inner earth

this issue

Exploring the Earth From the Inside

Special Edition

Community Night 2015

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Wenonah Elementary School

Class 5-4

ISSUE 1

March 2015

In an attempt to extract fuel sources

from the earth, you have to drill a

mile or more underground. A process

called fracking was developed to ac-

complish this, however, we need to

protect our earth. People don't know

the downside of fracking and should

learn more about its harmful effects.

What is Fracking?

Fracking is when people drill into the

Earth and extract natural gas from

shale.

When

the

ma-

chine

tubes

push

into

the

shale,

the

shale

cracks

and tiny holes are made. Fracking

injects sand, water, and small

amounts of chemicals into the holes.

This procedure allows trapped gas

and oil to be recovered. The gas, oil,

and water then climbs up the well

and is released. The water is then

evaporated leaving the natural gases

behind. The remaining oil is then

used and shipped to different compa-

nies. If this procedure is done im-

properly, huge disasters may occur.

And we know that nobody is perfect,

so at least one disaster will occur!

One specific disaster is that the gas

and oil will then return to its home in

the ground and contaminate our

drinking water. Imagine people doing

this every day with a disaster here

and there. Fracking needs to stop.

What are the Consequences of

Fracking?

There are many consequences when

it comes to fracking, and those con-

sequences definitely outweigh the

benefits. CRACK! BOOM! There goes

some more shale! When shale cracks,

CO2 is released into our air and wa-

ter. Smokey air, gross water, YUCK!

According to the article “Fracking

Causes Seismic Instability and Earth-

quakes,” researchers found that as

the rate of drilling and the use of hy-

draulic fracturing fluids increased in

an area, so did the frequency of

earthquakes— sometimes dramati-

cally. So they are saying that if you

frack to much in the same area, the

rate of earthquakes will grow in that

spot. We sure don't want our dishes

broken! The big consequences defi-

nitely outweigh the small benefits.

Who Developed Fracking?

In the 1940’s, American energy com-

panies developed the concept of

fracking. “As the years passed by,

and the number of these easily

tapped gas resources began to dwin-

dle, natural gas companies expressed

increased interest in “shale gas.”

Did You Know…

Before you find

any source of

fuel ( oil and

gas), you have to

drill a mile or

more under-

ground.

Fracking fluids

are pumped

down fracking

wells at high

pressures, some-

times greater

than 9,000

pounds per

square inch.

Fracking causes

premature earth-

quakes.

The Frown Upon Fracking

by Alexa Abrams

After the machine tubes

start the process of hor-

izontal drilling, the

shale cracks.

Shale gas is just natural gas

deposits imprisoned in under-

ground shale rock for-

mations,” said Kevin Hillstrom

in his book called Fracking. He

is saying that as years passed,

American energy companies

became more interested in

fracking. Those companies

made a big mistake. They

should have never started

this disastrous destruction in

the first place.

What first-time IT managers really need to

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“Becoming a new IT manager means you

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We asked 5 accomplished managers the things they would’ve done

differently at the onset of their careers

Principles for Project

Management Success

What are the Benefits of Fracking?

Although many Americans disagree with the fact that people frack, some agree

with it. For instance, fracking provides good paying jobs and lower living ex-

penses. Some believe that the more natural gas there is, less U.S. citizens will

depend on oil and coal. These fuel sources increase air pollution and green-

house gasses. Air pollution and greenhouse gasses sometimes cause global

warming. So they are technically saying that when you frack, less people will

depend on fuel sources that cause global warming. Even though there are some

benefits, the consequences definitely outweigh them.

By making people more aware of the harmful effects of fracking, we can take a

big step towards an environmental change. The next time you turn the heat up

in your home, think about where that fuel is coming from. A few small steps

now, can make a big difference in our future.

Did You Know…

In 2000, there

was about

276,000 natural

gas wells in the

United States,

but by 2010,

that number had

almost doubled

to 510,000.

In 2011, over

16,000 new

fracking wells

were drilled in

Pennsylvania

alone.

Fracking is now

occurring in over

30 states.

Fracking is now occurring in over 30 different states

including the New York, and Pennsylvania.

http://redstateeclectic.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83452719d69e2019104d5239a970c-pi

Sinkholes are harming people and their envi-

ronment all around the world. Therefore scien-

tists are looking for better ways to predict

them. Sinkholes are occurring more often and

damaging the Earth.

What Is a Sinkhole?

Under the bedrock is the crust which water

goes down in the bedrock which forms a sink-

hole. After a sinkhole is formed, it could fill with

water and become a pond. Sinkholes form

when

a lot

of rain

comes

down

into

lime-

stone.

Sink-

holes

can appear anywhere in the United States.

What Places Do Sinkholes Mostly Occur?

Sinkholes can appear anywhere around the

United States. Florida has a lot of rain and lime-

stone, so sinkholes can form. Other “hot spots”

also can appear in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri,

Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. Scientists

have been doing research of when and where

sinkholes might occur.

What Are Different Kinds of Sinkholes?

Some sinkholes can be called a blue hole. A sink hole in

the ocean is called a blue hole. A blue hole is caused in

the ocean when the water goes down in the sand in the

bedrock and forms a blue hole.

