The road to a greener future may start in northwest England’s Cumbria county, where plastic litter is turning up in an unusual new place: street pavements.

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Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Plastic Hits the Road

Tags: environmental protection, MacRebur, materials, ocean plastic, plastic roads, Recycling, VolkerWessels

Share a ride. Plant a tree. There are lots of ways individuals can have a positive impact on the planet. Earth Day 2014’s theme is Green Cities. Since buildings worldwide are responsible for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, reducing the carbon footprint of schools, homes, and offices can pay huge dividends.

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Tags: Alternative Energy, Earth Day 2014, Environmental Engineering, environmental protection, green cities, Internet Resources, Resources for Teachers, STEM education, Sustainability, tree, Web Resources

For more than four decades, people around the world have celebrated Earth Day on April 22. This year’s organizers hope to mobilize 1 billion individuals to raise awareness about environmental issues and sustainability. Already, some 815 million have pledged to reuse water bottles, organize events, and perform other “Acts of Green.”

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Filed under: Special Features, Web Resources | Comments Off on Feature: Earth Day 2012

Tags: Actos of Green, April 22, Earth Day, Earth Day 2012, Environmental Engineering, environmental protection, Environmental science, Pollution, Sustainability

In this activity, teams of kids in grades 4-7 follow the engineering design process to invent a holder for six cans that’s animal-safe, sturdy, convenient, and easy to carry. They learn why discarded plastic rings can be a problem for wildlife and brainstorm animal-friendly ways to package six cans. They then build, test, and redesign their system and discuss what happened.

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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »

Tags: Class Activities, design process, Design Squad Nation, Environmental Engineering, environmental protection, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, plastic rings, six pack, wildlife