Solar Panels at ERHS

Solar Panels at ERHS

In the month of may, 332 kilowatt hours of energy was produced, 6 trees saved, and 110,666.67 batteries saved by the solar panels on the roof of the school.

In April, 402 kilowatt hours of energy were produced, 7 trees saved, and 134,000 batteries saved.

Today 5.62 kilowatt hours were produced.

I think that it is great for ERHS to have solar panels and awesome that people thought of us and donated time and money to make them a realty.  I think it is good for students to learn about solar panels and how they are able to generate energy from the sun.  I believe it is good for them to learn of all the different reusable energy sources and to be able to see one of the means of using the energy first hand is even better!  I think it would be good for students to take data on the amount of energy produced by day or week, learning why the amount fluctuates and how many appliances it can power.  It is really something to be able to say that the use of the schools solar panels has been put to good use and saved trees, power, and other things that would have been harmful to the environment.

My Footprint 04-22-14

1. This link will allow you to find your global & carbon footprint: http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
2.This site is targeted more towards a home owner, a child may fill it out with a parent's help.
3. My footprint:
                 a) # Earth's I would need: 4.3
                 b) Pounds of Carbon Dioxide: 21
                 c) Acres of land you need: 19.1
4.Ways to reduce my footprint:
    a)Myself-Eating less packaged foods, more local
                 - Take shorter showers
                 - Use less electrical appliances
    b)The school- Build more interest in recycling
                        - Educate/remind people to turn of lights when rooms are not in use
                        - Have less people running water when they are in a bathroom
    c)The community- Have the community plant gardens for food and/or shop more locally
                              - Promote people walking or riding bicycles when running ( ;) ) small errands.
                              - Get people to spend time in other ways than watching TV or using the computer.
5.  Within the National Geographic video we watched, were many facts and statistics on the average American's footprint on the planet.  The video was very informative, with pictures that represented the quantities of different materials people use.  Showing a gigantic mound of disposable diapers, the amount one baby would use in their lifetime, or a car, showing the weight of hamburgers that an average American would eat in their lifetime.  The visual representations were good for hitting home of how much we really waste while living on the planet.  The amount of garbage in landfills and the ocean, enough to circle the earth numerous times, is inconceivable to my mind.  I feel that my family really tries to be conscious of our impact, but we still have a ways to go if we want our home planet to be healthy. 

Misconceptions

A) The moon does spin
1. I believed the moon orbited the earth, keeping only one side facing earth. I did not consider that is must rotate itself in order to do this.
2 The moon orbits the earth and must rotate, otherwise we would see all sides of it.

B) Withholding Hubble Space Telescope Data
1. At first I did not think data should be with held, I believe that is could be withheld for a little while, for the scientists who initiated the collecting of the data to examine it, but not for too long.
2. It can take a long time to actually process the data.  The scientists who started the experiment should be able to process it for a bit (only up to a year) before revealing it to the public.

C) What causes seasons?
1. I thought the changing of seasons was due to the earth rotating around the sun and different sides being closer to it during different seasons.
2. I was not factoring the change in the axis of the earth,  which is the true cause of the seasons, not distance.

Bad Astronomy

A)  1.
I saw the ship fall apart and shut down as it entered Mars' atmosphere.  I did not catch the line that atributed this disterbance to a gamma  ray.
2.  I thought it was odd that radiation entered/ of was formed within the space shuttle so easily.
3. The astronomer on Bad Astronomy says that the ship would have bee guarded from radiation.

B)  1.  I saw the escape pod hitting Mars's surface and bouncing down a cliff.
2.  I do not believe the astronauts would have been able to survive the impact and continued bouncing.
3. The astronomer compares this to a car crash and says their survival would be unlikely, at least they shouldn't have been able to walk away.

C) 1.  Bowman flipped a switch and the gravity turned back on in the space ship, causing her to fall to its floor.
2.  I thought it was plausible that the gravity would turn on in such a manner.
3. The astronomer says it would have taken longer for the system to slowly boot up and turn the gravity on.

D)  1. Chantilas has a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding so he has the others leave him behind.
2. They should have taken his oxygen if he was going  to die anyway.  Why make him wait, and risk their own lives more without it.
3. The astronomer says the same, and thinks Chantilas would have offered it up.

E) 1. Gallagher is dying from not having enough oxygen.
2. First, I thought he should have opened his helmet.  I called that there would vbe oxygen, and I thought it would have been better than suffocating in the helmet.
3. The astronomer says the astronauts should have known about the return of oxygen.