Some sinkholes, which are called collapse sinkholes, can

give people a surprise. Most of the collapses have

things in common like there is a jam that occurs.

How Are Sinkholes Dangerous in Florida?

In Florida sinkholes appear to be very dangerous and

active. Florida has a lot of rain, so sinkholes form. In

Florida sinkholes can appear anywhere. In Florida sink-

holes can form into anything like a pond or a lake if it is

big enough. The water in the ground in Florida is disap-

pearing. During winter months sinkholes appear more

often.

What Happens When a Sinkhole Collapses?

Anything can fall into a

sinkhole like houses,

buildings even cars.

Even part of a forest can

fall down. Houses can

collapse when a sink-

hole forms. Entire hous-

es and their contents

are swallowed into the Earth! If people are in the house,

they can be swallowed up too! People are not often

killed. But sinkholes are enough dangerous that scien-

tists are looking for a better way to prevent any harm.

Sinkholes cannot be taken lightly. They are a really seri-

ous issue. Scientists need to do research about sink-

holes because they are appearing more often. Scientists

need to be able when and where a sinkhole will occur.

The Sinkholes of Doom

by Alexis Cotsalas

A sinkhole is formed by the limestone and

the rain with it’s moisture.

A lot of things fall down in a sink-

hole and this is one of them.

Behold the shiny nugget of gold! People have

loved it’s sparkle and shine since it’s discovery.

Gold may seem like a

heavy metal that your

necklace is made out

of, but there is more

to gold than you think .

What Is Gold?

Gold is one of the world’s most precious metals.

Gold is used to craft many things. Sometimes

you can see gold in artwork. For example, gold is

in the medals you win at the Olympics. Long ago

Egyptian people used gold as money or traded

gold for goods from other countries. When

somebody died in Egypt, the

masks that mummies wore were

made out of gold. Then finding

gold was harder than ever. Some

statues you might see could be made of gold or

gold plated. Gold is so valuable. It can some-

times be worth more than $600 per ounce!

How Does Gold Form

Gold formed in the earth very long ago. Scien-

tists believe that volcanoes heated underground

water, like soup boiling. That water melted the

gold causing the liquid gold to flow with the wa-

ter into cracks in the ground. The liquid gold

hardens between rocks. Then when it’s hard-

ened, it forms veins of gold. In certain places the

gold veins reach near the surface. Rivers and

streams flowed over the veins of gold. Gold still

forms today. The gold forms under pressure of

rocks.

How Is Gold Used?

Gold is used in many useful ways. Gold conducts electricity

better than iron or any other metals. Gold plays an im-

portant part in modern day technology such as computers

and computer chips. Other metals can’t reflect heat as well

as gold. Most of the gold mined today is used to create

jewelry. Gold one day might be used to fight cancer. We

need gold for many uses. Gold is even used to back up our

money. Ancient people used and traded gold into statues,

jewelry, coins and other beautiful objects. The audio and

video cables you see are often gold coated. Gold is even

used in science experiments.

How Does Gold Mining Affect the Environment?

Gold mining can be destructive when miners mine more

than enough gold. It’s destroying

habitats for animals especially in the

Amazon Rain Forest. To find enough

gold to fit one ring, miners some-

times have to mine 30 tons of

rock! Gold takes a long time to

form. If we mine up all of the gold we

won’t see another nugget of gold for

millions of year, so it’s important we

use gold wisely. The total amount of

gold ever mined would fit in 60

tractor trailers, researchers esti-

mated. When miners mine, it

leaves huge holes in the ground . They use a poisonous

metal called mercury to get gold from rocks. Mercury can

harm the environment. It can also make people extremely

sick. In 2009 was harder than it ever was to find gold.

Gold is used in many ways. There was more to gold than

you thought. It’s probably what your necklace is made out

of.

Golden Nuggets

by Alle Sawicki

In gold ores there usually isn't

a lot of gold

An average mine can

leave holes in the ground

Dangers Of Gold Mining

by Anthony Conway

When you hear the word gold you might think of

rare, valuable or expensive? Here’s one you

might not think of-dangerous.

Like all mining they have to strip the land, tear

down forests, and they might put chemicals into

the ground. What miners don’t know is how it

affects us and the environment.

What Is Gold?

Gold is the most useful mineral mined from the

earth. It is a soft yellow, precious metal found in

earth’s crust and oceans. Gold can be easily

worked, and can be used in many different ways,

but when you mine it can be very dangerous.

How Does Gold Form?

Gold forms in many different ways. First water

goes into the ground and moves through rocks

and soil. Then rain water is heated by magma un-

til it becomes vapor. Next gold dissolves into va-

por and rises toward the surface. After that gold

and water mixes near the surface and cools. The

gold becomes solid again, and it forms in cracks in

the earth. Finally wind and running water sends

gold downhill, and then gold is collected by

stream bed’s and pits in the ground.

How Does Gold Mining Affect The Environment?

Gold mining affects the

environment when acid is

thrown into our rivers and

pollutes them, and when

people destroy the

Amazon. When people go gold mining, they tear down

forests and strip mine which takes away a lot of land.

Gold mining also creates massive amounts of toxic

waste. Talk about danger. Gold miners usually dump

toxic waste into our oceans and rivers. As a result, ani-

mals are losing there homes and drinking water.

