Impact of Global Warming in Alaska

"While the earth has warmed approximately 1°F in the last 50 years, according to the National Assessment Synthesis Team, Alaska has warmed approximately 4°F during this same time period. In many ways, Alaska is the “Paul Revere of Global Warming”, and serves as a sentinel for the impacts of global warming."

Sounds like something we want to find out more about doesn't it? Lifelong learners should find this article, Impact of Global Warming in Alaska, and its associated content very interesting. As usual Deborah L. Williams has done an excellent job explaining about "early warning" area.

Hallie Eakin at Encylopedia of Earth

Earth Portal's Topic of the Week Environment in Focus: Human vulnerability to global environmental change by Hallie Eakin is a must read for lifelong learners with a passion for learning about environmental change and the human population.

This is just one article in a long list of environmental topics available at the Encyclopedia of Earth.

EBooks at Encyclopedia of Earth

Lifelong learners can find a nice selection of environmental ebooks at The Encyclopedia of Earth EBooks.

Environmental Classics offer access to online versions of several historical ebooks, including Walden by Henry David Thoreau, Theory of the Earth by James Hutton and Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett James Hardin.

Freshwater at the Encyclopedia of Earth

Lifelong learners can find excellent material in the article Freshwater published on the Encyclopedia of Earth. The further reading section has links to three additional websites devoted to earth's freshwater.

You will learn about freshwater, from its definition to its inventory and on to freshwater use around the earth.

A very useful addition to our learning resources.

Biodiversity in Africa

Want to understand another piece of the environmental puzzle? The Encyclopedia of Earth presents an in-depth view of Biodiversity in Africa that should be of great interest to lifelong learners interested in understanding the interactions of earth's environments.

This article gives an excellent overview, as well as an extensive reading list. I will just let the piece speak for itself, because it has an eloquent voice.

Ground Water at USGS

Ground-Water Availability in the United States was published in July 2008 by the USGS. You can now download the 79-page pdf.

This report provides a wealth of information on our most important resource. From USGS: "This report examines what is known about the Nation's ground-water availability and outlines a program of study by the U.S. Geological Survey Ground-Water Resources Program to improve our understanding of ground-water availability in major aquifers across the Nation. The approach is designed to provide useful regional information for State and local agencies who manage ground-water resources, while providing the building blocks for a national assessment. The report is written for a wide audience interested or involved in the management, protection, and sustainable use of the Nation's water resources."

This should prove valuable to most lifelong learners.

Aldo Leopold at Earth Portal

Earth Portal's Topic of the Week is Environment in Focus: A Voice in the Wilderness by William Cronon. This article written in 1998, is introduced thus, "William Cronon pays tribute to a remarkable man and his book that altered forever the landscape of the environmental movement."

Cronon describes Sand County Almanac:

"Sand County is very different, which is probably why it feels as fresh today as it did when it was written-the mark of a true classic. To the first-time reader, it presents itself as an unprepossessing collection of nature writings, brief essays offering reminiscences of landscapes and encounters in natural places, all cast in a spare, lucid prose that is far more elegant and literary than polemical.

Only as one reads more deeply into the book does one begin to recognize the arguments and insights that lie almost between the lines, or appreciate the quiet passion that informs its call for a new human sense of moral responsibility toward the natural world. The voice is that of a first-rate scientist and naturalist, a cool-eyed observer not just of nature but of the human condition, and the tone is far more meditative and ironic than polemical or belligerent. One gets the sense that the author would be much happier getting out into the woods with his dog than finding himself mounting the barricades on behalf of a political cause.

And yet these little essays bespeak nothing less than a revolution in ways of thinking about the human place in nature - a revolution as yet unfinished, but very near the heart of environmental politics in the second half of the 20th century and beyond. By putting into words the deep questions and concerns that would persuade millions of Americans to join the environmental movement in the years after its author’s death, A Sand County Almanac earned itself an indelible place in history."

