EARTH HOUR

On March 31 2007, for one hour, Sydney made a powerful statement about the greatest contributor to global warming – coal-fired electricity – by turning off its lights. Over 2.2 million Sydney residents and over 2,100 businesses switched off, leading to a 10.2% energy reduction across the city. What began as one city taking a stand against global warming caught the attention of the world.

In 2008, 24 global cities participated in Earth Hour at 8pm on March 29. Earth Hour is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions on an ongoing basis. It is about simple changes that will collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.

The Aurora Season In A Bar Graph

According to the last 75 years of data, which 4 months are the best for viewing auroras (northern lights)? It appears they are most likely to occur around the equinoxes, or spring and fall. The reason for this is pretty complicated and not fully understood. Check out more here. March is the best month out of the year, so keep an eye to the night sky!

White Star

Here is a look at our new novel we are reading. This book does a very good job of blending facts about the Titanic with the fictional story of a boy who has found a true friend in a dog. Marty Crisp (author) includes a map of the Titanic's voyage, an illustration of the decks on the boat, a time line of events, fascinating facts, and mysteries of the Titanic. He also includes a list of survivors as well as victims. This chapter book is a great read for any student interested in the Titanic or dogs!

March Migration

It's now March and the biggest news at Lack Tuscarora is that the migration north is on! Each morning coming to school I see hundreds of canada geese migrating. A quick bird count today revealed flocks of canada geese, several species of ducks, hawks, blue birds, grackle, and 3 bald eagles! There is no doubt that spring is on the way, as these birds give us a clue. The weather was cold and windy, let's hope March goes out like a lamb.

Mystery Auroras

We know that auroras happen when charged particles from the sun slam into our upper atmosphere, which causes beautiful northern lights! This picture was taken Saturday night (3/1/08) from Norway. Here is the mystery...there were no solar wind gusts. Where did this come from? NASA hopes to soon find out. A year ago they launched 5 spacecraft to study these mysterious outbursts.