.......
Sagan discusses the story of the Heike crab and artificial selection of crabs resembling samurai warriors, as an opening into a larger discussion of evolution through natural selection (and the pitfalls of intelligent design). Among the topics are the development of life on the Cosmic Calendar and the Cambrian explosion; the function of DNA in growth; genetic replication, repairs, and mutation; the common biochemistry of terrestrial organisms; the creation of the molecules of life in the Miller–Urey experiment; and speculation on alien life (such as life in Jupiter's clouds). In the Cosmos Update ten years later, Sagan remarks on RNA
also controlling chemical reactions and reproducing itself and the
different roles of comets (potentially carrying organic molecules or
causing the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event).
Cosmos Episode 2 Worksheet Name:___________________
Directions: Answer the questions as you watch episode 2 of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
1. What are two of the things human ancestors used the sky for?
2. What caused the wolf to NOT come and get the bone from Neil deGrasse Tyson?
3. How many years ago did wolves begin to evolve into dogs?
Monday, June 23, 2014
300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds.
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Fossils fuels have powered human growth and ingenuity for centuries.Now that we are reaching the end of cheap and abundant oil and coal supplies, we are on an exciting ride.While there is a real risk that we will fall of a cliff, there is still time to control our transition to a post-carbon future.
The Story of Stuff
https://vimeo.com/12174803 (English subtitles)
We have a problem with Stuff.
We use too much, too much of it is toxic and we don’t share it very well. But that’s not the way things have to be. Together, we can build a society based on better not more, sharing not selfishness, community not division.
The Story of Stuff Project’s journey began with a 20-minute online movie about the way we make, use and throw away all the Stuff in our lives. Five years and 40 million views later, we’re a Community of 500,000 changemakers worldwide, working to build a more healthy and just planet. We invite you to watch and share our movies, participate in our study programs and join our campaigns. Come on, let’s go!
The film:
The Story of Stuff, originally released in December 2007, is a
20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our
production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the
connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues,
and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll
teach you something, it’ll make you laugh,...
http://storyofstuff.org/
The Story of Solutions, released in October 2013, explores how we can move our economy in a more sustainable and just direction, starting with orienting ourselves toward a new goal. In the current ‘Game of More’, we’re told to cheer a growing economy – more roads, more malls, more Stuff! – even though our health indicators are worsening, income inequality is growing and polar icecaps are melting. But what if we changed the point of the game? What if the goal of our economy wasn’t more, but better – better health, better jobs and a better chance to survive on the planet? Shouldn’t that be what winning means?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkRvc-sOKk
The Story of Cosmetics, released on July 21, 2010, examines the pervasive use of toxic chemicals in our everyday personal care products, from lipstick to baby shampoo. The seven-minute film reveals the implications for consumer and worker health and the environment, and outlines ways we can move the industry away from hazardous chemicals and towards safer alternatives. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfq000AF1i8
The Story of Bottled Water
The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day), employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand—how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows virtually free from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industry’s attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call for viewers to make a personal commitment to avoid bottled water and support public investment in clean, available tap water for all .http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-bottled-water/
ACTIVITY: The Story of Stuff
Introduction:
“Before” Answer
|
Question
|
“After” Answer
|
Of
the 100 largest economies on the planet,
______%
are governments.
|
||
Of
the 100 largest economies on the planet,
______%
are companies.
|
Extraction:
In
the past 30 years, _____% of the world’s natural resources have been
consumed.
|
||
The
US has less than _____% of the original forests left.
|
||
In
the US, _____% of the waterways are now undrinkable
|
||
The
US has 5% of the world’s population, but uses _____% of the world’s
resources, produces _____% of the world’s waste.
|
||
If
everyone consumed at US rates, we would need _____ planets to support all of
us.
|
||
_____%
of global fisheries are fished at or beyond capacity
|
||
_____%
of the planet’s original forests are gone.
|
||
In
the Amazon forest alone, we are losing _____ trees every minute
|
Production:
_____
synthetic chemicals are used in manufacturing today.
|
||
_____
of these chemicals have been tested for synergistic health impacts
|
||
BFR’s
are chemicals used to make things flame resistant. They are also very toxic to the _____.
|
||
The
food with the highest level of many toxic contaminants is _____.
