zone science and how their lives are intimately linked to Critical Zone health.

Students learn about the concepts of the tragedy of the commons and sustainability in the Course Introduction. Project 1 builds on these concepts by having students analyze their family’s ecological footprint using data they collect by auditing their use of various resources. Students then propose how they their family live more sustainably. Part of Sprocket's AP environmental science course.

Lurking beneath our natural desire to ensure that water will always be available to perform its many life-supporting functions is the fear that it will run out. Our thinking (in truth, our feeling) about water tends to be dominated by myth and misunderstanding. We believe that our 'need' for water is exponentially greater than other wants and needs; we also believe that this intense 'need' confers special status, making water a unique resource. We mistrust the ability of people to recognize water's special status, and we assert that only through common or public ownership can we preserve water for future generations. Paradoxically, while our conviction that water is unique derives from our knowledge of its many important uses, we have trouble acknowledging the value of water in anything other than pristine form. We tend to assume that, when it comes to water, there's no such thing as 'too clean.' Unfortunately, in acquiescing to these myths, we make things worse; we create for ourselves an intellectual box that constrains our ability to conserve the resource we value so highly. These lessons challenge the myths and use economic reasoning to suggest a new way to think about our use of this vital resource. In brief, the lessons assert: (1) that in economic terms, water is not fundamentally different from any other resource, good, or service; and (2) that many of the answers to our concerns about water conservation and water quality can be found in markets, the same institution that provides us bread, shoes, underwear, tractors, flowers, computers, charities, flu shots, bubblegum, the collectible craze of the moment, and the myriad other products we find 'essential' to the way we wish to live.

Students are briefly introduced to Maxwell's equations and their significance to phenomena associated with electricity and magnetism. Basic concepts such as current, electricity and field lines are covered and reinforced. Through multiple topics and activities, students see how electricity and magnetism are interrelated.

In this activity, learners conduct a simple experiment to see how electrically charged things like plastic attract electrically neutral things like water. The plastic will attract the surface of the water into a visible bump.

A learning activity for the "All About Earth: Our World on Stage" book in the Elementary GLOBE series. In pairs, students will create experimental conditions in terrariums in order to study what plants need to live. Variables to study include the presence or absence of soil, water, and sunlight. Students will record the growth of radish plants as well as observations of "the water cycle" in their terrariums. At the conclusion of their experiments, students will share their results with the class and discuss how water, Earth materials, and air are all necessary to support living things. The purpose of the activity is to acquaint students with the hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere more closely, to have students use microcosms to study natural phenomena, and to introduce students to the concept of a "fair test" in a scientific investigation. After completing this activity, students will know about the importance of the hydrosphere, geosphere, and atmosphere in supporting the biosphere. They will learn how to set up "fair test", record detailed observations, use drawings as scientific records, make sense of experimental results, and share them publicly.

Students will use various objects in the classroom to experiment with nonstandard measurement. They will make estimates and test them out. Then, working in pairs or small groups, students will use a ruler or a measuring tape to become familiar with how to use these tools for standard linear measurement. The purpose of this activity is to practice making standard and non-standard measurement and to learn the purpose of making linear measurements and how to apply them to scientific investigations. Students will learn how to make measurements, both nonstandard and standard (with a ruler). They will test their estimates and record their results.

Students will be introduced to different species of macroinvertebrates. They will hypothesize why each insect looks the way it does. Then students will make observations of macroinvertebrates. in an aquarium in their classroom. For an optional extension, teachers can take students to a local stream or pond to conduct field observations. The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to hydrology and the study of macroinvertebrates. and to understand how macroinvertebrates. help scientists understand water quality. After completing this activity, students will have an understanding of what macroinvertebrates. are and why scientists study them.

A learning activity for the "All About Earth: Our World on Stage" book in the Elementary GLOBE series. One of the "big ideas" in Earth system science is the notion of interaction among parts of the Earth system. In the Elementary GLOBE book All About Earth: Our World on Stage, the children in Ms. Patel's class discuss instances of how the four major spheres of Earth's system interact. They symbolize these interactions by using large arrows to link the system components: air, water, soil, living things and the Sun. In this activity, students continue to explore the idea of interaction among Earth components as they identify processes in the Earth system and indicate how they illustrate an interaction between two of the Earth system components. The purpose of the activity is to help students deepen their understanding of interconnections among Earth's systems, help students to identify processes where Earth's systems are interacting, and to provide practice in the observation and recording of natural phenomena. After completing this activity, students will understand that Earth system interactions are all around them, going on all the time, and that Earth's processes are interconnected. They will learn how to make observations and identify the interactions they illustrate.

