Human Activities and the Environmental Consequences Research Pathfinder Harding Middle School Grade 7  Mrs. Hoy

Middle School Pathfinders Lakewood City Schools Lakewood Public Library

Assignment: Choose 3 out of the 5 projects listed below to create a presentation given in class. Your presentation must be told, not read, and it must have a visual aide. You will need to hand in a 3x5 card stating which project you chose with sources cited.
Projects:

1. You will report on the different types of energy and decide which type is the most friendly to the environment.
2. Choose one mineral (find a chart of minerals at the library) and report on what is being done to develop substitutes for this mineral or the recycling of this mineral.
3. Investigate soil and report on the following:
   a. How human activity has polluted it.
   b. Why this activity would cause a decline in supporting life.
   c. How this polluting activity has changed the quality of the soil.
   d. What are the best ways of using soil without polluting it.
4. Investigate air and answer a, b, c, d from above.
5. Investigate water and answer a, b, c, d from above

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   Use the links below to locate information on the Web related to your topic area. If you fail to find what you are looking for, use one of these search tools for further material.

   ENERGY
   Visit Energy QuestTM - Energy Education from the California Energy Commission for good information on different types of energy. Start with The Energy Story. For a look at some renewable energy sources try CREST's On-Line Renewable Energy Education Module.

   WATER
   US EPA Office of Water - a good jumping off point for Environmental Protection Agency resources. You can visit sites about water including basic facts, an acid rain sourcebook, a glossary of drinking water terms, the Great Lakes and marine debris. The EPA also has a brochure on groundwater contamination. The National Wildlife Federation has a good page on Living Waters  including a section on mercury pollution and their Clean the Rain campaign. For water use and conservation see the CREST Environment Online Water page.

   SOIL
   The USDA Soil Conservation Service provides an overview of what soil is and examples of soil conservation practices. The Soil Science Society of America brings you this handy glossary of soil science terms. For additional information about soil go to the WWW Virtual Library and read all about soils and substrates.

   AIR
   US EPA Office of Air and Radiation - this site covers a wide variety of issues. You may want to start at Basic Facts. At the Squier Group researchers' Air Pollution page you can find some additional data including effects of air pollution. See CREST's Environment Online page for ozone depletion facts.

   MINERALS
   The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom - you can search for specific minerals by name, color, chemical group or element composition. Also includes very helpful mineral resources and a glossary of mineral terms. See also the USGS Minerals Information page.

For articles use the Research Databases. (Outside the library OPLIN databases require an Ohio public library card for access.)

Here are some books from the library you might find useful.
 

Middle School Pathfinders