Biology 1PlanetlineSemester Project

By the end of the semester, you will have developed a path that goes through 10 locations related to Biology.

Instructions

1. 10 distinctly different locations you have visited, each clearly and directly related to at least one concept covered in this course,with a clear paragraph of description.

2. Two of the locations must be connected to recent Biology-related news stories.

3. One of the locations must be or be connected to a Biology-related event you attended.

4. At least 4 of the locations should include a photo taken by you with the date.

5. At least 5 of the locations should include a reference to a source of extra information.

This may help you get into habit of linking your work to the work of others.

Present your Planetline in the medium of your choicewith personal reflections. (poster, PowerPoint, Prezi, journal, blog, vlog, chapbook, scroll, pop-up book, mobile, etc.)

Example

Minuteman Bikeway

A. Whole FoodsBiological Macromolecules, Artificial Selection, GMOs

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/

2012/03/27/149474012/activists-say-

americans-support-labeling-genetically-

modified-food

9/2/13 12:41 PMActivists Say Americans Support Labeling Genetically Modified Food : The Salt : NPR

Page 1 of 2http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/27/149474012/activists-say-americans-support-labeling-genetically-modified-food

Activists Say Americans Support Labeling GeneticallyModified Food

People march demanding labels for genetically modified food near the White House inWashington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 2011.

Ren Haijun/Xinhua /Landov

Activists who want genetically modified food to be labeled in the U.S. say there's moresupport than ever for their cause. As evidence, a coalition calling itself Just Label It re-leased the results today of a survey it commissioned from The Mellman Group, a na-tional pollster. The survey found that 91 percent of voters favor the labeling of foodwith genetically modified ingredients.

Some 40 countries around the world now require labels for GM foods. But the U.S. Food

B. Fresh Pond:Water Treatment FacilitypH, Water, Ecosystems, Ecosystem Services, Water Cycle

C. Cambridge Stormwater WetlandEcosystem Services, Ecological Restoration,Water Cycle

http://www.bioengineering.com/projects/view.php?id=42

D. Spy PondEcosystems, Water Cycle, Chemistry,Human Impact—water pollutants, bioaccumulation, biomagnification

http://www.npr.org/2013/01/17/169636357/understanding-climate-change-with-help-from-thoreau

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/

journal.pone.0053788

E. Arlington Library:Walden Pond Phenology TalkEcosystems, Climate Change, Scientific Inquiry

F. Busa FarmArtificial Selection, Mutualism, Ecosystems, Biodiversity

8/30/12 8:48 PMHow Making Food Safe Can Harm Wildlife And Water : The Salt : NPR

Page 1 of 5http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/23/151047957/how-making-food-safe-can-harm-wildlife-and-water

How Making Food Safe Can Harm Wildlife And Water

03:36 am

April 23, 2012

by DAN CHARLES

We'd probably like to think that clean, safe food goes hand in hand with pristine

nature, with lots of wildlife and clean water. But in the part of California that grows a

lot of the country's lettuce and spinach, these two goals have come into conflict.

Environmental advocates say a single-minded focus on food safety has forced

growers of salad greens to strip vegetation from around their fields, harming wildlife

and polluting streams and rivers.

The heart of this conflict is the Salinas Valley, on California's central coast. And my

guide to the valley, on this beautiful spring day, is Daniel Mountjoy, an ecologist with

a nonprofit organization called Sustainable Conservation. "I just love the drive down

The Salt

Adam Cole/NPRA clampdown on contamination in growing fields has pushed out wildlifeand destroyed habitats.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/

2012/04/23/151047957/how-making-food-

safe-can-harm-wildlife-and-water

G. Walking TrailsParasites, Viruses, Invasive Species, Biodiversity

8/30/12 8:47 PMWith West Nile On The Rise, We Answer Your Questions : Shots - Health Blog : NPR

Page 1 of 5http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/08/29/160254867/with-west-nile-on-the-rise-we-answer-your-questions

With West Nile On The Rise, WeAnswer Your Questions

by RICHARD KNOX

03:00 pm

August 29, 2012

This year is on track to be the worst ever for West Nile virus in the United States.Here are the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

1,590 reported cases, nearly 500 more than a week ago for a rise of 44percent.

889 cases, or 56 percent, involve severe neurological disease.

66 deaths, compared to 41 last week.

Every state except Alaska and Hawaii has reported West Nile virus in people, birdsor mosquitoes. "We expect the number of cases will rise through October," says Dr.Lyle Petersen, director of the CDC's division of vector-borne infections.

In Texas, the worst-hit state, cases jumped by nearly 200 over the past week anddeaths reached 31, up 10 from last week. "As I look at the data, I'm not convinced wehave peaked," Texas health commissioner Dr, David Lakey told reporters on a CDCconference call Wednesday.

As the reported numbers have mounted, many NPR listeners emailed us withquestions about West Nile. We put them to to Dr. Erin Staples, a medical

LM Otero/APA Beechcraft airplane sprays insecticide over Dallas early Monday morning to curb the spread ofWest Nile virus.

H. ApiaryEcosystem Services—pollination,Mutualism, Ecology, Biochemistry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apiary

I. Geoengineering TalkBiosphere, Human Impact—Climate Engineering

http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/511016/a-cheap-and-easy-plan-to-stop-global-warming/

9/2/13 12:51 PMMeet the Man with a Cheap and Easy Plan to Stop Global Warming | MIT Technology Review

Page 1 of 12http://www.technologyreview.com/featuredstory/511016/a-cheap-and-easy-plan-to-stop-global-warming/

A Cheap and Easy Plan to Stop Global Warming

Here is the plan. Customize several Gulfstreambusiness jets with military engines and withequipment to produce and disperse finedroplets of sulfuric acid. Fly the jets up around20 kilometers—significantly higher than thecruising altitude for a commercial jetliner butstill well within their range. At that altitude inthe tropics, the aircraft are in the lower stratos-phere. The planes spray the sulfuric acid, care-fully controlling the rate of its release. The sul-fur combines with water vapor to form sulfateaerosols, fine particles less than a micrometer indiameter. These get swept upward by naturalwind patterns and are dispersed over the globe,including the poles. Once spread across thestratosphere, the aerosols will reflect about 1

percent of the sunlight hitting Earth back into space. Increasing what scientists call theplanet’s albedo, or reflective power, will partially offset the warming effects caused byrising levels of greenhouse gases.

The author of this so-called geoengineering scheme, David Keith, doesn’t want to imple-ment it anytime soon, if ever. Much more research is needed to determine whether in-jecting sulfur into the stratosphere would have dangerous consequences such as dis-rupting precipitation patterns or further eating away the ozone layer that protects usfrom damaging ultraviolet radiation. Even thornier, in some ways, are the ethical andgovernance issues that surround geoengineering—questions about who should be al-lowed to do what and when. Still, Keith, a professor of applied physics at Harvard Uni-versity and a leading expert on energy technology, has done enough analysis to suspectit could be a cheap and easy way to head off some of the worst effects of climate change.

According to Keith’s calculations, if operationswere begun in 2020, it would take 25,000 metric tons of sulfuric acid to cut global warm-