This video defines energy, reviews a model of different types of energy and presents the four known stable global energy resources. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video takes an in-depth look at the annual energy available on earth against the amount of energy used by humans. It uses a graphic, published by Wes Hermann in the journal Energy, to makes clear the different energy fluxes. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video goes through the carbon cycle and describes how using fossil fuels threatens the foundation of the aquatic global food chain. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video describes in detail the greenhouse effect and how recovery from energy from fossile fuels results in green house gases. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

This video distinguishes between renewable and non-renewable energy resources. It examines the question, "How long to do we have before we exhaust non-renewable resources?" It also looks at alternatives to non-renewable energy resources. This video is part of the Sustainability Learning Suites, made possible in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation. See 'Learn more about this resource' for Learning Objectives and Activities.

A survey of how America has become the world’s largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70’s energy crisis, global warming, and possible paths for the future.

A survey of how America has become the world’s largest consumer of energy. Explores American history from the perspective of energy and its relationship to politics, diplomacy, the economy, science and technology, labor, culture, and the environment. Topics include muscle and water power in early America, coal and the Industrial Revolution, electrification, energy consumption in the home, oil and U.S. foreign policy, automobiles and suburbanization, nuclear power, OPEC and the 70’s energy crisis, global warming, and possible paths for the future.

Learn about environmental chemistry through engaging, bitesize animated videos. The videos are organised into chapters including: the earth, the air, water, rocks, metals and their reactivity, global warming, carbon chemistry, fuels and recycling.

In this unit, students explore the various roles of environmental engineers, including: environmental cleanup, water quality, groundwater resources, surface water and groundwater flow, water contamination, waste disposal and air pollution. Specifically, students learn about the factors that affect water quality and the conditions that enable different animals and plants to survive in their environments. Next, students learn about groundwater and how environmental engineers study groundwater to predict the distribution of surface pollution. Students also learn how water flows through the ground, what an aquifer is and what soil properties are used to predict groundwater flow. Additionally, students discover that the water they drink everyday comes from many different sources, including surface water and groundwater. They investigate possible scenarios of drinking water contamination and how contaminants can negatively affect the organisms that come in contact with them. Students learn about the three most common methods of waste disposal and how environmental engineers continue to develop technologies to dispose of trash. Lastly, students learn what causes air pollution and how to investigate the different pollutants that exist, such as toxic gases and particulate matter. Also, they investigate the technologies developed by engineers to reduce air pollution.

Students are introduced to the fundamentals of environmental engineering as well as the global air, land and water quality concerns facing today's environmental engineers. After a lesson and activity to introduce environmental engineering, students learn more about water chemistry aspects of environmental engineering. Specifically, they focus on groundwater contamination and remediation, including sources of contamination, adverse health effects of contaminated drinking water, and current and new remediation techniques. Several lab activities provide hands-on experiences with topics relevant to environmental engineering concerns and technologies, including removal efficiencies of activated carbon in water filtration, measuring pH, chromatography as a physical separation method, density and miscibility.

This four week curriculum is for elementary learners to explore environmental engineering in urban environments. The unit starts with a broad question of “how can we make our community more sustainable?”, the unit will cover what the field of environmental engineering is, what predictability, mitigation and sustainability are, and how they relate to each other. These principles will be taught as vocabulary and will be supported with the use of anchor charts; students will be expected to use them during discussions. The unit will teach about urban infrastructure and the phenomenon of the Urban Heat Island effect. Students will then learn about and explore the possibilities of alternative energy sources and cities that already implementing green engineering. Students will explore how they can answer the question that was presented to them at the beginning of the unit. Following the engineering design process students will plan changes that they would make to their own city (in our case New Haven, Connecticut). Students will act as environmental engineers to come up with potential solutions to answer the broad question posed at the beginning of the unit.