How Does Gold Mining Affect Us?

Gold mining affects us because when people go mining

it can cause illness, injury, and the worst of all, DEATH!

It can also affect us when

people cut down trees and

dump toxic waste into our

rivers, so as a result we

have less food and drink-

ing water.

What Is Gold Used For?

Although gold mining is

dangerous we need gold.

The most common use for gold is jewelry.

We use gold for money. Small amounts of gold are

used in electronics and computers because it is a good

conductor of electricity. In medicine, it is used to treat

a small number of medical conditions, and it is used in

dental fillings. Gold is a very important mineral for us.

Although gold is necessary, the mining process is harm-

ful, so if we keep mining it will affect us, the environ-

ment, and animals. Together we need to find a way to

mine gold safely.

Gold miners tear down forest and when

they finish animals lose there homes.

After they tear down the forest

they strip mine and they might

find little gold or maybe none, so

animals might lose their homes

for nothing.

Swip Swap by Anthony Jata

Imagine you are on a plane going to California. You get

off the plane, and you are in China. That is when you

realized Earth’s weakening Electromagnetic Field have

caused the poles to swap.

What is Earth’s Electromagnetic Field?

The Electromagnetic Field controls compasses, naviga-

tion systems, and animal migration. It also controls a

missile's navigation system. It is not like the U.S. will

send a missile and blow up half of the U.S. because of

the magnetic field swapping. The magnetic field is like a

dynamo. While the inner core

is spinning as fast as 2o longi-

tude per year faster than Earth,

it is making magnetism. It does

that by spinning in the bubbling

liquid outer core.

The Field Weakening

“The poles swapping might hap-

pen earlier than anyone anticipated”, says Annie

Sneed, Scientific American. The field is weakening 10

times faster than it usually

takes to swap. If the mag-

netic field gets weak

enough, the poles can

completely swap. North

will become South, and

the South will become

North. Currently Antarctica is in Siberia. For the field to

completely swap it will have to weaken first. It will take

from 1,000 to 20,000 years to swap.

The Effects of Weakening

The effects will not be terrible. “If the field gets weak

enough it can disappear, and let in radiation,” says re-

search. It can also let in cosmic rays, which leads to big-

ger amounts of people getting skin cancer. But the av-

erage pole swap-

ping takes between

1,000 to 20,000

years. We would probably pass away by then. Animals

would probably migrate to the wrong place. If a

butterfly had to migrate to Mexico, it might end up in

Canada.

The Wait

Of course there will be a wait until the field weakens

enough to swap totally. Scientists and researchers say

that the poles have been weakening ten times faster

than usual over the past six months. The total weak-

ening and swapping will take anywhere from 1,000 to

20,000 years. The last flip was about 786,000 years

ago. The average swap will

take 5,000 years to do the

full process. We will not

have to worry about the

dangers of the poles swap-

ping and disappearing of the magnetic field, because

the average human life is around 100 years.

Will It Be a Doomsday?

The weakening and swapping will not be a total disas-

ter! The compasses will point to North if you are going

South and vice versa when the field completely swaps.

As a result, when animals migrate they will go to the

complete opposite habitat they had to go to. If the

field gets so weak that it disappears during the rever-

sal, it can let in cosmic rays. That can lead to more

amounts of people getting cancer. For example when

the magnetic field weakens it can “interrupt power

grids and radio communication”, says Lisa Winter. If

the field disappears, it can give the planet an unusual-

ly high amount of solar radiation.

The swapping will lead to some problems, but it will

be nothing we can’t handle.

When the solid

inner core spins it

Apollo 5 was launched on March 13, 2015 at

10:44 in Cape Canaveral. It was launched to ex-

plore odd next to the magnetic field and the sun.

Earth’s Electromagnetic field is

Frantic Frackers

by Ashley Biondi

What the frack is going on? Fracking is every-

where. On the television, on the news, and in

the newspaper. Fracking is harmful and help-

ful to our environment, once you know the

facts about fracking you can choose what side

you are on. The question is, “Is fracking harm-

ful or helpful?”

What Is Fracking?

Fracking is a con-

troversial tech-

nique for recover-

ing or taking gas

and oil from shale

rock. First workers

drill a shaft down

into shale formations.

Then they drill hori-

zontally into the shale

and inject millions of

gallons of water,

chemicals, and sand into the stone. This caus-

es the shale to fracture and break apart, free-

ing trapped oil and gas inside allowing it to

escape up the well. The process also creates

millions of gallons of waste water. Sometimes

the water is collected and trucked away to be

purified. In other cases, workers inject waste

water back underground. When the gas comes

up, it goes into a tank and evaporates or sepa-

rates the water and gas. Finally they take the

gas to homes, factories, or businesses that

need it.

Why Is Fracking Helpful?

Fracking provides natural gas which can power

homes, businesses, and factories. Steve Herz of Joint

Landowners Coalition supports the idea that fracking

is safe, “Having visited hundreds of well sites, and in-

terviewed officials in 28 states developing natural gas.

We believe fracking can be done safely and responsi-

bly,” he said in an interview with Journalism Service.