In addition to the moving essay by Cronan, you will find many links to supplemental reading, related News in Focus articles and website links. Please be sure to follow the link to the Aldo Leopold Archives at the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections.

There is a wealth of study material here for the lifelong learner looking for environmental history resources. Enjoy!

Impacts on Native American Lands

This is a very good collection of study materials from Carleton College, Integrating Research and Education, called Impacts of Resource Development on Native American Lands.

It covers six case studies:

• Uranium Mining on the Navajo Nation
• Gold Mining and the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation
• Coal Bed Methane and the Crow Reservation
• Water Resources and the Nez Perce Indian Reservation
• Gold Mining and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
• Resources of the Pribilof Islands

This actually just one part of many sections of Integrating Research and Education, including one on Hurricane Katrina and the Yellowstone Geoecosystem.

I think lifelong learners will find this to be a very nice addition to their study resources.

Biology at University of Hawaii

Offered by the University of Hawaii, Biology 101 Biology and Society is taught by Dr. George Wong, Botany Department.

This course website makes available 41 lecture pdf's and 18 sets of background links for some of the lectures. The only broken links found are for the Blue Planet Biomes in Lecture 7. I will see what site can be substituted for these and do an update shortly.

These materials will make a nice supplement for the lifelong learner's ecology projects.

International Relations at University of Oregon

Here's an interesting course taught by Professor Ronald Mitchell, PS205: Introduction to International Relations, at the University of Oregon.

What's available? Excellent resources, including:

• Syllabus
• Lecture notes for 20 class sessions
• Case study assignment, including a pdf of materials for assignment and links to use (great assignment for lifelong learners)
• Targeted links to websites pertinent to the course

This is definitely a course you will want to add to your independent learning resources for understanding how our world works today.

Land Use History of North America at USGS

From Mars Hill

Flagstaff, Arizona

Credit Marilyn Crain

This time we get "two for the price of one." Go visit Land Use History of North America (LUHNA) and Colorado Plateau-Land Use History of North America (CP-LUHNA) for a good contribution to your resources on the environmental history of the United States. It goes a long way toward explaining the delicate balance between the viability of our environment and its plant and animal inhabitants and the needs of our human population.

The CP-LUHNA is exceptional in the quality and quantity of material available. These two sites are definite assets to be added to your learning toolbox.

Lifelong learners, enjoy.

Americans and the Global Forest at UC Berkeley

Professor Lynn Huntsinger has an impressive amount of material on the website for her course at Berkeley, ESPM C11: Americans and the Global Forest. She says that the "course explores different ways of thinking about forests and our relationship to them." It does indeed do that. I especially like that she uses Simon Schama's Landscape and Memory. Now, if I can only pull out of storage, that one box holding this book captive.

There are notes available for 15 lectures. A few of the pdf's are password protected, but most of them are not. These pdf's are lecture slides and readings. Even with the few files that are unavailable to us, this is an excellent addition to the lifelong learner's resources for environmental history.

Earth Portal Features Rachel Carson

Here's a most interesting topic of the week over on the Earth Portal. This week the topic is Environment in Focus: Rachel Carson's environmental ethics.

The author is Philip Cafaro, assistant professor in philosophy at Colorado State University. I haven't yet checked to see if any of his courses have websites.

As is always the case on Earth Portal, this article is more like a crash course, profiling Rachael Carson and her work. Throughout the very long piece there are link-outs to other supporting information and a long list of additional reading suggestions, related news links and external links to sites about Rachel Carson.

This is an extremely useful paper for any lifelong learner studying the environmental movement. In addition, this site is a valuable addition to our learning toolbox. In our next post we'll talk about the Earth Portal.

Human Impacts on Ecosystems

Are you looking for a course that will give you an overview of the impact humans are having on the earth's ecosystems? Check out this Oregon State University Winter 2008 course, BI 301 Human Impacts on Ecosystems. Dr Patricia Muir makes available extensive resources, good solid information, on the course website. She describes the course, "... we will examine selected human impacts on ecosystems in depth, including management of agricultural and forest resources, altered air quality, and changes in global climate. The causes, approaches to investigating, and potential solutions for each issue will be discussed from scientific and social perspectives. For each environmental problem, we examine how human activities are transmitted through linkages among air, land, water, and the biota."

