Tuesday, 6 May 2014
Monday, 21 October 2013
Inspired by plastic?
We've been finding out about how plastic is terrible for the environment and how it cause be incredibly destructive for marine life. Today we saw plastic in a bit of a different light. Mandy Barker is a photographer who has been photographing plastic found floating in the ocean. Some of her pictures are very beautiful.
To see some of her amazing work, please visit her website.
So there you have it - don't chuck your plastic out. Make it into something beautiful!
To see some of her amazing work, please visit her website.
So there you have it - don't chuck your plastic out. Make it into something beautiful!
Sunday, 6 October 2013
NEWTs - your mission this year
Okay NEWTs,
You have decided to take action on litter and plastic pollution this year.
First we need to get educated about the problem. Below are some links to websites that will show us just how big a problem plastic pollution in.
Let's get researching!
Giant Garbage Soup
The amount of plastic pollution in our environment has been growing as a result of the large amount of packaging that covers the goods we buy and because of the large amount of disposable items that we purchase.
From plastic forks to soap bottles, we have become a society that depends on single-use disposables, or items that we use, then throw away.
Many would say that the amount of plastic that we use and then dispose of is out of control with much of it filling landfills, washing into our rivers and eventually making its way into our oceans.
Once in the ocean, plastics often float just below the surface of the water, where a combination of sunlight and waves wear pieces of plastic down into smaller and smaller particles.
These particles end up in massive whirlpool-like currents in the oceans, called gyres. Gyres could be described as circulating clouds of plastic rubbish or a giant garbage soup.
There are five major gyres, but most of the research about how plastic pollution affects the ocean ecosystem has been done in the North Pacific Gyre.
Marine wildlife (fish, birds, and mammals) is impacted the most by the plastic rubbish found in gyres. When fish and seabirds mistake tiny pieces of plastic for food and ingest or eat it, dire consequences are the result. Consumption of plastics causes dehydration, starvation, and eventually death. Fish and birds are not the only animals affected, however. There are also human health hazards to consider when toxic chemicals enter the marine food chain, as they eventually come back to us when we eat seafood.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a part of the North Pacific Gyre where trash has become so concentrated there is 40 times more plastic than plankton. This means there is 40 times more plastic than food for the marine animals living there to eat.
While some of the plastic floats close to the surface of the ocean, most of it eventually sinks to the bottom, making cleanup extremely difficult. The plastic also acts as a kind of chemical-sucking sponge, concentrating the most dangerous pollutants found in the world’s oceans (PCB, DDT) into its small particles. This means that any animal that eats these pieces of plastic will also be eating toxic pollutants.
Where does most of this plastic pollution come from? To find the answer, look no further than the person who is shopping in a store and chooses an item packaged in plastic or made of plastic that will be quickly disposed of. This rubbish will end up circulating in the ocean, eaten by sea life, and eventually, again by humans.
This plastic pollution is a serious problem, posing a tangible threat to our ocean ecosystem, and ultimately, to ourselves.
Have a look at these websites to learn more.
Surfers Against Sewage http://www.sas.org.uk/issues/marine-litter/ - how are they tackling the problem?
Quick facts on plastic http://bagitmovie.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/quick-facts-on-plastic-pollution-from-greenfeet-com/
www.5gyres.org
www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex/
www.sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2011/02/plastic-pollution-gyres.html
www.bagitmovie.com/about_issues.html
www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org
You have decided to take action on litter and plastic pollution this year.
First we need to get educated about the problem. Below are some links to websites that will show us just how big a problem plastic pollution in.
Let's get researching!
Giant Garbage Soup
The amount of plastic pollution in our environment has been growing as a result of the large amount of packaging that covers the goods we buy and because of the large amount of disposable items that we purchase.
From plastic forks to soap bottles, we have become a society that depends on single-use disposables, or items that we use, then throw away.
Many would say that the amount of plastic that we use and then dispose of is out of control with much of it filling landfills, washing into our rivers and eventually making its way into our oceans.
Once in the ocean, plastics often float just below the surface of the water, where a combination of sunlight and waves wear pieces of plastic down into smaller and smaller particles.
These particles end up in massive whirlpool-like currents in the oceans, called gyres. Gyres could be described as circulating clouds of plastic rubbish or a giant garbage soup.
There are five major gyres, but most of the research about how plastic pollution affects the ocean ecosystem has been done in the North Pacific Gyre.
Marine wildlife (fish, birds, and mammals) is impacted the most by the plastic rubbish found in gyres. When fish and seabirds mistake tiny pieces of plastic for food and ingest or eat it, dire consequences are the result. Consumption of plastics causes dehydration, starvation, and eventually death. Fish and birds are not the only animals affected, however. There are also human health hazards to consider when toxic chemicals enter the marine food chain, as they eventually come back to us when we eat seafood.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a part of the North Pacific Gyre where trash has become so concentrated there is 40 times more plastic than plankton. This means there is 40 times more plastic than food for the marine animals living there to eat.
While some of the plastic floats close to the surface of the ocean, most of it eventually sinks to the bottom, making cleanup extremely difficult. The plastic also acts as a kind of chemical-sucking sponge, concentrating the most dangerous pollutants found in the world’s oceans (PCB, DDT) into its small particles. This means that any animal that eats these pieces of plastic will also be eating toxic pollutants.
Where does most of this plastic pollution come from? To find the answer, look no further than the person who is shopping in a store and chooses an item packaged in plastic or made of plastic that will be quickly disposed of. This rubbish will end up circulating in the ocean, eaten by sea life, and eventually, again by humans.
