Bringing Back Our Fish

Migratory routes blocked, predatory invasive species, and low water quality have made it hard on native fish. Here are some stories to help us understand what challenges they face - and what we might do about it.

Reopening Rivers for Migratory Fish: Every year, millions of fish migrate to their native habitats to reproduce. They are often blocked from completing their journey.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/reopening-rivers-migratory-fish

The Los Angeles River: Could L.A. welcome native fish once again?

https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/la-river-native-fish/

Bringing a native fish back to Lake Huron

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/lake_herring_bringing_a_native_fish_back_to_lake_huron

Researchers Aim to Reestablish an Ancient Fish in an Ohio River

https://www.the-scientist.com/notebook/a-project-aims-to-reestablish-an-ancient-fish-in-an-ohio-river-65234

Florida wildlife: Non-native fish invading Florida’s freshwaters

https://www.staugustine.com/zz/news/20191209/florida-wildlife-non-native-fish-invading-floridas-freshwaters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzaeYzAC8Ro

Prehistoric hydro-engineering: Native Americans in Ancient Florida Developed Fish Farms - Archaeologists explore huge walled fishponds on artificial island built by the powerful Calusa kingdom over 1,000 years ago

https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium-native-americans-in-ancient-florida-developed-pre-electricity-fish-storage-1.8724474

Cape Cod Herring Runs

https://www.capecod.com/lifestyle/all-you-need-to-know-about-cape-cod-herring-runs/

More herring are running as dams are razed.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/21/lifestyle/herring-are-running-all-more-so-dams-are-razed/

NYC Nature: The Stubborn Staying Power of the Alewife Herring

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/nyregion/alewife-herring.html

Gila trout returning to native Arizona waters

https://azdailysun.com/gila-trout-returning-to-native-arizona-waters/article_8b7db2eb-a79b-5329-831b-4f3dea93aead.html

Non-native relative of the piranha, found in Arizona lake

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2018/01/19/pacu-fish-creepy-humanlike-teeth-taking-bite-out-arizonas-waterways/1033687001/

An Approach to Conservation of Native Fish in Yellowstone

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/upload/YS-25-1-FISH-ISSUE-PDF-FINAL-WEB_R.PDF

A story of native fish conservation and what it takes to restore trout in the Yellowstone ecosystem (podcast)

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/onefishtwofish.htm

What is the status of native fish species near you?

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Photo by NOAA on Unsplash

China’s Silk Road, the Xiongnu Empire and the Uighurs

Looking back over 3,000 years in the northwest corner of current-day China, we can see movement of peoples, ideas, and cultures. Some startling current events show us, however, that we might be destroying the richness of the past.

The Xiongnu Culture – Third Century BCE

http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=The_Xiong_Nu_Empire

http://www.silk-road.com/artl/xiongnu1.shtml

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiongnu

Kashgar, Cultural Capital

https://www.britannica.com/place/Kashgar

The Tarim mummies

https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/ancient-mummies-of-the-tarim-basin/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarim_mummies

A vital stop on China’s ancient Silk Road, the Uighur city of Kashgar may lose its old quarter to plans for “progress”

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/demolishing-kashgars-history-7324895/

For centuries, Uighurs have lived in a vast region of deserts, mountains and lakes in the far northwest of China, known today as Xinjiang.

https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/china-oppression-uyghurs-history/

China plans change in Uighur capital

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/china-plans-massive-change-in-uyghur-cultural-capital/article4279252/

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-chinas-government-is-using-ai-on-its-uighur-muslim-population/

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Bronze plaque of a man of the Ordos Plateau, long held by the Xiongnu (Source: PHGCOM, Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0)

The Colorado River: The Beating Heart of the American Southwest

The Colorado River travels through seven US states and two Mexican states over the course of its 1,450mi journey. The River’s basin, inhabited by Native American peoples for at least 8,000 years, faces serious issues today. Dams, aquaducts, land use practices, and recreation impact quality of life for thousands of species. What threats - natural and man-made - does the River face, and what do we need to understand (and do) to restore its health?

https://www.americanrivers.org/river/colorado-river/

https://coloradoriver.org/about-the-river/

Chasing Rivers, Part 1: The Colorado (National Geographic video)

How did the 2010 Baja California earthquake change the course of the Colorado River?