Also President Barack Obama expressed his support

of fracking in a speech in Las Vegas, he said, “We

have a supply of natural gas that can last America

nearly a hundred years. It could power our cars, our

homes, businesses, and factories. Experts believe it

could support more than 600,000 jobs.” Fracking sim-

ulates more than a million jobs and the economy. It

also improves energy security.

Why Is Fracking Harmful?

Fracking is harmful in many ways. Fracking can cre-

ate minor earthquakes (2 on the Richter Scale). For

example, more than a dozen of small earthquakes

struck Ohio in

2012 were caused

by fracking. Sci-

entists suspect

injections of

waste water un-

derground is be-

lieved to make

rocks slide, so it

causes earth-

quakes. Ohio’s

government has

since imposed stricter rules for disposing waste water

from the drilling procedure.

The diagram shows how

fracking is done. After the

drillers take the natural gas

out of the ground they put

the gas in tanks, so they can

Fracking can contaminate water when the

shale rock breaks or fractures. When that

Fracking has a risk of contaminating our drinking water. When the drillers pump chemicals into the

ground sometimes the shale rock breaks and the chemicals could flow into our drinking water. If that

happens , the water has to be cleaned or purified.

Fracking can also make Global Warming worse. Climate change is believed to affect the water cycle

and cause more extreme weather events including heat waves, floods, and droughts. There may also be

more tropical cyclones and other severe storms. In addition, rising ocean temperatures can lead to

more rapid evaporation. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported “2012 was a

record-breaking year for climate extremes, as much of the United States faced historic levels of heat,

precipitation, flooding, and severe weather. For example, Tropical Storm Lee caused extreme flooding

in states like Pennsylvania and New York. During the first quarter of 2012, wildfires ignited along the

east coast from Florida to New England, and 48 states experienced abnormally dry or drought condi-

tions.”

Fracking is helpful and harmful in many ways, but have you ever thought how fracking can be harmful and

helpful to the environment? Have you ever thought about what the people and the government are doing?

What side are you on?

Imagine you were in an earthquake. Everyone is

freaking out and screaming. What would you do?

Would you run and hide or help someone else?

How would you know when it is coming?

Earthquakes are very scary and frightening. Since

scientists can’t predict earthquakes, people need

to know how to protect themselves and know

when they’re coming.

What Is an Earthquake?

An earthquake is a sudden movement in Earth’s

crust. This is caused by a fault. A fault is a crack or

a fracture in Earth’s crust. Earthquakes are caused

when a part of the fault block moves. As a result,

the other fault blocks around it fall, causing an

earthquake. Each year, Earth experiences about

140 earthquakes on the Richter scale at 6.0 or

more. This can cause severe damage to Earth.

Earthquakes cause tsunamis too. Tsunamis are

caused by an earthquake under the ocean floor. If

they come ashore in an area with a lot of buildings

and people, then the water can cover the whole

town! It’s like a public swimming pool, that no one

wants to swim in!

How Can Scientists Predict Earthquakes?

In 2015, seismologists (scientists who study earth-

quakes) still can’t predict earthquakes, but they

can measure them for sure. They use a tool called

a seismograph to measure the vibrations spread-

ing throughout Earth. If seismologists see many

small earthquakes in an area, they pay close atten-

tion. A basic seismograph has a pen and a roll of

paper. As the roll rotates, the pen moves in zigzag lines

according to the movement of the ground. This helps sci-

entists measure earthquakes. Even with all the tools they

have, scientists can’t predict earthquakes reliably. Still,

scientists want to keep trying to predict earthquakes.

Even, with all the tools they have, scientists can’t predict

earthquakes reliably. Still, scientists want to keep trying to

predict earthquakes because it can save a lot of lives.

Another way scientists can predict earthquakes is by using

the app Twitter. When people feel an earthquake, they

tweet about it and scientists will see how many people

are feeling the earthquake. This helps because scientists

can see how many people feel the strength of the quake

and which areas it’s in.

Are Earthquake Proof Homes Helping The Environment?

Many homes and buildings are not earthquake proof. On-

ly some homes and buildings are meant to withstand an

earthquake. There are buildings called “smart buildings”

that help the environment. These help the world because

they don’t fall down during an earthquake. If more people

had these homes, people wouldn’t have to worry when

an earthquakes comes.

These homes are built to have deep foundations and ab-

sorb vibrations. Since they don’t fall, the power of the

All Shook Up

by Courtney Bohlen

The earthquake proof homes design is meant to re-

sist fire and water damages.

earthquake makes the building only sway slightly.

This is better than your house coming crashing

down. Most “smart buildings” are built to with-

stand shock waves and resist shaking. A house in

Berkeley, California was designed to resist fire and

water damage. Scientists say it is the safest house

in the world. They say if everyone had an earth-

quake proof home, the world would be safer and

much better for the environment.

What Are the Effects Of Earthquakes?

Earthquakes can leave a lot of damage to Earth’s

surface. They can cause loss of lives by destroying

buildings and homes. An earthquake can be a sig-

nal that a volcano is about to erupt. Also, earth-

quakes can cause severe landslides. All of the dirt

or mud sliding down the mountains can cover a

whole town! That’s a lot of mud! With all the de-

structions from earthquakes, they leave most peo-

ple homeless.

