This article describes the urban heat island phenomenon and provides an overview of a research project investigating the effect as seen in New York City. Topics include the large proportion of earth's population now living in cities and the exacerbating effect of climate change on heat islands. A discussion of the study in New York describes how researchers used LandSat imagery to correlate the hottest areas of the city with a lack of vegetation (especially trees) in those areas. Suggested mitigation solutions included planting more trees, converting roof surfaces to reflect light, and the use of 'green roofs', specially constructed systems that use living plants as the outermost layer.

​​Nature has the power to make children healthier, happier and smarter. But over the last few generations, childhood has moved indoors, leaving kids disconnected from the natural world. This worldwide trend has profound implications for children’s healthy development—and the future of our planet.

Go backward and forward in time with this interactive visualization that illustrates how the Earth's climate has changed in recent history. Topics covered are Sea Ice: ice cap extent 1979 - 2007, Sea Level: effect on coastal regions for each meter of sea level rise, Carbon Emissions: amount of annual fossil fuel emissions produced by the top 12 nations or regions from 1980-2004, and Average Global Temperature: a color-coded map showing the progression of changing global surface temperatures from 1885 to 2007.

Interactions between species are what define ecological communities, and community ecology studies these interactions anywhere they take place. Although interspecies interactions are mostly competitive, competition is pretty dangerous, so a lot of interactions are actually about side-stepping direct competition and instead finding ways to divvy up resources to let species get along. Feel the love?

Hank gets to the more violent part of community ecology by describing predation and the many ways prey organisms have developed to avoid it.

Moving plant and animal species to new environments can be beneficial, but can often cause environmental and economic harm.
The next time you are outdoors, introduce the term invasive species to children and discuss its meaning by asking:
• How would this area look different if a family of elephants lived here?
• What impact would the elephants have on the plants and animals nearby?
• Where do elephants live in the wild? Why don’t elephants live here?

Hank wraps up the Crash Course on ecology by taking a look at the growing fields of conservation biology and restoration ecology, which use all the kung fu moves we've learned about in the past eleven weeks and apply them to protecting ecosystems and to cleaning up the messes that we've already made.

This feature article from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Observatory discusses the use of satellite imagery to evaluate desertification which is occurring in the Sahel, a region of central African savannah that forms the boundary between the Sahara Desert to the north and the wetter, more fertile regions to the south. Topics include the use of Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) data, obtained from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) meteorological satellites, to develop a vegetation index, and exactly how the term 'desertification' should be defined in order to distinguish temporarily degraded land from that which has permanently lost productivity.

You and your team are a group of scientists hired by the Government of Saskatchewan. Your team is made up of specialists hired by the Government of Saskatchewan to review a new feedlot proposed  to be opened in 3 years’ time. 

The study of clouds (where they occur, their characteristics, etc) plays a key role in the understanding of climate change. This site discusses how the relative thickness and altitude of various cloud types result in their either reflecting solar radiation or transmitting and trapping it, thereby warming Earth's surface. It features text, a scientific illustration, and links to other relevant topics and datasets.

The study of clouds (where they occur, their characteristics, etc) plays a key role in the understanding of climate change. This site discusses how the relative thickness and altitude of various cloud types result in their either reflecting solar radiation or transmitting and trapping it, thereby warming Earth's surface. It features text, a scientific illustration, and links to other relevant topics and datasets.

This site provides a brief description of the Dustbowl in the American Great Plains during the 1930s and relates its effects to what is occurring presently in the Sahel of North Africa. In this dry savannah environment, human activity coupled with prolonged drought are causing desertification. The site features text, satellite imagery, and links to other related materials.

The Earth Observatory Glossary defines words from space science, ecology and Earth science. It is part of the NASA Earth Observatory site, which provides new satellite imagery and scientific information about Earth with a focus on climate and environmental change. The new glossary mode allows users to browse the Earth Observatory site with special terms highlighted that, when selected, will take you to the appropriate entry in the glossary.

This webpage from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) provides an astronautå�è÷€�åÜ€�_s photograph of the moon viewed from the top of the atmosphere. The appearance of the nearly translucent moon is described in regards to optics, and an introduction to NASAå�è÷€�åÜ€�_s observations of the top of the atmosphere is provided. The site also contains links to numerous new images from the Earth Observatory.

In the world of ecology, the only constant is change - but change can be good. Today Hank explains ecological succession and how ecological communities change over time to become beautiful, biodiverse mosaics.

Hank brings us to the next level of ecological study with ecosystem ecology, which looks at how energy, nutrients, and materials are getting shuffled around within an ecosystem (a collection of living and nonliving things interacting in a specific place), and which basically comes down to who is eating who.

Exploring Environmental Issues: Biodiversity was developed by Project Learning Tree in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. In this sixty-page module, students learn that decisions about growth and development, energy use and water quality, and even human health, all rest to some extent on perspectives about biodiversity. Educators and students step back from biodiversity issues and specific species to examine broader concepts and larger connections—not just biological, but political, cultural, ethical, and economic as well. Educators can download the complete Exploring Environmental Issues: Biodiversity module at no cost.

The word “biotechnology” usually conjures images of modern techniques and topics of controversy such as cloning, stem cell research, and genetically modified organisms. However, the practice of manipulating organisms to create a product has long been used by human societies. Our Biotechnology Series is designed for high school and community college educators in the fields of Biology, Environmental Science, Social Studies, and Agriculture. A special effort has been made to construct activities that support instruction in AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, and AP Human Geography. This module was created as a supplement to the Focus on Risk curriculum. Educators can download the complete Exploring Environmental Issues: Biotechnology module at no cost.