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-69-magnitude-quake-shakes-san-diego-region-2010apr04-htmlstory.html

From Hope to Reality: The Colorado River Flows to the Sea (Sonoran Institute video)

Will the Colorado Run Dry?

https://e360.yale.edu/features/the-wests-great-river-hits-its-limits-will-the-colorado-run-dry

We Are Rivers Podcast: Colorado River Compact Call Part 1 – What Could A Call Mean (Podcast episode)

John Wesley Powell’s Exploration of the Colorado River

 https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/geology/publications/inf/powell/sec3.htm

https://www.nps.gov/dino/learn/historyculture/john-wesley-powell.htm

History of Colorado River Indian Tribes

https://www.postonpreservation.org/colorado-river-indian-tribes

https://www.crit-nsn.gov/

https://itcaonline.com/member-tribes/colorado-river-indian-tribes/

The Colorado Aqueduct

https://www.asce.org/project/colorado-river-aqueduct/

Tribal Water Rights in the Colorado River Basin

https://medium.com/@ricafulton/indigenous-water-rights-of-the-colorado-river-ff80cdd9c504

Restoring the Colorado: Bringing New Life to a Stressed River

https://e360.yale.edu/features/restoring-the-colorado-bringing-new-life-to-a-stressed-river

Native American Tribes Oppose River Project on Navajo Land

https://www.ecowatch.com/native-americans-dam-colorado-river-2641467216.html

Colorado River Basin Natural Flow and Salt Data

https://www.usbr.gov/lc/region/g4000/NaturalFlow/documentation.html

Meet the Four Endangered Fish of the Colorado River

https://westernresourceadvocates.org/blog/meet-the-four-endangered-fish-of-the-colorado-river/

Poetry of Rivers and Earth: Geode

https://www.susanbarba.net/books

How are the rivers near you faring? Clean? Healthy? In need of attention?

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Colorado River Basin (Shannon1: Creative Commons)

The Mughal Empire

Akbar the Great, Muslim emperor of India, established a sprawling kingdom through military conquests, but is known for his policy of religious tolerance, his inclusive leadership, and his support for an era of burgeoning arts, literature and science.

What other influences did he have on today’s world?

More about Akbar the Great

https://www.biography.com/political-figure/akbar-the-great

Mughal Empire (1500s, 1600s)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/mughalempire_1.shtml

https://www.nature.com/articles/150600b0

Tradition and ingenuity in Mughal architectural glazed tiles

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305440314002283

Literature during the Mughal Period

http://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/literature-during-the-mughal-period/2852

Science and the Indian Tradition: When Einstein Met Tagore

https://www.routledge.com/Science-and-the-Indian-Tradition-When-Einstein-Met-Tagore-1st-Edition/Gosling/p/book/9780203961889

The Art of the Mughals before 1600

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mugh/hd_mugh.htm

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-mughal-period/

Ustad Mansur was a revered seventeenth-century Mughal painter and court artist.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustad_Mansur

Mughal Art: Might in Miniature

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/27/mughal-art-might-in-miniature

What’s in museums and collections near you?

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Alexander Visits the Sage Plato (source: Public Domain)

What's Happening in the Cosmos?

In 1999, two amateur treasure hunters made a rare discovery at a small town in the Eastern German region of Saxony-Anhalt that shook the world of archeology. The remarkable find was in use from 1,800 to 1,600 BC, likely came from fmines in present-day Austria, England, and Romania, but was almost lost to black market traders.

To learn more, explore these links:

Astronomers Detect Biggest Explosion Since the Big Bang

https://futurism.com/astronomers-detect-biggest-explosion-since-big-bang

Earth formed much faster than previously thought

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200220130509.htm

35-year-old space riddle solved by Chilean astronomers

https://www.thisischile.cl/35-year-old-space-riddle-solved-by-chilean-astronomers/?lang=en

Student discovers 17 new planets, including an Earth-sized world

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200228073146.htm

Discovering the universe in chile

https://www.thisischile.cl/discovering-the-universe-in-chile/?lang=en

This 'hot Jupiter' planet with an 18-hour year is dancing with death

 https://www.space.com/hot-jupiter-exoplanet-torn-apart-18-hour-year.html

how discoveries in astronomy apply to other challenges

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8vNTL16ogk

Astronomy in Everyday Life

https://www.iau.org/public/themes/astronomy_in_everyday_life/

Grand Challenges: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

STEM, STEAM, STEMX, STEMD and beyond..