|
||
The
people who get the most exposure to toxic chemicals are the _____
|
||
Globally,
_____ people per day are moving into cities.
|
||
US
industry releases _____ pounds of toxic chemicals per year.
|
Distribution:
T/F
|
Externalized
cost of production includes: loss of natural resources, making of pollution,
low wages and lack of health benefits for workers.
|
T/F
|
T/F
|
We
don’t always pay the true cost to produce and transport goods.
|
T/F
|
Consumption:
What
percent of total material goods are still in use 6 months after they are
sold?
|
||
Today
we consume ____ as much as Americans did 50 years ago.
|
||
T/F
|
Some
companies design stuff to intentionally break quickly
|
T/F
|
T/F
|
Many
of us throw away perfectly good things due to advertising.
|
T/F
|
We
see an average of _____ advertisements per day
|
||
Today
we have more stuff than ever before, but national _____ is declining.
|
||
Name
the top two ways Americans spend their leisure time.
|
||
The
average house size has doubled since _____
|
Disposal:
Each
person in the US throws away approximately _____ pounds of garbage every day.
|
||
That’s
twice the amount of garbage we threw away _____ years ago.
|
||
Name
two options for getting rid of waste.
|
||
The
#1 source of Dioxin, the most toxic man made substance known to science, is…
|
||
For
every 1 garbage can full of waste removed from our house, _____ cans were
made “upstream.”
|
From Another Way… 10
Little and Big Things You Can Do, list five things you personally can do to
promote sustainability:
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Our place in the Universe.
http://www.historyoftheuniverse.com/
Fundamental Questions
“Why am I here?”
“Where did I come from?”
“Where am I going?”
I try to answer some of
these age-old questions by telling the story which science has discovered about
the origin and development of the Universe, Earth, life, humanity, and technology to the present day with a glimpse into the future.
This story is a modern myth of creation. It
is rightly called a myth because it is not the complete truth. Science does not
claim to tell us the truth, merely to provide plausible explanations for the
observed facts. But a new observation can (and often does) cause a revolution
in science.
I call it a myth also because, clearly, the
Universe has a very long history (there is nothing longer!) so I have
had to simplify many things to keep the story both reasonably short
and understandable to the non-scientist.
This story clearly reveals that we are
children of the Universe, that we belong here, and that we might even be the
most advanced organisms which exist. If that is true then we have an enormous
responsibility to protect this tiny, fragile planet upon which we find
ourselves, so that life may be handed down to future generations.
Seeing ourselves in a universal context is
a salutary experience, giving us a new perspective on our current problems,
many of which are on a global scale. To solve them will require global
solutions. We all need to make important decisions about our ways of life. We
need to understand what caused our problems and what options we have for
solving them. We can only obtain this by taking a global perspective.
By studying the past, themes and patterns emerge which enable us to
grasp the big picture more easily. By considering these themes we can make some predictions about the future and these should help us
when we make our decisions.
This story organizes a wide range of key
scientific, economic, political and technological concepts into a natural
sequence, structuring them and so helping people to understand their
relationships more efficiently and so remember them more effectively. It
defines a natural science curriculum which could form the basis for teaching
science at school in an integrated and meaningful way.
Scientists too can benefit from this story.
Science is split into many disciplines (such as physics, cosmology, biology,
chemistry, economics and anthropology) yet knowledge does not recognize our
artificial barriers. Interdisciplinary studies are increasingly important in
scientific research. Failing to understand the links between the branches of
science means scientists find it more difficult to see the whole tree of
knowledge. This story might help remedy this situation.
Science and knowledge. Astronomy&Astrology
http://youtu.be/lEeMGOZG1wU
This episode is a historical re-creation of the life of Johannes Kepler, the last scientific astrologer, the first modern astronomer and the author of the first science fiction novel. Kepler provided the insight into how the moon and the planets move in their orbits and ultimately how to journey to them. It's also a story about the scientific process of discovery, and how the search for truth is never easy but always worthwhile.
Cosmos Episode 3 Worksheet Name:___________________
Directions: Answer the questions as you watch episode 3 of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
1. What does Neil deGrasse Tyson use as a metaphor for how we are born into a universe of mystery?
2. What was the advantageous adaptation mentioned that humans have evolved in order to survive?
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