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Friday 3rd June 2005: Issue 26

Sunday 5th June is World Environment Day!  It’s about getting involved, raising awareness and doing your bit to help improve where you live, and that means the whole planet!  So sit back and enjoy your environmentally aware (paperless) Wired-Up.

  1. The Wire - Want to do your bit?  Where do you start?
  2. Scinet - From wildlife gardens to power plants it’s all here
  3. Up For Grabs - You’ll have to work for this one!
  4. Try This! - Acid rain alert….
  5. Rib Busters - hold on to your sides – they might split!
1. The Wire ­ Science news delivered straight to your inbox...

Can you green-up your lifestyle? For World Environment Day the UK’s Environment Agency is asking people to choose a pledge that will make their lifestyle greener. There are loads of things you can pledge to do… boil only the water you need to use, turn the tap off while you are brushing your teeth, or switch your TV off rather than leaving it on stand-by.

All these little things will help save natural resources and have a positive impact on our environment. With most scientists agreeing that climate change is happening, it is wise to cut back on the amount of energy we use. Most of our electricity comes from non-renewable resources such as coal, oil and gas, and burning these fuels releases carbon dioxide which adds to the greenhouse effect.

So whether it is saving energy to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released, or using less water so that we won’t face droughts in summer, what change do you think you could make?

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/wed/campaign/
2. Scinet ­ You don’t have to surf the Internet alone...

If you want to know more about the greenhouse effect – why not start here:
http://schools.ceh.ac.uk/basic/greenhouse/greenhouse1.htm

And from there you can move on to other environmental issues, like the removal of hedgerows and acid rain!

Have a go at the Environment Agency’s games section:
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fun/

And even if you don’t have room for a wildlife pond in your back garden, you can create a virtual one on their site.

For those of you that are a bit more homework-minded, have a look at this fab site:
http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/

You’ll find all you need to know about different forms of energy, it even has geothermal and biomass!
3. Up For Grabs - You've got to be in it to win it...

OK – so flying isn’t the greenest way to travel but with our new flight quiz this month you don’t have to leave your chair, unless you win! Three winners receive a great kite – perfect for summer time.

If you think you know a lot about flying and falling, test your knowledge and you might just be lucky!

You can find the new quiz here: http://www.planet-science.com/quiz
4. Try This! – Turn your kitchen into a laboratory...

You may have heard of acid rain, but did you know the effects could be so damaging?

You will need:

  • A box of chalk
  • A nail
  • Vinegar
  • A straw
  • A plate

What to do:

  1. Take a piece of chalk and carve it into a statue. You can make it as complicated as you like but be careful you do not hurt yourself with the nail; don’t scrape too hard! You could make lots of statues, or even a little city – for that real acid rain effect!
  2. Place your statues or cities on a plate.
  3. Use the straw to pick up some vinegar – do this by putting the straw in a cup of vinegar and then putting your finger over the top of the straw. Keep your finger there when you lift the straw out. You will see that the vinegar is held in it.
  4. Carefully hold the straw / vinegar over your chalk city and LET IT RAIN!
  5. Watch as your city bubbles into a mush...

What happened?

Chalk is calcium carbonate, and this reacts with vinegar, an acid. The reaction gives off bubbles of carbon dioxide and what remains is dissolved in the vinegar. Acid rain has a very similar effect on the limestone and calcium carbonate in statues and buildings in our cities.

Although rainwater is naturally acidic anyway it becomes more acidic when it dissolves certain gases from the air. These gases, like sulphur dioxide, can be both natural and man-made although power stations make the biggest contribution to these gases and therefore to acid rain.

If you want to know more about the pollutants that make up acid rain and its effects on plants and buildings, have a look at this website:
http://schools.ceh.ac.uk/basic/acidrain/acidrain1.htm
5. Rib Busters ­ Funny ha ha AND sometimes funny weird!

How many energy students does it take to change a light bulb?
None! They're smart enough to use energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs, which rarely need to be replaced.

What would a barefooted man get if he steps on an electric wire?
A pair of shocks.
THAT’S ALL FOR NOW

Got Wired-Up? Got clued up!

Don’t forget that Wired-Up will be hitting your inboxes every fortnight from now on, but in the meantime, send any questions, comments, jokes or experiment ideas to: wired-up.news@nesta.org.uk

Until then, why not pay the Planet Science website a visit, by clicking here:
http://www.planet-science.com

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