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Photo by Alexander Andrews on Unsplash

African-American History Month: The All-Black Towns of Oklahoma

The All-Black towns of Oklahoma represent a unique chapter in American history. Nowhere else, neither in the Deep South nor in the Far West, did so many African American men and women come together to create, occupy, and govern their own communities.

All Black Towns in Oklahoma

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AL009

https://www.hannibalbjohnson.com/the-all-black-towns-in-oklahoma/

Black Townships in Oklahoma - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEHTBjbnJgI&feature=youtu.be

Relationships of African Americans and Creeks in Oklahoma

https://teachers.yale.edu/curriculum/viewer/initiative_16.01.06_u

Native Americans adopted slavery from white settlers

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/native-americans-adopted-slavery-white-settlers-181225180750948.html

Red Bird, OK

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entryname=RED%20BIRD

Oklahoma Association of Negro Teachers

https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=OK017

Oklahoma African American Educators Hall of Fame, Inc.

https://oaaehof.org/

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Black History Month Special: Gullah Geechee

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is home to one of America's most unique cultures, a tradition first shaped by captive Africans brought to the southern United States from West Africa and continued in later generations by their descendants.

Note: Thanks to the Smithsonian for their preservation and research work here and in so many other places - a national treasure.

Georgia's Gullah-Geechee Heritage

https://libguides.ccga.edu/gullahgeechee

A Smithsonian curator visits a Georgia island to find stories

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/holding-on-to-gullah-culture-185296/

This month in Linguistics History: Tribute to Lorenzo Dow Turner, whose efforts memorialized the lore of the region

https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/month-linguistics-history-tribute-lorenzo-dow-turner

A language of their own

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gullah-language

A South Georgian reflection: a Culture Unto Itself by G. Wayne Clough

http://bit.ly/2vvY37M

Sweetgrass Baskets:

https://libguides.ccga.edu/c.php?g=282583&p=1882631

Gullah food traditions

https://www.pbs.org/video/gullah-geechee-food-traditions-ozahpl/

The Ring Shouters

https://www.geecheegullahringshouters.com/

The Gullah Bible

http://www.gullahbible.com/e-GullahNT/index.htm

What the Color 'Haint Blue' Means to the Descendants of Enslaved Africans

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-haint-blue-means-to-descendants-enslaved-africans

Charleston, SC’s Gullah Roots

https://www.africanamericancharleston.com/themes/gullah/

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Mattstone911 [CC BY-SA]

The High Environmental Costs of Cruise Ships

When you think of going on a cruise, what comes to mind? Faraway places, high end entertainment, delicious food? How about toxins and economic instability? Explore these links to consider some of the pros and cons of the cruise ship industry.

Cruise ships pose many environmental concerns, from waste disposal to toxic paint to the creation of noise that can harm marine life

https://daily.jstor.org/the-high-environmental-costs-of-cruise-ships/

Cruise Industry's Boom Is Primed To Continue

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemicallef/2018/09/01/the-cruise-industrys-boom-is-primed-to-continue/#1b4026562d89

The world's largest cruise ship and its supersized pollution problem

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/21/the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-and-its-supersized-pollution-problem

Places That Are (and Aren't) Coping With Cruise Ship Popularity

https://www.travelagentcentral.com/cruises/places-are-and-aren-t-coping-their-cruise-ship-popularity

A year after illegally releasing oil into the ocean, cruise line allegedly dumps over 500,000 gallons of sewage and 11,000 gallons of food waste

https://www.businessinsider.com/carnival-cruise-ships-dumped-sewage-waste-into-ocean-report-2019-4

Cruise ship collision with Budapest sightseeing boat

https://apnews.com/95bb78cfcc31492c8356945915185097

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Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

What Happened to Two of America's Iconic Trees?

Stately elms trees lined the streets of American cities and towns. Chestnuts blanketed North America, providing food and furniture. What happened? And are they gone forever? Could it happen again to other species?