Most homes have been swept away by earth-

quakes. One really destructive quake was in Chile

on January 24, 1939. This earthquake left 28,000

people dead and 700,000 people homeless. An-

other major earthquake was in Shaanxi, China in

1556. It’s magnitude was 8.0 and killed 830,000

people. With all of these earthquakes striking, a

lot of people are dying.

What Are Some of the Worst Earthquakes?

One question that comes to mind is, how bad can

an earthquake

be? On the

magnitude

scale a 1.0 - 3.0

earthquake is

rarely felt by

people and

leave no dam-

age to buildings.

A 3.0– 3.9

earthquake is

only felt by sleeping people, or people recognize

the shaking, but they don’t realize it is an earthquake. A

4.0– 4.9 earthquake is mostly felt by everybody and glass-

es and plates break. A 6.0– 6.9 earthquake is felt by eve-

rybody, buildings may fall and people find it hard to drive.

A 7.9– 9.0 earthquake leaves buildings in pieces and

many people get killed. All of the different magnitudes

are part of the Richter scale. The Richter scale measures

the movement of the ground. A very devastating earth-

quake was in 2004 in Sumatra, Indonesia. It had a magni-

tude of 9.1 and killed 283,000 people. Another very de-

structive quake was in 2010 in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. This

quake killed 220,000 people with it’s magnitude of 7.0.

Scientists say that a 9.0 earthquake isn’t as destructive as

a 7.0 or 8.0 earthquake. They say the most deadliest

earthquakes in history have had a magnitude of 7 or 8.

For example the Shaanxi, China earthquake had a magni-

tude of 8.0 and killed 830,000 people, while the Sumatra,

Indonesia earthquake had a magnitude of 9.1, but killed

283,000 people. If the magnitude is high, it doesn’t mean

that it will be really deadly.

How Do You Protect Yourself?

When in an earthquake, you want to make sure you are

100% safe. There are 4 different steps for protecting

yourself during an earthquake. The first step is to “look”.

You need to find a safe place to hide. The second step is

to “duck”. When you get a safe place to hide, you need to

duck, so nothing falls on you. The third step is to “stay

covered”. When you duck, you take your left or right arm

and hold your head. The fourth and final step is to “hold”.

What this means is, as your holding your head, you other

When an earthquake strikes, a lot of

damage occurs. The buildings come

crashing down leaving people dead.

The Richter shows the magnitude of an earthquake. It also shows the

arm holds the table or desk that you are hiding under. One tip is to always stay under something that is really stur-

dy. If you don’t, the object above you will tip over. As a result, debris will fall on your head, which may cause a con-

cussion.

If you are outside, you have to be even more aware because there isn’t a lot of objects to hide under. So, you first

have to move away from trees, buildings, and power lines. Then, you would try to find a bench or something stur-

dy to hide under. If not, just drop to the ground and cover your head to protect yourself.

I hope in the end, these answers will make you not as afraid as you would be if an earthquake struck in your town.

Earthquakes are very frightening and scary, but if you know what they’re about, and you know what to do, you will

stay safe.

When an earthquake strikes, you need to know how to protect yourself and the people around you. If you see peo-

ple around you who are struggling, you should help them because as much as the earthquake was stressful for you,

it is also stressful for other people. If you help other people, believe it or not, people will do the same and make

the world a better place.

The San Francisco earthquake took place in 1906 and is one of the deadliest earthquakes in histo-

ry.

Modern Day Gold Mining Destroying Earth

by Frankie Reganato

You may think gold mining is great but you might

want to think again. Gold mining is very danger-

ous, and it can get us very sick. Gold mining can

even cause cancer. Gold mining is destroying

Earth and animals natural habitats, and it needs to

stop.

What Is Gold Mining?

Gold mining is people getting gold for statues rings

and many other every day items. Gold mining is

also when we mine gold in mines or blow holes in

mountains with C4, TNT, or dynamite. Many years

ago there was the California gold rush where peo-

ple mined gold to become rich. That is still what

many people do today. If people go gold mining

today and find a piece of gold that weighs about

an ounce, you can get paid about $1,600.

Is Gold Mining Hurting Earth?

Gold mining is hurting Earth in many ways. One

way is we are blowing off tops of mountains which

are destroying Earth’s animal habitats. Also when

we use machines to get gold, we pollute Earth’s

atmosphere and water, which can cause global

warming.

People sometimes are not careful when mining

which can cause trouble. When mining they can

interact with the subway underground and break

the chains and damage the train. It is also one of

the most destructive ways of mining. Gold mining's

sulfuric acid can destroy the Amazon Rainforest.

When we make 1 gold ring 20 TONS of toxic waste

are formed.

Is Gold Mining Safe?

Gold mining is not safe because people are risking their life

for illness injury or death. We are near toxins and chemi-

cals. Also if we are close to the TNT when it explodes, we

can disintegrate. There is nothing safe about gold mining.

Do Some People Like Gold Mining?

Some people do like gold mining because they are buying

things that they WANT like rings or statues, but they

shouldn’t like gold mining! It can hurt you, or anyone in

your family. If any chemicals from gold mining get into our

drinking water, you can get cancer or very sick. If you are

close to the explosive blast you can disintegrate also.

