Should Releasing Helium Balloons into the Sky be BANNED?

Have you ever released a helium filled balloon into the sky? Have you sent up a birthday balloon, a balloon in memory of a loved one or a balloon with a message attached in hopes someone will find it and contact you?

Some people think helium balloons should be banned. The helium balloons eventually fall and end up cluttering the land, waters and harming wildlife. Balloons bobbing in the ocean are mistaken for food and swallowed by marine life. Other wildlife get tangled in the strings attached to the balloons. It is estimated that helium balloons rank 6th in debris harmful to marine life. Additionally, released balloons that eventually find their way onto a tree branch detract from the beauty of the tree. Too many balloons in the sky could also be a danger to air traffic.

Another reason for a ban calling to end all helium balloons is that the gas, helium, is becoming scare. Once it is used up, there is no way to create more helium. It is a non-renewable resource. Many feel that the remaining Earth’s helium should be used for more important uses, industrial, medical and scientific. For example, did you know that MRI scans to help detect tissue and organ damage, use helium as a cooling agent for the machine? Some other uses of helium include uses in supersonic wind tunnels and satellite instruments. Helium is also combined with oxygen for divers to use in their air tanks.

Some people are calling for bans on helium balloons. Some states including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Arizona, New York , Florida, Tennessee, Virginia and Rhode Island are listening to the call to rethink the release of helium balloons in the air, trying to passing legislation to ban or limit such balloon releases. California hasn’t allowed foil balloons to be released into the air since 1990. Florida and Connecticut restrict the number of balloons that can be released. Other groups are making the decision to limit their use of helium balloons. An example is Clemson University in South Carolina. At each of their home football games, thousands of helium filled balloons were released. The practice was stopped in 2018 when environmental groups questioned the practice.

People concerned about the environment in other countries such as Great Britain are also debating the issue of releasing balloons into the sky. Australia, is also establishing new environmental laws to ban such balloon use.

What do YOU think of this issue?

Gail

Tour de France 2019

2019 is the 100th anniversary of the start of the Tour de France.

In 2019, the Tour de France began on July 6th and ends on July 28th. The end of the race takes place along the Champs-Elysees, one of the famous streets in France. It's considered the world's biggest and most exciting bicycling race.  Athletes competing in the race will travel approximately 3460K  ( 2149 miles) during the 22 day race. Each day(called stages), a leader  will be awarded a yellow jersey(or Maillot Jaune in French). In addition to the yellow jersey, there is a polka dot jersey awarded to the best climber(king of the mountains), a white jersey( the best youngest rider) and a green jersey(best sprinter).The Tour de France began in 1903.

See a map with the 2019 route:

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/tour-de-france

https://www.letour.fr/en/overall-route

 (Route of the 2019 Tour de France)

*Download the free resource here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/FreeDownload/TOUR-DE-FRANCE-2018-Interactive-Notebook-Activity-3894291

Fun Facts:

Only men compete in the Tour de France.

Approximately, 123,900 calories are burned by each rider in the Tour de France.

42000 water bottles will be used by the racers!

Someone figured out that enough sweat is created from racers competing in the 22 day race, to flush a toilet 39 times!

Riders from France have won the most races!(36 as of 2015)

The Tour de France is also known as "La Grande Boucle". 

Vocabulary word: Peloton, the term for the "pack" of riders.

History of Bicycles...Did You Know? 

As of 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark, is the bike friendly capital of the world. Amsterdam, Netherlands, came in second, with Utrecht, Netherlands, third. Some sources say Utrecht is more bike friendly than Amsterdam.

Some sources say the  invention of the first “bicycle” is credited to Comte Medi De Sivrac, of France. His bike didn’t have any pedals! The year was 1792 and it was called a hobby horse(or celerifere). To move you needed your feet!

Other sources credit Baron Karl von Drais, of Germany, with the Draisine meaning “running machine”.The 1917 human-propelled vehicle didn’t have any pedals.