History of Dutch elm disease

http://www.jewishrhody.com/stories/history-of-dutch-elm-disease,2762

The toll on Providence RI’s urban canopy

https://www.ecori.org/natural-resources/2015/4/29/dutch-elm-disease-takes-toll-on-john-brown-house-elms

Programs of the Elm Research Institute

https://www.libertytreesociety.org/about.html

Elm trees: An American Comeback Story

https://friendsoftrees.org/blog/elm-trees-an-american-comeback/

A Maine town where elms have remained strong

http://castinepatriot.com/news/2011/jun/24/castine-elm-trees-focus-of-tour/#.XiXOSVxOnZE

Clones help famous elm tree live on, for now

https://www.tribuneledgernews.com/local_news/state_and_national/clones-help-famous-elm-tree-named-herbie-live-on-for/image_1932b596-8ee9-576a-8b18-cfdadfd421d9.html

One of NYC “Great Trees”

https://www.nycgovparks.org/facilities/great-trees?id=33’s

More than a century ago nearly four billion American chestnut trees were growing in the eastern U.S. The chestnut blight has been called the greatest ecological disaster to strike the world’s forests in all of history.

https://www.acf.org/the-american-chestnut/history-american-chestnut/

What it Takes to Bring Back the Mythical American Chestnut

https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2019/04/29/what-it-takes-bring-back-near-mythical-american-chestnut-trees

Resistant hybrids of the American chestnut tree are making a comeback

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/american-chestnut-tree-zmaz10fmzraw

One of the Largest Remaining American Chestnut Trees in North America (video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQwV0QfJmwI&feature=youtu.be

Do you live where elms and chestnuts have vanished? Could they grow again?

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By Ptelea - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16572537

Coming to Grips With Food Waste

Food waste is gaining prominence and visibility in our modern world.

Multiple Impacts of Household Food Waste

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2019.00143/full

Grocery Store Waste Statistics Are a Wake-Up Call

https://www.dumpsters.com/blog/grocery-store-food-waste-statistics

High school students shocked at waste uncovered during cafeteria food waste audits

https://www.nclnet.org/lifesmarts_foodwaste_audit

Schools waste $5 million a day in uneaten food. Here's how Oakland is reinventing the cafeteria

https://grist.org/article/schools-waste-5-million-a-day-in-uneaten-food-heres-how-oakland-is-reinventing-the-cafeteria/

Farmers Are Using Food Waste To Make Electricity

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/11/30/783001327/chew-on-this-farmers-are-using-food-waste-to-make-electricity

https://www.biogasworld.com/news/turning-food-waste-into-energy-to-power-homes/

South Korea once recycled 2% of its food waste. Now it recycles 95%.

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/04/south-korea-recycling-food-waste/

A Restaurant With No Leftovers

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/01/business/zero-waste-restaurants.html

Grocery stores make reducing food waste a priority in Durango

https://durangoherald.com/articles/308780-grocery-stores-make-reducing-food-waste-a-priority-in-durango

Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

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Photo by Tim Cooper on Unsplash

Climate Change: Faster Than Expected-Who’s Doing What?

Iceberg-making submarine aims to tackle climate warming by re-freezing the Arctic

https://projects.archiexpo.com/project-266195.html

Check this out~ A great TOOL for climate study: The Global Climate Change Explorer

https://www.exploratorium.edu/climate/ice

Making Climate Solutions a Reality

https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/seven-solutions-climate-crisis

Giant walls and cooling tunnels may be the best ways to save polar ice.

https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/can-these-bold-plans-keep-world-s-ice-sheets-melting-ncna877616

Florida Keys Deliver a Hard Message: At $60 million a mile, the Keys may abandon some roads to sea rise rather than raise them

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article238040499.html#storylink=cpy

Saving coral in the Gulf of Mexico

https://www.voanews.com/science-health/plan-would-protect-21-coral-hot-spots-gulf-mexico

For New England, more intense rain events, more severe coastal storms, temperature extremes, poor air quality, disappearing salt marshes.

https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20181123/impacts-of-climate-change-pronounced-in-northeast

Saving Vermont’s Nordic skiing industry (for a while at least)?

