Many technological advances have helped in the agricultural sciences
since the industrial revolution. But these sciences will demand extensive
growth as the global population increases.
Farmers rely on techniques such as crop rotation, cover crops, soil
enrichment, and pest management to enhance their yields. Genetic engineering
has provided us with crops that can endure less than perfect
growing conditions. Some are engineered to withstand stress from harsh
environments such as arid lands, cold temperatures, and low nutrient
levels. A variety of fruits and vegetables are altered to contain more
vitamins and nutrients.
Developing clean energy from renewable sources has become an important
aspect of our energy needs. Alternative energy sources are being
researched and developed to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Fluctuating
costs of oil, coal and natural gas, along with their possible negative
effects on the environment, has made energy sources such as wind
and solar more cost-competitive with fossil fuels. More energy strikes
the Earth in an hour than humans need in a year. We are now hard at
work developing a variety of technologies to convert its power into
energy that we can use to heat, cool and light our homes and businesses.
Scientists have been debating the planetary designation of Pluto ever
since it was discovered in 1930. In this program, students are given a
firsthand look at the scientific process that first classified Pluto as a
planet and then reclassified it as a dwarf planet in 2006. Not all scientists
are in agreement with this definition and the future may bring
further reclassification. Also, students will learn the scientific process of
categorizing a planet and details about this tiny world at the farthest
reaches of our solar system.
Revolutionary changes are taking place in the automobile industry. The
standard petroleum gasoline fueled engine has some new competition
from gas-electric hybrids, electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles,
natural gas vehicles, and even some automobiles that get some of their
power from the Sun.
The average American produces almost 2 kilograms of garbage per day,
or 13 kilograms per week and 726 kilograms per year. New technologies
are helping scientists find ways to reduce these numbers and recycle
many valuable raw materials instead of becoming waste in everyday
trash.
There are several cave systems that support unique ecosystems in the
remote jungles of southern Mexico. One specific cave, the Villa Luz, is
known for the bacteria in its thermal sulphur springs that produce hydrogen
sulfide gas. When the gases form bonds with oxygen, the result is
sulfuric acid. The acid eats away at the cave walls, constantly altering
the patterns in the cretaceous limestone.
Christmas Island, at roughly 135 square kilometers, was named after the day of its discovery – December
25th, 1643 and is home to a large population of red crabs. Sixty three percent of the island is a
protected National Park. The park offers the perfect forest ecosystem for the Christmas Island Red Crab,
which is endemic to the Cocos Islands and Christmas Island, both in the Indian Ocean.
Comets have been causing fear in the minds of humans for millennia.
Now spacecraft are helping us to understand what they are made of and
how they behave. The time it takes for a comet to make one complete
orbit around another object is known as the orbital period. The range of
a comet’s orbital period may be from a few years to hundreds of thousands
of years. Short-period comets originate in the Kuiper belt, or its
associated scattered disc, which lie beyond the orbit of Neptune.
Longer-period comets are thought to originate in the Oort Cloud, a
spherical cloud of icy bodies in the outer Solar System. Comets allow us
to study what the solar system was like in its formative period. This
program will help students understand why comets cause both fear and
fascination.