As you can see gold mining can hurt Earth, people and ani-

mals. If we stop gold mining, we can help everyone and

everything.

Gold gets into the water and so does the mercury

they use.

This strip mine has destroyed the landscape and

many homes for animals.

You walk outside to a beautiful

scene of your freshly fertilized

grass on a hot day. As you reach

for a clear glass of water you

taste something different, unexpected. Fertilizer.

Fertilizer is destroying our aquifers, ruining our water

and causing our drinks and foods to give us diseases.

We can put an end to fertilizing.

What is Ground Water?

Ground water is where we get the water that we

drink from. Many people get their water from wells,

lakes or straight from their refrigerator. Many things

that we eat or drink come from ground water. With-

out ground water we would all die humans, trees,

plants, and animals. Our Earth would be as dry as the

desert and empty.

Organic or Poisonous?

Most people go poisonous (fertilizers). Meanwhile

very few people go organic which means they usually

put their compost soil on their grass or plants. Even

worse some farmers put fertilizers on their grass or

plants, so that that means we have fertilizers in our

milk and vegetables. “Eww!”

The Pros of Fertilizers

Fertilizing is not only bad. Fertilizing helps your lawn

grow faster and more green than non fertilized

lawns . There are three types of ways to fertilize your

lawn: chemicals, organic, or cow manure. They all

make your grass grow. You may see bright yellow

patches on your lawn. That’s from dog business.

When you fertilize your lawn it fixes all of

them.

How Fertilizers Can Be Distributed

Some people distribute their fertilizers with wagons.

Another way is having it done by a landscaper, and

finally is doing it by yourself, but if your to do it your-

self you need special gloves because fertilizers are

poisonous .

What Can Fertilizers Cause?

Many researchers found out that fertilized water can

cause the same cancer which is caused by smoking.

Cancer can kill you. Just a simple glass of contaminat-

ed water can kill you.

We Can Save Our Water!

We can make our world organic by making fertilizers

eco-friendly . As much as we think fertilizers help us,

it really kills us. It may seem hard to stop fertilizing

but its better than destroying lives just because of a

simple glass of contaminated water.

What’s In Our Water?

by Grace Smith

We can make fertilizing

safe for us and the envior-

Native Americans used hot springs

to cook, and Romans built reser-

voirs to bathe in warm water. It’s

like an instant hot tub!

How Does It Work?

According to Generous Geothermal

by Stephen J. O’meara, we can pro-

duce geothermal energy using con-

ventional geothermal tapping.

When we use this type of tapping, a

drill goes into the ground 1,000 to

10,000 feet deep into a water

source. The rocks surrounding the

water source are heated by molten

lava below. When the hole is

drilled, there are several ways to

tap the energy.

The first way is very old

and simple. You can tap

steam right from the

source and run it right

into a turbine, an engine

turned by the force of

gas or water on fan

blades, which as it spins, it creates

energy.

The second way is to draw hot wa-

ter from deep within Earth and

pump it into low pressure tanks.

When it is getting pumped into the

tank, some of the water instantly

What do think when you hear geo-

thermal energy? Volcanoes? Gey-

sers? Here’s something that

doesn't come to mind: powering

homes.

Some people power their homes

with oil or coal. Those types of en-

ergy pollute the air when they are

burned. Howeve, geothermal en-

ergy doesn't pollute the environ-

ment. The advantages of geother-

mal energy far outweigh the disad-

vantages.

What Is Geothermal Energy?

Geothermal energy is energy is

heat we get from the Earth. (geo=

Earth, thermal=heat). One main

source of this energy is the non-

stop up-

ward

flow of

heat

from the

Earth’s

inside to

the sur-

face. Geo-

thermal

energy is what we have the most

of on Earth. Earth’s crust contains

50,000 times as much thermal en-

ergy as coal and gas.

Humans have used geothermal

energy for thousands of years.

evaporates. The steam can be

used to run the turbines. If

the water source is cooler

than usual, the water can be

pumped through a heat ex-

changer, where it is used to

help evaporate another liquid

that boils at a lower tempera-

ture. This is called a binary

process.

What Are the Different Loops

of Geothermal Energy?

There are two different types

of loops to heat and cool with

geothermal energy. The first

type of loop is the open loop

system. The open loop sys-

tem is not installed as much

as the closed loop systems.

They can be the least expen-

sive method if ground water

or a well is close by. They are

also the simplest to install.

The open loop system has

been around for decades.

This type of system uses

ground water from an aquifer

or pond. The water is piped

directly to the buildings’

The whole geothermal power

plant does a job when it

Heat Beneath the Earth

by Maya Quaranta

pipe are connected to the drilling

pipe. The pipe is pulled back

through the bore hole.

The last loop is the vertical closed

loop. These are often used if land

surface is limited. The installation is

very expensive. However, it is very

useful when the ground is rocky.

The equipment bores vertical, small

holes. The closed loops contain an-

tifreeze. A special grout is usually

pumped down the holes surround-

ing the pipes and makes sure that

there is good heat transfer from the

surrounding Earth.

What Are the Advantages of Geo-

thermal Energy?