• https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/12/08/warming-winters-new-method-preserving-snow-for-skiing/F7cPOzXGkH9RKh9nRsrPAM/story.html

• https://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/innovation-and-the-science-of-over-summer-snow-storage-at-the-craftsbury-outdoor-center/

• https://www.craftsbury.com/blog/6801/snow-storage-final-2018-data

On the Connecticut River

https://engineering.umass.edu/news/how-deal-with-climate-change-connecticut-river-and-beyond

In New Mexico, increasing temperatures, shrinking water resources, and impact on the chile industry:

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/confronting-climate-change-new-mexico

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2019/09/19/climate-change-means-uncertain-future-new-mexico-chile-farmers/2378419001/

Don’t play in the bubbles. Frothy Waves of Sea Foam Coat the Coast of Chennai

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/sea-foam-chennai-india

What’s happening around YOU? What’s hopeful? What’s worrisome? What are people DOING??

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Photo by Frank Busch on Unsplash

The Periodic Table: A Common Language for Science

2019 was the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table!

https://www.iypt2019.org/

Missed trains, cards and dreams: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/big-history-project/stars-and-elements/knowing-stars-elements/a/dmitri-mendeleev

Here’s a dynamic version:

https://www.ptable.com/#Property/State

In Chinese  

https://sciencenotes.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/yuansu-zhouqi-biao.png

Videos of the element Carbon

http://www.rsc.org/periodic-table/video/6/Carbon?videoid=1obsp6HwsbY

How are new elements discovered?

https://www.newsweek.com/periodic-table-150th-birthday-elements-1352390



Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

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In the public domain, authored by Offnfopt

The Ownership of Historical and Cultural Artifacts

Do historical objects belong in their country of origin? Scholars --and possessors-- consider one of the most contentious questions facing the West’s museums, galleries and collectors.

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/head-head/do-historical-objects-belong-their-country-origin

After a Century Abroad, a Collection of Cuneiform Is Heading Home to Iraq

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ur-cuneiform-tablet-repatriation

Yale returns Inca artifacts to Peru 

https://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132083890/yale-returns-machu-picchu-artifacts-to-peru

Will the British Museum Ever Return These Artifacts?

https://www.history.com/news/british-museum-stolen-artifacts-nigeria

Recovering the art of the Holocaust

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/recovering-stolen-art-from-the-holocaust

How looting threatens to erase Mongolia's history and that of Genghis Khan

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2017/oct/26/beyond-ghengis-khan-how-looting-threatens-to-erase-mongolias-history

Sacred artifacts stolen from a Native American tribe are finally returned over 100 years later

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/11/us/native-american-artifacts-returned-trnd/index.html

In New Zealand 

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/stolen-maori-treasure-returned-292086

Who should own indigenous art?

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150421-who-should-own-indigenous-art

What’s in museums and collections near you?

Grand Challenge: Valuing World Cultures

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Photo by Zbysiu Rodak on Unsplash

Climate Impact is Nearer, Broader, Deeper

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report highlights the urgency of prioritizing timely, ambitious and coordinated action to address unprecedented and enduring changes in the ocean and cryosphere.

https://www.ipcc.ch/srocc/home/

Wondering About Climate Change and Employment?

https://legendpower.com/news-events/climate-change-and-unemployment/

How About the Fishing Business' Future with Climate Change

https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2019/05/10/fishing-future-climate-change

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/02/climate-change-is-shrinking-essential-fisheries/

Florida is going under water but they are still building ocean front condos.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/15/florida-climate-change-coastal-real-estate-rising-seas

Impact on food and distribution:

https://www.climatehotmap.org/global-warming-effects/food.html

What are maple growers saying?

https://www.maplesource.com/blog/how-climate-change-is-impacting-maple-syrup-production/

From the Nebraska State Climate Office

https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2018/nebraska-changing-climate

Ten technologies  that could combat climate change as food demand soars:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613979/gene-editing-will-help-far-more-than-organic-food-to-slow-global-warming/

****Parents and Educators****

Yale University: American Teens’ Knowledge of Climate Change

http://environment.yale.edu/climate-communication-OFF/files/American-Teens-Knowledge-of-Climate-Change.pdf

The psychological impacts — and what youths can do

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/climate-change-poses-mental-health-risks-children-and-teens

l

Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The On-Going Saga of Our Bison