A bike similar to today’s bike was created by Kirkpatrick Macmillan, from Scotland. The year was 1839. His bicycle had pedals!

The word “bicycle” comes from the French word “bicyclette”. The term became popular in 1868. Previous to this, bicycles were called “velocipedes” meaning “fast foot”.

The Penny-Farthing was a British bicycle that had a large front wheel and a much smaller wheel in the back. The name represented two British coins, the Farthing and the British Penny.

Early bicycles (velocipede) were known as bone shakers by their riders. With wooden wheels inside an iron rim and an iron frame, it was a very bumpy ride!

In 1887, Thomas Stevens became the first person to ride a Penny Farthing around the world!

In 1867, father and son, Pierre and Ernest Michaux, invented the modern bicycle.

Did you know that suffragette, Susan B.Anthony made a comment on the bicycle? She said that the mode of transportation “has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” She called the bicycle the “freedom machine.”

In 1896, Margaret Valentine Le Long rode a bicycle from Chicago to San Francisco!

Did you know that before Orville and Wilbur Wright became famous for their flying machine, they owned a bicycle repair shop? It was in their shop, in 1903, that they made their first airplane! It was called the Wright Flyer!

YOUR TURN!

1. Write a diary pretending to be one of the cyclists in the Tour de France. What do you see? Feel? Hear?

2. Do you think women should be allowed to compete with the men's Tour de France? Why or why not?

3. What are 2 character traits of a person that would participate in the Tour de France? 

4. After reading the History of Bicycle facts, why do you think Susan B. Anthony called the bicycle, the “freedom machine”?

5. What are two positive things about riding a bicycle?

6. Learn more about the country of France: https://www.natgeokids.com/za/discover/geography/countries/facts-about-france/

Teacher Page:

Ask students if they have heard of the Tour de France and share any information they may have on the famous race.  Have students locate the country of France on a world map.  

Give the students the handout pages. Have students do one or more of the following activities.

Extension Activities:

1. Try this FREE crossword puzzle on France: http://gailhennessey.com/index.shtml?francepuzzler.html

2. Draw/color a picture of a bicycle. Write a fact learned about the Tour de France on your drawing.

3. Read about the Eiffel Tower, one of France's most famous landmarks: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Eiffel-Tower-Explore-World-Landmarks-773097

4. Learn some fun facts about France: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/france.html

5.Timeline on the history of the bicycle: https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/13things/7083.html. 

Illustration from:Wpclipart

July is PlasticFree Month. What Can YOU do to use LESS Plastic?

Out in the Pacific Ocean, between California and Hawaii, is a vast floating debris field known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It is estimated that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is about two times the size of the state of Texas! Sadly, the area is growing each year. It the world’s largest debris field(mainly plastics) in the world. Unfortunately, it is not the ONLY such waste field in our oceans as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans have such patches, too.

This week, 40 TONS, yes, 40 TONS of plastic were removed from the site by an environmental groups called Ocean Voyages Institute. To better understand the amount, think almost 7 elephants! In addition to plastic bottles, their haul included  plastic detergent containers, plastic children’s toys, plastic furniture and fishing gear(made from nylon and polypropylene-plastics)

The 40 tons of waste will be turned into energy at a power plant on Hawaii with 1.5 tons going to the art department at the University of Hawaii and individual artists who plan to turn the plastic waste into art sculptures.

Despite the massive amount of waste collected, it really doesn’t add up to much when you consider we are dumping between 1-2.4 million tons of plastic debris into the oceans EVERY year.

July has been designated as PlasticFree July.

What can YOU do?