There are a lot of advantages of ge-

othermal energy. First of all, geo-

thermal energy is environmentally

friendly. It also doesn't pollute the

air. Geothermal energy is a renewa-

ble resource unlike coal or oil. It is

great for heating and cooling. Most

of the pipes that are needed are

underground. Geothermal energy is

pressure tanks and then to the

heat pump. Once the water goes

through the geothermal system, it

is returned to the aquifer by dis-

charging it through a properly

sized drain field, pond, river, lake,

another well, or the same well.

The closed loop systems are very

different. In a closed loop system,

the liquid keeps going around,

picking up heat energy, and trans-

ferring it in endless cycles as long

as the pipe is turned on.

The first type of closed loop sys-

tem is the pond or lake system.

This system avoids waste if the

water is nearby. To install the sys-

tem you have to put coils of plastic

pipe into the bottom of a lake or

pond. It is held down by cement

blocks filled with antifreeze.

The next type of closed loop is a

horizontal closed loop system. In

this system the pipes are placed in

trenches 6 to 8 feet deep. The rule

that is mostly used is 500 feet of

pipe per ton of capacity.

The next type of loop is the slinky

coil loop. It is shaped like a

flattened slinky. A large amount of

pipe is needed for the slinky part.

The next loop is the horizontal

bore loop. A small tunnel is creat-

ed underground. The operator

drills the horizontal bore, then

makes the drill to come back up to

the surface a little bit. The drill bit

is removed and the two ends of

also available anywhere. Al-

most all of the energy is used

so not a lot is wasted. Geo-

thermal systems save natural

resources by using the Earth’s

renewable energy. The sys-

tems also can switch easily

when you want heating or

cooling. They are the most

efficient systems available in

converting a small amount of

energy into a large amount of

home. When the system is

running, it is very quiet. The

machines last very long. An

open loop system cost less

than a fossil fuel system and a

full air conditioning system

combined.

What Are the Disadvantages

Of Geothermal Energy?

There are many disad-

vantages of geothermal ener-

gy. According to Generous

Geothermal, by: Stephen J.

O’meara, geothermal plants

can produce much more

waste water than a coal fired

or atomic power plant. With-

out proper management, ex-

tremely hot wastewater can

be discharged into local

streams, lakes, or saltwater

and disrupt the local ecology.

The wastewater can also con-

tain toxic chemicals. Geother-

mal power plants, in extreme

cases, can cause earthquakes.

Also, it is very specific with

locations. Geothermal energy

The open loop (right)

and the closed loop

(left) are very differ-

ent.

reservoirs are properly maintained. The installation of the closed loop system cost more than a fuel burner.

Now what do you think of when you hear the words geothermal energy? Open loop system? Closed loop sys-

tem? I want a system? Geothermal energy has many pro’s and con’s. If someone you know has geothermal en-

ergy, you should ask them about it and consider buying a system. The advantages of Geothermal energy far

outweigh the disadvantages.

Earthquakes can be caused by geothermal power plants in severe cases.

What is used in everyday life? The first thing that

probably comes to your head is cars? Food? Mon-

ey? One thing that probably doesn't come to

mind is biofuels.

What Are Biofuels?

Biofuel are a renewable source of energy which

is produced from plants. Biofuels are made of bio-

mass materials, such as corn, sorghum, switch

grass, barley, sugar, vegetable oil, and many oth-

er plants. Biofuels are designed to replace fossil

fuels, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, and coal. Fossil

fuels are nonrenewable energy resources that

make things go. Although they make things go

they pollute the air all around us.

Are Biofuels Renewable?

Biofuels are renewable. For example you can cut

down a tree and burn it for fuel. You can also

plant a new tree to eventually replace the wood

you burned, which means you can use biofuels

over and over again. Biofuels are renewable be-

cause of the energy force. They are able to be re-

plenished easily and quickly, and they do not

have a finite limit, which makes them be replen-

ished as quickly as they are used.

What Are Ethanol and Biodiesel?

Ethanol is an alcohol fuel made from the sugars

in grains, plants, and sugar. Biodiesel is a made

from fats, vegetable oils, or grease, such as recy-

cled restaurant grease. Ethanol and biodiesel are

both used in biofuels. Also, they are made up of

biomass materials. These kinds of fuels are usually

blended in with petroleum fuels, gasoline, and diesel

fuel, but can also be used on their own. Ethanol and

biodiesel means we don’t burn quite as much fossil

fuels. Ethanol and biodiesel are usually more expensive

than the fossil fuels.

Imagine if we were all in a world with pollution. Would you

like that? Thanks to biofuels, biofuels have changed the

world.

Fuel of the Future

by Jillian Furlan

Algae is also used in biofuels it is an-

other source of energy.

This chart describes how these energy resources are used and

also how much they are used.

“Why is there a hole in the ground?” Imagine

coming home from school or work and finding

your house in a hole.

How Do Sinkholes Form?

Sinkholes come with almost no warning. There

are many ways sinkholes form, but one way they

form by is if the limestone layer erodes away.

Next, the dirt can no longer support itself. Finally,

it sinks and every thing above it comes down with

it such as a house.

