Perspectives of Earth:
Sharing Our Vision
On occasion of Massachusetts STEM Week 2021, the McAuliffe Center is inviting educators and their students to document the environmental challenges that affect their towns and neighborhoods, reflect on the environmental challenges’ consequences on life in their local communities, and share with us ideas for potential solutions to counteract the negative effects of environmental degradation.
Each day from October 18 to 22, we will feature an image of planet Earth taken from space on the McAuliffe Center’s Twitter and Instagram accounts. We will provide additional information and prompts for group discussion. We invite educators and their students to share images that document local environmental challenges with reflections and potential solutions on social media using #PoEVision!
We need our young people’s creativity and innovation to solve, today, the problems that threaten to impact their generation the most in the years to come.
Educators can engage their classes in this activity any time before Massachusetts STEM Week 2021. Educators and students are invited, however, to share reflections and images during the period of October 18 to 22 with the McAuliffe Center’s Twitter and Instagram accounts by using the hashtag #PoEVision.
Educators:
You can choose any of the images featured below for a class discussion
You can choose to devote one class period to this activity, or multiple class periods
You can have your students all work together on one image, or you can have small teams of fewer students each work on a different image
… Or, you choose the best format for your class!
Collect full-length reflections, potential solutions, and images (when possible) from your students and assist them in turning their thoughts and images into social-media-length posts (up to 280 characters long).
Students — individually or in groups — can submit their social-media-length reflections, potential solutions, and images to this Google Form.
Please use this version of the Google Form if the other is blocked by your institution.
In addition, you and/or your students are invited to post their reflections and images with the McAuliffe Center’s Twitter and Instagram accounts by using the hashtag #PoEVision.
Questions?
Contact: Suzanne Wright, swright4@framingham.edu
Write “PoE - Sharing our Visions” in the subject line of your email
Choose one of these images to start your class discussion:
Monday, October 18
Heat Islands, Ground Cover
Can you identify heat islands in your community? Share your images and reflections.
New York City, Credit: NASA - ISS039-E-18538
As many urbanites know, summertime has its downside. The things we take for granted in cities—roads, sidewalks, brick buildings, and asphalt roofs—all intensify summer heat by trapping the Sun’s energy and remaining warm long after the Sun has set. This phenomenon has a name: urban heat island.
Share your reflection directly on social media using #PoEVision OR
Submit your social-media-length reflections, potential solutions, and images to this Google Form, and we will post them for you.
Tuesday, October 19
Deforestation, Climate Change
Are you noticing deforestation practices in your community? Share your images, reflections, and ideas for action.
Amazon River, Credit: NASA - ISS064-E-14990
Deforestation is destroying forests at an alarming rate. This is of great concern because they play an important role in global climate and are home to a wide variety of plants, animals, and insects. Over 60% (3.1 million acres) of Massachusetts is covered with forest, but deforestation is affecting our state, too. According to Massachusetts Audubon, over 40 acres of open space (forests and field) are lost to development every day.
Share your reflection directly on social media using #PoEVision OR
Submit your social-media-length reflections, potential solutions, and images to this Google Form, and we will post them for you.
Wednesday, October 20
Hurricanes, Climate Change
During the last few months, did your community experience flooding or tornado warnings due to the hurricanes that made landfall on the east coast of the United States? How can we be better prepared to deal with the impacts of future hurricanes?
Hurricane Ida, Credit: NASA, European Space Agency
Hurricanes are the most powerful weather event on Earth. The "what" of hurricanes is seen through amazing NASA images. Other NASA data helps researchers contribute to hurricane science and understandings of how we can be better prepared to deal with their wide range of impacts.
Share your reflection directly on social media using #PoEVision OR
Submit your social-media-length reflections, potential solutions, and images to this Google Form, and we will post them for you.
Thursday, October 21
Drought
Are you aware of the effects that drought may have on your community? Share your images, reflections, and ideas for action.
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States and part of a system that supplies water to at least 40 million people across seven states and northern Mexico. It stands today at its lowest level since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president. This means less water will be portioned out to some states in the 2022 water year.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Share your reflection directly on social media using #PoEVision OR
Submit your social-media-length reflections, potential solutions, and images to this Google Form, and we will post them for you.
Friday, October 22
Air Pollution
Are you concerned about air quality in your community? Share your images, reflections, and ideas for action.
Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), primarily emitted from burning fossil fuels for transportation and electricity generation, can be used as an indicator of changes in human activity. These images show average concentrations of atmospheric NO2 in March from 2015 to 2019, and the average concentration measured in March 2020. Breathing air with a high concentration of NO2 can irritate airways in the human respiratory system. Longer exposures to elevated concentrations of NO2 may contribute to the development of asthma and potentially increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.
Share your reflection directly on social media using #PoEVision OR
Submit your social-media-length reflections, potential solutions, and images to this Google Form, and we will post them for you.
