Dawn Dishwashing Liquid Helps the Environment

While clipping coupons from the Sunday paper, I came across an ad for Dawn dishwashing soap and their new campaign to raise the awareness of how Dawn is used to help clean wildlife that have been contaminated by oil. Visit http://www.dawnsaveswildlife.com for more information. There is a list of things that students can do to help the wildlife in the environment such as: properly disposing of motor or cooking oils, recycling plastic bags, proper handling of fishing lines and lures, and cutting up of "six pack" can rings.

While at the Dawn site, I found a link to the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC). The IBRRC has an emergency response team who travel to areas to help rescue and rehabilitate birds contaminated by oil. I was amazed by the before and after photos of a brown pelican. When we are teaching about ecosystems, we should take the time to discuss the impact that humans have on the environment. This issue could also make a great debate topic for older students: how does our transportation and mishandling of oil products affect the environment and what should we do about it?

National Earth Science Week - October 8-14

National Earth Science Week sponsored by the American Geologic Institute, kicks off in Washington, D.C. this October 8th with the celebration of International EarthCache Day. EarthCaching is an extension of the popular pastime of Geocaching. Geocaching is a mix of hiking, treasure hunting, and high tech. Cachers use a Global Positioning System (GPS) to find hidden caches at coordinates posted on www.geocaching.com. These photos show my family out caching this summer. Often caches are stored in old ammo boxes or "Tupperware" style containers. The cache includes a log book and trinkets to trade.


















This year's theme for Earth Science week is "Be a Citizen Scientist." The annual event was established to help encourage stewardship of the Earth. There are some wonderful classroom activities based on the National Science Education Standards found at http://www.earthsciweek.org/forteachers/classroomactivities.html. Learn more about the American Geological Institute at www.agiweb.org. Another great site to visit is www.earthscienceworld.org, check out their Virtual Oil Well Game.
Even the Girl Scouts are getting into Earth Science, EarthCaching, and Geocaching with their Hi Tech Hide & Seek Interest Patch for girls 11-17.