1. Say NO to a plastic straw. When you order a beverage in the store, say no straw please!(or bring your own metal, bamboo, paper, etc. alternative)

2. Bring your own reusable bags to a store and say no to plastic bags.

3. Use reusable plastic water containers and not throw away plastic bottles.

4. What can you think of to lessen YOUR impact on plastic?

You are sitting in a restaurant and a server brings over a glass of water and drops a plastic straw next to the glass. Any idea how many plastic straws are thrown away in the USA every day? It is estimated the number is 500 million(yes, a day). Think 125 school buses filled with straws! Many of these straws find their way into our oceans. In 2015,  a video showed a sea turtle with a plastic straw lodged into its nostril! Different groups are saying something should be done about these narrow pieces of plastic. Straws are one of the most common pieces of plastic found along our beaches. Think enough plastic straws to wrap around the Earth 2 1/2 times…that’s how many straws are used just in the USA every year!

The straw, first invented in 1888, was thought to be hygienic. It was felt that keeping your mouth off of the rim of a glass, someone else might take a sip, might keep you from getting sick. 

Interestingly, the straw actually has a long history. In a tomb of an ancient Sumerian(present day Iraq), dating back 3000 BCE, a very fancy straw was found. It was a gold tube inlaid with the precious blue stone lapis lazuli. Modern straws were made of paper, with plastic straws replacing paper, in the 1970s. 

McDonalds Corp has changed to paper straws and only are given out if a customer asks for a straw.  Alternatives to paper include switching to bamboo straws. Miami, Seattle, Davis, San Louis Obispo, and Malibu are cities moving away from plastic straws being used in their cities. Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom has banned straws as has Smithsonian Institution museums. Some national parks including the Grand Canyon have switched back to paper straws in dispensers. Vancouver became the first major Canadian city to impose a plastic straw ban in restaurants. Scotland plans to be rid of plastic straws. Taiwan is working on a ban, too.

Some people are concerned about banning plastic straws. Hot liquids can't be used with a paper straw. Some people with disabilities need the help that a straw provides.

Your Turn:

1. Do you use a straw?
2. What do you think about the banning of plastic straws?
3. Next time, you are in a restaurant, will you use a plastic straw if given?

Resources of Interest:

Not just for Earth Day:

Learn about the history of Earth Day and, our planet, EARTH, with this informative web quest. There are 15 web questions as well as comprehension questions and a Did You Know? fun fact section. The teacher page includes extension activities, the key, and additional links: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-DayWebquest-on-the-Blue-Planet-1790891

Exploring the Ocean Blue: A Web quest, will introduce students to our oceans. There are nine informative web questions. Fun Facts, comprehension questions, extension activities and links are also provided as is the key. Can be used as part of a unit on oceans, for Earth Day, World Ocean Day or as an activity for a Friday, before a vacation break or as an end of the year activity. This can be a one day class resource or used for a couple of days depending on whether the activities(creative writing/art work/online simulation games, etc.) are used with the students: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Oceans-Exploring-the-Ocean-Blue-A-WebquestExtension-Activities-705943

Introduce your students to Jacques Cousteau with this informative Reader's Theater Script. Oceanographer, photographer, scientist, inventor, writer and filmmaker, Cousteau spent his life studying the oceans and the marine life that lived in the oceans. His books and films on his studies sparked much interest in our oceans and created an awareness about the need for marine conservation.  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Jacques-Cousteau-A-Readers-Theater-Script-2458467

A Biologist and marine zoologist, Rachel Carson’s books shared her love of nature, especially the ocean and its inhabitants. Her book, Silent Spring, sparked concern in how chemical pesticides were harming our environment. Carson helped to start the environmental movement in our country, which led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This Reader's Theater Script could be used as a STEM biography any time of year or especially during the time of Earth Day. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rachel-Carson-A-Readers-Theater-Script-3071478

Purple Turtle EBOOK: The stories involve Purple Turtle and his friends including Zing,the stuttering rabbit, Biggy Bear, Melody the bird, Squirty the squirrel and others. In each story, a topic is addressed such as friendship, honesty, conservation, getting over fears, etc. In this story, "Purple Learns to Use Less", the friends learn that each of us can help the planet in saving water.Grades 1-3, Aadarsh Publishing.   https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Purple-Learns-to-Use-Less-849023

Illustration from wpclipart.com

Photograph from nbcnews.com