In A Galaxy Far, Far Away....

This past weekend, scientists from all over the world, marched to celebrate science and the role it plays in everyday lives. The goals of the marches and rallies were to emphasize that science upholds the common good and to call for evidence-based policy in the public's best interests.  A few months ago, I had the opportunity to see the movie Hidden Figures which tells the story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson - brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. 

I’ve always enjoyed learning about science, and particularly space.  My father had an amateur interest in astronomy and was always waking us up in the middle of the night to watch a meteor shower, see a comet or otherwise gaze at some celestial body that was visible enough for us to see and enjoy. He did this so often, it motivated my sister to became an Earth Space science teacher.

Which is why I was amazed to find out a few months ago that NASA has discovered a single star that is home to 7 Earth-like planets!  I’m not imaginative enough to believe in aliens out to invade the world, but I do believe there could be life on other planets – even if “life” just means amoebas or vegetation. 

NASA budget has been the source of conflict over the years, with some saying we’re spending too much and others saying it’s not enough.  For fiscal year 2017, NASA’s budget is 18.5 billion. That might seem like a big number, but it’s actually just .4% of our $4.147 trillion budget.  To put in in perspective, the Department of Defense’s budget for the same fiscal year is $523.8 billion – or 12.6% of our federal budget.  NASA has launched no new flight crews since 2012, and we currently pay Russia to transport our crews to the International Space Station.

So, my question to you this week is, “Do you think we should fund NASA at a higher level and invest in space exploration, or is the money better spent right here at home?  What are the benefits of space exploration?”  You must answer both questions for full credit.  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, May 3rd, 2017.  May the force be with you!

P.S.  If you haven’t seen Hidden Figures yet, I highly recommend it. This visionary trio crossed all gender and racial lines to inspire future generations of scientists to dream big!

Earth Without Art Is Just "Eh"

Earth Day is this Sunday, April 22^nd. Earth Day began in 1970, following the 1962 publication of Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson.  Carson’s book raised awareness on our country’s use of pesticides and their pollution of the environment, and she is often credited as starting the modern environmental movement.  Earth Day originally started as a day of education about environmental issues, and has expanded ever since.  Since 1990, Earth Day has been celebrated globally, with 140 nations participating. This year the campaign is dedicated to an ambitious goal - to achieve global climate and environmental literacy by 2020.  This would mean that all citizens of the planet - including our own President, would understand climate change and it's unprecedented threat to our planet.

Those of you who know me, know that I like to live as environmentally-friendly as possible. I recycle, use re-usable bags and containers, and try to cook with as much local food as possible. Buying my first home opened up new ways of living more sustainably.  In addition to using compact fluorescent light bulbs inside the home, I have been able to install a photocell that harvests solar energy to run my outdoor lights. IPL came out to install low-flow shower and faucet aerators (which they do for free as part of the Energize Indiana Program). I've also been able to purchase 100% of my energy use in the home through locally sourced wind power.To me, it has become a lifestyle and I’m always looking for new ways to use less.

In a few weeks, we will be discussing climate change and its effects on the planet. I know there’s a lot of controversy around the issue, but quite frankly, it's not open to debate. This is one of the biggest issues your generation may have to face. So, this week I would like you to first take this Carbon Footprint Quiz:  http://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/   Make sure you take the detailed version.  At the end of the quiz, it will tell you how many planets we would need, if everyone lived like you.  Disappointingly, it said we would need 3-7 planets if everyone lived like me!  I guess I have more work to do than I thought.  For your post this week, I would like you to tell everyone your "score" or how many planets we would need if we were all living like you.  Then, I would like to know, What would you be willing to do to help lower your effects on the environment?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 26th 2017. 

Bombs Over Syria

During the first week of April, Syria turned a northern, rebel-held area into a toxic kill zone by using poison that possibly contained a nerve agent or other banned chemicals on their own people.  Numerous graphic videos posted online showed children and adults gasping, struggling to breathe, or lying motionless as rescue workers attempted to hose them off.  It is still unclear how many people perished in the attack, but some humanitarian groups estimate it was as high as 100.

The conflict in Syria is one of the most complicated in the Middle East.  One on side, you have the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, who is some cases is backed by Iran and Russia.  On the other side, you have the Syrian Rebels, somewhat backed by the United States.  Check out this short video that breaks down the history of the conflict in an easy-to-understand way, complete with color-coded graphics: https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t-s&p=history+of+syrian+conflict+video#id=1&vid=d228cf01f7e9c497e45a41f092ba7b18&action=click

Following the attack, the United States launched dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield, believed to have been used to carry out the chemical attack.  As the video above shows, the United States involvement in Syria has much greater implications for the United States’ security and relationships with the rest of the world.

Last week in class, we discussed how involved the United States should be with the rest of the world.  Many of you thought we should focus instead on the problems we have here at home, although most of us agreed that we can’t just let countries murder innocent people, if we’re able to stop it. So after viewing the video, my question to you this week is, “How involved should the United States become in Syria?”  Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 19^th, 2017.  For all of you who celebrate – Have a happy and blessed Easter!

Choose Your Own Adventure!

I hope you all enjoyed a nice break.  It's always hard coming back to school after break. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching and being surrounded by all the crazy, creative energy that is all of you. That being said, it's still hard to get back into the grind. So for our first blog post, I'll go easy on you.

This week we will start our study of the Constitution and the freedoms that make us uniquely American. You can order your own free copy of the United States Constitution from: http://www.constitutionfacts.com/index.cfm?section=bookstore&page=freeCopy.cfm

A good portion of this class will be spent discussing current events and political issues that affect our everyday lives. For this post, I would like you to tell me at least one issue that you are interested in studying. To help you out, you can look over the blog posts that we've had in the past several years to get an idea of the type of things we've covered. Many of the topics are pretty controversial and I do my best to not censor the information available to you.

So my question to you this week is, "What is one issue that you are interested in studying in this class?" Answers are due no later than Wednesday, April 12, 2017. I'm looking forward to a great quarter!