In addition to lecture notes, there are also study guides and supplementary readings for each unit of the course:

• Human population
• Agricultural issues
• Air quality issues
• Global climate change
• Stratospheric ozone depletion
• Biodiversity and forestry issues

The website is still being updated for fall, but it appears all links are live.

Natural Science From the Inside Out

If you're interested in natural science, and what lifelong learner isn't these days, then the USGS CoreCast is just waiting for you. As of today, you have access to 52 podcasts, starting with episode 1, Hurricanes and Extreme Storms, August 2007 and up to Episode 52, Tribal Canoe Journey to Help Restore Salish Sea Resources, July 2, 2008. And in between you can learn about droughts, floods, wildfires, sinkholes, monthly hazard roundups, big oil in North Dakota and Montana, plus five episodes on Earth Science Week. This just a partial list, so you'll have to go take a look for yourself.

It's difficult to single out one or two episodes to highlight, but try these two. Of particular note are episodes 15 and 37. Episode 15, Who Do We Think We Are?, covers an overview of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Episode 37, Science as it Happens--Glen Canyon Dam High Flow Experiment offers video, audio only, a slideshow, as well as a transcript and related links.

The podcasts range from approximately 3 to 20 minutes in length. Transcripts of all episodes are available. Don't miss the links for additional information. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom of each transcript page to find the list of links for that podcast.

This is just one resource made available by the USGS. We'll discuss more of their contributions to our learning toolbox in coming posts. Enjoy!

Extremophiles at the NSF

The Special Report X-treme Microbes at the National Science Foundation presents a compact overview of radiation-eating and amazing survivors extremophiles. At first you think it's just a simplistic little program, but look further and be sure to "click" on everything available or you'll miss some great information.

Available for download are pdf's and a most interesting video. The related resources pages add other dimensions to the report in case you want to learn more. A text only version is available by clicking the button in the left lower corner.

Of course, you know how we independent learners are, never satisfied, can't have enough resources. So, guess what? I can't wait to see what else NSF has to offer.

Nature's Wonders in a Grocery Cart

Buying study materials in the food market is not standard operating procedure for me. But there I was, standing in line to check out. I had all the groceries out of the cart and a good two minutes to spare. So what to do? Browse the magazine displays of course. Guess what I found right between the weekly tabloids and the The Next Big Diet? A beautiful addition to my independent learning resources.


It's like the planet in a nutshell. Time, Inc. has done it again. Portrait of the Planet: TIME Nature's Wonders, The science and splendor of Earth's most fascinating places is 121 pages of amazing photos and concise explanations. It's the earth from a different point of view.


Divided into five sections, atmosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere, cryosphere and geosphere, it's a quick read, but you won't be able to get the photographs out of your mind. The one of the San Andreas Fault in San Luis Obispo County, CA is unlike any I have seen. I can't decide on what else to share, they're all amazing, so you'll just have to see for yourself.

You really should buy this one for your learning toolbox. At this point, I'm not sure where to direct you, although I think that bookstores like Barnes and Noble will have it on their magazine rack. You might want to check out your local supermarket first!

Update: It's also available at Wal-Mart!

EarthPortal

Just discovered Earth Portal which describes itself as "a comprehensive resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment." This website is chock full of articles about the environment of the earth.

It is actually three sites in one, The Encyclopedia of Earth, EarthForum and EarthNews. For anyone interested in pursuing this vital area of study, this would make a perfect starting place for your learning project.

One can only image how long it would take to completely explore this site. If you go to the Encyclopedia of Earth and click on Topics, you will find extensive articles on all things environmental. Reminds me of Wikipedia, with a focus on the earth.

Isn't it incredible that so many authoritative resources are becoming available to everyday scholars?