The Transcontinental Railroad connected East and West—and accelerated the destruction of what had been in the center of North America

• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-the-buffalo-no-longer-roamed-3067904/

• https://www.cdapress.com/archive/article-98ed7e9b-8cd8-56cc-af2d-601756aafe2e.html
  

The profound loss to native tribes

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/tcrr-interview/

• https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2016/05/the-buffalo-killers/482349/

• https://cmrussell.org/bison-exhibition/

• https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/buffalo

Canada’s key role in helping to save the bison

• https://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/alberta/how-canada-saved-the-buffalo/

Cave paintings help solve the mystery of how bison ended up in Europe?

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/bison-cave-paintings-prehistoric-art-france-lascaux-chauvet-pont-darc-marsoulas-a7367626.html

Yellowstone’s herd was the last free-ranging bison herd in the United States

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowstone_Park_bison_herd

Our buffaloes are recovering but some have little patience for their wandering ways

• https://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/2-bills-propose-zero-tolerance-for-bison/

The remarkable story of how the bison returned to Europe

• https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/08/22/remarkable-story-how-bison-returned-europe/

Can the bison survive?

• https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98418065

Were there ever buffalo near you?

Grand Challenge: Understanding the American Experience

Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

ERC Grand Challenges: For project design, for inquiry, for activism

Photo by Eric Murray on Unsplash

Apple Pie & Climate Change?

As the climate changes, apple growing will, too

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/08/01/634135514/a-few-more-bad-apples-as-the-climate-changes-fruit-growing-does-too

Nepal’s changing “apple map”

https://kathmandupost.com/climate-environment/2019/08/03/how-climate-change-is-altering-apple-farming-across-mustang

Burnt apples in Australia

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/27/a-record-hot-summer-burned-the-first-fruit-of-my-apple-tree-and-left-a-bad-taste-in-my-mouth

Wild apples might contain genes that could help domesticated apples survive disease and wild weather

https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2016/07/climate-adaptation-key-wild-apples/

The last wild apple forests

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-last-wild-apple-forests-almaty-kazakhstan

Apples are big business

https://www.freshplaza.com/article/2184343/overview-global-apple-market/

Apples are a great example of a commodity

https://www.producemarketguide.com/produce/apples

How the apple became The Forbidden Fruit

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/04/30/526069512/paradise-lost-how-the-apple-became-the-forbidden-fruit

Do apples really keep the doctor away?

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/apples/

A plant's-eye view of the world --The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan -book and PBS Series

 http://www.pbs.org/thebotanyofdesire/

A fruit you can polish??

http://usapple.org/faq/vel-facilis-occaecati-omnis/

Apple farmers in the United States feel tariff bite

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201805/02/WS5ae912d0a3105cdcf651b7af.html

Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

ERC Grand Challenges: For project design, for inquiry, for activism

Photo by an_vision on Unsplash

New Understandings About Sleep: One of Our Biggest Enduring Mysteries

Why do we sleep, anyway?

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep

The science of our “internal” time

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/05/11/internal-time-till-roenneber/?mc_cid=4940b25265&mc_eid=27d5bd322f

As we age and undergo a variety of developmental changes, sleep patterns change as well

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/variations/changes-in-sleep-with-age

Recent findings suggest that sleep removes toxins in your brain that build up while you are awake. 

https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep

The science of sleep: Dreaming, depression, and how REM sleep regulates negative emotions

https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/08/13/the-twenty-four-hour-mind-rosalind-cartwright/

Why dreaming may be important for your health

https://time.com/4970767/rem-sleep-dreams-health/

There’s money to be made- $$$$ -tech titans and start-ups repackage rest as the ultimate wellness cure.

https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/lifestyle/article/the-business-of-sleep

Grand Challenge: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe

STEM, STEAM, STEMX, STEMD and beyond..

ERC Grand Challenges: For project design, for inquiry, for activism.

Art Meets Science in Botanical Illustrations

Prior to the invention of photography, botanical illustration was the only way of visually recording the world’s many species of plant life.

The practice can be traced back to sometime between 50 and 70 CE, when an illustrated book was created by Greek botanist Pedanius Dioscorides to help readers identify plant species for medicinal purposes.

