Green Tips: Save Power

t’s easy to protect the planet! These tips help save energy. So get green and give the tips a try. Make sure to ask your parents before trying any of these tips!

• Keep those fans buzzing in summer instead of turning on the air conditioner.
• Replace incandescent lightbulbs with compact fluorescent ones. They last up to ten times longer and can use a quarter of the energy.
• Plug electronics into a power strip and flip off the switch when the gadgets aren’t in use. (make sure this won’t mess up clocks and recordings.)
• Commit to turning off your computer before bed each night and before you go out for the day. Also set the computer's sleep mode for when the computer is idle for just a little while. By doing these two simple acts, you will use about 85% less energy each day.
• Switch off the light every time you leave a room.
• Set the thermostat to no lower than 78°F in the summer and no higher than 68°F in the winter.
• Place your desk next to a window and use natural light instead of a lamp.
• Close your curtains to keep out daytime summer heat or keep in nighttime winter warmth.
• Turn off the TV or video game console and play outside.
• Ask Mom or Dad to turn off the car instead of letting it idle while you're waiting.
• Ride a bike or walk instead of using the car.
• Carpool.

From http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/green-tips-power/

Text by Emily Busch

Oil Spill to Wipe Out Gulf's Sperm Whales?

article and photo by http://news.nationalgeographic.com

Just three dead whales could push the Gulf population over the edge, experts say.

If the Gulf of Mexico oil spill kills just three sperm whales, it could seriously endanger the long-term survival of the Gulf's native whale population, scientists say.

The whales are now at risk from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill, because they are likely to ingest or inhale toxic crude and noxious oil fumes. 

"We know there's going to be some [oil] exposure, and we know there's an endangered species. If you put those two thing together, there is reason for concern," said Celine Godard-Codding, an environmental toxicologist at Texas Tech University.

article and photo by http://news.nationalgeographic.com

That means the whales' long-term survival is at risk if, in addition to natural deaths, three sperm whales a year are killed or removed by human causes.

"As soon as we get to the level of three deaths caused by human interaction—and this would include the oil spill—that would jeopardize that particular sperm whale population."

Whales May Be Choked, Drowned, and Poisoned

"The chemicals in the oil product that move up through the food web are a great concern for us," said Teri Rowles, coordinator of NOAA's marine-mammal health and stranding response program.

article and photo by http://news.nationalgeographic.com

article and photo by http://news.nationalgeographic.com

Some experts worry that the Gulf oil spill could be as damaging to sperm whales as the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was to killer whales in Alaska's Prince William Sound.

If the current oil spill causes more than three Gulf sperm whale deaths this year, it could push that group into the "red zone," Matkin said.

Finding dead or affected whales will be difficult, however, because the animals spend most of their time underwater, and their bodies do not often wash ashore.

"In the aerial surveys that are being performed as part of the cleanup and marine-mammal observations, we are requesting that people report dead floating whales," Rowles said.

"That would be the most likely way we would detect dead sperm whales."

What you think about it?