Julia Cechvala
Filling in the GAPs: Citizen Scientists Monitor Local Biodiversity
Like the web of species within the habitats it monitors, the NatureMapping program is all about inter-connections – among species of animals, professional and citizen scientists, government agencies, policy planners, land owners and the land itself. Julia Cechvala explains how NatureMapping works in Filling in the GAPs: Citizen Scientists Monitor Local Biodiversity. You can read it here.
Julia Cechvala, posted on
October 14th, 2009
Articles, Biodiversity, Earth Observation, Technology
| 1 Comment »
Education Around Earth – Coyote Mentoring: One School’s Lessons in Earth Observation
Coyote Mentoring: One School’s Lessons in Nature Awareness gives a snapshot of the direction that Earth observation should be taking in the classroom, says Associate Editor for Education David Mullins, Ph.D. “It’s especially pertinent to teaching the present generation. Educators are beginning to recognize that kids are less and less impressed with computers; they aren’t new and exciting to them. In their digitally ubiquitous worlds (e.g., email, discussion boards, chat rooms, blogs, Twitter, FaceBook, IM, text messaging, and Flickr) kids quickly discover that getting your hands dirty during a fossil hunt and your feet wet doing water quality testing is both fun and educational. So, I think this article is in line with the evolving STEM literature implicating the gender and cultural foundations of science education and the need for measurement and observation in the physical environment for future scientists to truly appreciate the data they see on computer monitors.”
Julia Cechvala, posted on
August 3rd, 2009
Articles, Education, OpEd, Sustainability
| 2 Comments »
From Satellite to Solar Walls: A Look at GEO Energy
Hundreds of kilometers above the earth’s surface, satellites orbit overhead, their cameras and sensors trained back on the Earth. Aside from a few scientists on the ground, not many people are aware of these satellites or the innovative ways they are helping provide energy to the world. Meanwhile, children in northern Canada exercise in a gym heated with the help of a solar wall, women in Africa fill containers with potable water from a solar-powered well, and a farmer in Minnesota looks up at the whirling blades of a new wind turbine in his corn field.
Julia Cechvala, posted on
July 6th, 2009
Articles, Energy, Sustainability, Technology
| 4 Comments »
What’s so Funny about Global Warming?
Julia Cechvala explains that laughing at our current environmental crisis – with a little help from various eco-cartoonists – is not only a healthy exercise, but can actually drive the point home easier than words alone.
Julia Cechvala, posted on
April 13th, 2009
Articles, Climate, Would You Believe?
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NASA Image of the Day
Orbital Sunrise
The Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station photographed this image of polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by an orbital sunrise. Polar mesospheric, or noctilucent ("night shining"), clouds usually are seen at twilight, following the setting of the sun below the horizon and darkening of Earth's surface. Occasionally the station's orbital track becomes nearly parallel to Earth's day/night terminator for a time, allowing the clouds to be visible to the crew at times other than the usual twilight because of the station's altitude. This photograph shows polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising, rather than setting, sun at center right. Low clouds on the horizon appear yellow and orange, while higher clouds and aerosols are illuminated a brilliant white. Polar mesospheric clouds appear as light blue ribbons extending across the top of the image. The station was located over the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea (near the southwestern coastline of Turkey) when the image was taken at approximately midnight local time. The orbital complex was tracking northeastward, nearly parallel to the terminator, making it possible to observe an apparent "sunrise" located almost due north. A similar unusual alignment of the ISS orbit track, terminator position and seasonal position of Earth's orbit around the sun allowed for this striking imagery of over the Southern Hemisphere. Image Credit: NASA
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