To read more, explore these links:

Centuries-Old Botanical Illustrations and the Art They Inspire Today

https://mymodernmet.com/history-of-botanical-illustration/

Stunning Botanical Images Are Blueprints of the Past

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/botanical-photograph-cyanotype-blueprint-past

Trees in ancient art

https://africanrockart.org/news/trees-rock-art/

From Van Gogh to O'Keeffe, Art History's Most Famous Flowers

https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-van-gogh-okeeffe-art-historys-famous-flowers

Tracing the roots – stems, leaves, fruits… – of modern botany

https://www.botany.one/2016/02/tracing-the-roots-stems-leaves-fruits-of-modern-botany/

Botany meets archaeology: people and plants in the past

https://academic.oup.com/jxb/article/64/18/5805/606750

Asian botanical artists

https://www.botanicalartandartists.com/famous-asian-botanical-artists-600-1900.html

China and Egypt: Tracing Ancient Healing PracticesThrough the Hibiscus

https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=mcnairsymposium

Tracing Goethe’s influence on botany and plant morphology

http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/inspiration/2017/10/22/tracing-goethes-influence-botany-plant-morphology/

Historical Flower Painting in China

http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/painting-flowers.php

The Flowering of Florence: Botanical Art for the Medici

https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/flowering-of-florence-botanical.pdf

Grand Challenge: Valuing World Cultures

Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

ERC Grand Challenges: For project design, for inquiry, for activism

Photo by British Library on Unsplash

The Iconic Pagoda

The iconic pagoda has had a unique history, spiritual and cultural role. They are found all over the world and are marvels of engineering. 

To read more, explore these links:

https://www.britannica.com/technology/pagoda

Different Types of Pagodas

https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/different-types-of-pagodas

Forerunner of the pagoda- the stupa:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/stupa

With earthquakes all around, why pagodas don’t collapse:

https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/1997/12/18/why-pagodas-dont-fall-down

A well-hidden, spectacular pagoda in Myanmar:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kakku-pagodas

The largest pagoda in the United States:

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM6T6P_LARGEST_Buddhist_Pagoda_in_the_United_States_Whittier_CA

A pagoda for Peace Activism:

http://www.graftonpeacepagoda.org/history/

You can draw your own pagoda:

http://www.supercoloring.com/drawing-tutorials/how-to-draw-how-the-chinese-pagoda

Can you find out more abou these Classic Chinese Pagodas?

Wooden Pagoda of Ying County.

Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

The Iron Pagoda of Yougou Temple, Kaifeng.

Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Monastery.

Leifeng Pagoda.

Liuhe/Six Harmonies Pagoda.

Tiger Hill Pagoda.

Miaoying Temple White Stupa Pagoda.

What’s the pagoda nearest you?

Grand Challenge: Valuing World Cultures

ERC Grand Challenges: For project design, for inquiry, for activism

Photo by Sorasak on Unsplash

The End of Recycling?

Is recycling as st

To read more, explore these links:

Other countries won’t take our papers and plastics - they’re ending up in the trash

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/china-has-stopped-accepting-our-trash/584131/

What will happen in small town America?

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2183075/trashed-china-forcing-small-town-america-stop

Recycling affects the environment, our politics, our economy and our own human behavior patterns.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/recycling.htm

Australia wants to ban export of the materials and increase domestic processing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/world/australia/recycling-plastic-trash.html

5 innovations that could end plastic waste

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/5-innovations-could-end-plastic-waste

This new recycling innovation could help fix our broken trash system

https://www.fastcompany.com/90316183/this-big-new-innovation-could-help-fix-our-broken-recycling-system

Bangalore's New Recycling Plan Helps Its Poorest Residents

https://www.citylab.com/life/2014/04/how-bangalores-new-recycling-plan-helps-its-poorest-residents/8887/

Your Recycling Gets Recycled, Right? Maybe, or Maybe Not 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/29/climate/recycling-landfills-plastic-papers.html

So, Should We Recycle?: Planet Money Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/926-so-should-we-recycle/id290783428?i=1000444348345

Grand Challenge: Understanding and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet

ERC Grand Challenges: For project design, for inquiry, for activism

Photo by Bas Emmen on Unsplash