This plastic pollution is a serious problem, posing a tangible threat to our ocean ecosystem, and ultimately, to ourselves.
Have a look at these websites to learn more.
Surfers Against Sewage http://www.sas.org.uk/issues/marine-litter/ - how are they tackling the problem?
Quick facts on plastic http://bagitmovie.wordpress.com/2011/05/09/quick-facts-on-plastic-pollution-from-greenfeet-com/
www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/pollution/trash-vortex/
www.sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2011/02/plastic-pollution-gyres.html
www.bagitmovie.com/about_issues.html
www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
It's spring and Eco Club have been as busy as bees!
welcome to eco club's blog
We are very sorry that we have not written a blog for a long time , we have been very busy.
We have been doing flag for the future, which is making a flag to save the artic because the ice caps are melting so people think its ok to drill for oil.(bad people).
Also maisy & Holly have been filling in a form to get us £50.00 for our minibeast city.
We have also been making a sign for the conservation area.
bye for now
by edie, ruby & jasmine
We are very sorry that we have not written a blog for a long time , we have been very busy.
We have been doing flag for the future, which is making a flag to save the artic because the ice caps are melting so people think its ok to drill for oil.(bad people).
Also maisy & Holly have been filling in a form to get us £50.00 for our minibeast city.
We have also been making a sign for the conservation area.
bye for now
by edie, ruby & jasmine
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Breathing Challenge
This is the breathing challenge!
Some of the eco team have been finding out how many times you breathe in a day and how much CO2 you produce.
This is what we have found out so far.
Did you know that one breath =0.5L which is 4% of CO2.
We also found out that you breathe 7 to 10 times in 30 seconds!
4% of 500ml = 20g of carbondioxide which = 1 breath.
1% = 125ml.
1% of 500ml = 5g of carbondioxide.
We estimate that you breathe 14 to 20 times in a minite.
28x2=56g.
4800g+24000g=28800g.
That is how much carbondioxide you breathe out if you do nothing but breathe - so that means you don't exercise.
So what a few of us did was figure out how much carbondioxide you breathe out if you exercise. So we doubled 28800g which = 57600g.
So now you know how much CO2 you breathe in a day!
Below is a picture showing you how you breathe in and out.
Some of the eco team have been finding out how many times you breathe in a day and how much CO2 you produce.
This is what we have found out so far.
Did you know that one breath =0.5L which is 4% of CO2.
We also found out that you breathe 7 to 10 times in 30 seconds!
4% of 500ml = 20g of carbondioxide which = 1 breath.
1% = 125ml.
1% of 500ml = 5g of carbondioxide.
We estimate that you breathe 14 to 20 times in a minite.
28x2=56g.
4800g+24000g=28800g.
That is how much carbondioxide you breathe out if you do nothing but breathe - so that means you don't exercise.
So what a few of us did was figure out how much carbondioxide you breathe out if you exercise. So we doubled 28800g which = 57600g.
So now you know how much CO2 you breathe in a day!
Below is a picture showing you how you breathe in and out.
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
We raised £152.33!
Hello and welcome back to our eco club blog. We would like to say a big THANK-YOU! to everyone who bought stuff on our stand at the school fair.
It is the last week of eco club this week, until next year. We have been making cakes that are eco-themed to take home. OK, lets do the last eco review of the term.
ECO ITEM REVIEW!
It is the last week of eco club this week, until next year. We have been making cakes that are eco-themed to take home. OK, lets do the last eco review of the term.
ECO ITEM REVIEW!
By Theo Binns
Last week, we went to Cribbs Causeway and found out that you can get an eco steam car wash which cleans your car better than water and is much more efficent than using water. Prices start from £7, but can go up to £95. For the top one, the "bee's knees" you get everything you need, such as seat upholstery cleaning, a full body and interior wash and a freshener and loads more! I would give it 7/10 because if your car has crumbs on it before the wash, mould will start growing on it.
RATING: 7/10
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Hello again!
Hello everybody.
It is less than a week until the NPS summer fete (2.00 pm - 4.30 pm), where Eco club will have a stall selling plants, crazy grassheads, a Jumble-Bumble sale and even a chance to buy some of the land on minibeast city!
Please come to the stall because this will help us raise more money for Minibeast City. Thank-you!
Did you know that it is National Insect Week this week? It is trying to teach people more about the insects around us. You can find out more here: http://nationalinsectweek.co.uk/
ECO GADGET REVIEW!
The savasocket is an item which, by the click of a button, forces your TV/Xbox/DVD Player off standby! They claim that it can save you £40 a year. However, the savasocket doesn't come with a remote, so you have to already have a remote and connect it up to the little sensor. This is quite tricky, even with the manual. But the two plugs for things that you want on standby, such as a TV recorder is very useful.
It is less than a week until the NPS summer fete (2.00 pm - 4.30 pm), where Eco club will have a stall selling plants, crazy grassheads, a Jumble-Bumble sale and even a chance to buy some of the land on minibeast city!
Please come to the stall because this will help us raise more money for Minibeast City. Thank-you!
Did you know that it is National Insect Week this week? It is trying to teach people more about the insects around us. You can find out more here: http://nationalinsectweek.co.uk/
ECO GADGET REVIEW!
By Theo Binns
Savasocket
The savasocket is an item which, by the click of a button, forces your TV/Xbox/DVD Player off standby! They claim that it can save you £40 a year. However, the savasocket doesn't come with a remote, so you have to already have a remote and connect it up to the little sensor. This is quite tricky, even with the manual. But the two plugs for things that you want on standby, such as a TV recorder is very useful.
Rating: 7/10
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