Another way sink holes form is if too much rain

erodes soil away, which can collapse streets and

other things. If you live in Florida you are most

likely to have a sinkhole. In other places you are

less likely to have a hole in your living room.

The Dangers of Sinkholes

So your feeling safe in an apartment. Hate to tell

you, but your not. The sinkhole might tip it over

or collapse. It depends on the size. Sinkholes can

be dangerous to residents. Also sinkholes can

hurt many people. Be glad sinkholes don’t hap-

pen too often. Don’t worry very few people get

killed in a sinkhole each year.

Human Uses

Humans have used sinkholes for thousands of

years. Sinkholes are now used for garbage and

waist storage. Thousands of years ago sinkholes

were used to store precious items and human

sacrifices. Even though storing garbage in sink

holes may sound like a good idea, its bad. It can pollute

reservoirs and underground water sources.

Effects on the Ecosystem

Sink holes have mostly bad effects on the ecosystem,

but there are some good effects. Some sinkholes have

habitats in them containing rare species. Sometimes wa-

ter filled sinkholes become full of wild life and rare spe-

cies of fish. Some bad effects include sinkholes caused

by fracking , which can expose toxic minerals to wildlife

and pollute lakes and rivers.

So next time you see a large sink hole call a sinkhole fill-

ing company to seal it up. Also let’s hope your house

doesn't end up in a hole.

S

There’s a Hole in the Ground!

by John Gemmell

Sometimes sinkholes form by pressure from lakes or ponds .

Vibrations can form sinkholes.

For workers to fill a sinkhole, they sometimes

have to close down highways for days.

Fracking can be useful. The natural

gas it produces can light our build-

ings, homes, schools, and more.

Fracking can also be dangerous if

done improperly. The real question

is, is fracking dangerous or safe?

Some people support fracking, and

some people don’t approve of it.

Fracking Can Be Harmful.

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking,

can be dangerous because of the

chemicals being released from the

ground into the air. As a result, it

can cause earthquakes, sinkholes,

and a chemical change in the

weather climate. For instance the

gases can get people sick. Therefore

fracking is harmful for the earth and

people around it.

How Fracking is Done.

How do people frack? First workers

drill a shaft straight down until they

reach the shale. Next they drill

straight into the shale and inject

millions of gallons of chemicals, wa-

ter, and sand into the shale. That

causes the shale to break apart,

freeing all of the oils and natural

gas inside to escape up a well. The

process of fracking creates

wastewater. Sometimes the water

is collected and trucked to be puri-

fied. Other times they just put it

back under ground. Meanwhile, the

natural gas goes into storage tanks.

Then the natural gas goes to a mar-

ket.

Chemicals In Our Drinking Water

Fracking might be contaminating

our drinking water. Stanford univer-

sity scientist research says the wa-

ter has not been contaminated by

fracking. In 2004 the Environmental

Protection Agency or, EPA, had doc-

umented that fracking in drinking

water had occurred when compa-

nies take out natural gas from coal

seams. After finding proof of con-

tamination in the water, the EPA

wrote down the investigations .

“Amid Allegations” environmental-

ists and local people said that it

“succumbed to political pres-

sure.

Fracking and Earthquakes

Fracking can cause earth quakes.

In 2011 two earth quakes had

topped the magnitude of 5 and

was suspected to happen by

wastewater injection. Between

1976 and 2000, southern Colora-

do and Oklahoma experienced

an average of 21 earthquakes a

year with a magnitude of 3.0 or

higher. According to USGS re-

searcher William Ellsworth, be-

tween 2010 and 2012, the aver-

age was 300 a year of magnitude

3.0 or higher. According to the

2011 earthquakes in Oklahoma

and Colorado. “People believed

that wastewater injection in-

duced earthquakes could not

exceed, go higher, than a magni-

tude of 5.” Justin Rubinstein

said.

Fracking Issues

Some people won’t frack. Envi-

ronmentalists say fracking

should be banned because it can

contaminate our ground water

with chemicals. According to

ProPublica, an investigation

journalism service, more than

1,000 cases of water were con-

taminated because of fracking.

Wenonah Hauter, the president

of food and water watch Thinks

“ The U.S should focus more on

developing renewable energy

sources

Is Fracking Safe? by Kylonna Baur

Many people want to

stop fracking.

such as solar and wind power instead of fracking to obtain fossil fuels.” Wenonah Hauter thinks we need to ban

fracking because “We can’t expect or future generations to clean up our messes, which is why we need to ban

fracking NOW.”

Fracking is horrible and harmful. Fracking is dangerous to the environment. When fracking is done improperly

then the chemicals come up and get people sick. Those who think fracking is harmless, think again. The next time

you frack make sure the people around you are safe!

Many people want fracking to

stop so our earth is as healthy

as us.

Many people protest against

fracking.

Fracking wells can sometimes fall and explode

while using them.

Super Salt Mining!

by Michael Viollis

People might think that salt is useless, so we don’t

need salt mining. They are wrong. Salt isn't useless.

We need salt in our bodies to keep us alive. Since

we find salt rocks in salt mines, salt mining isn't bad

at all.

What Is Salt?

Salt is a mineral that we need to survive. Salt is

made of sodium and chlorine. We might need salt

for our bodies, but too much of it can kill you. Too

little salt can also kill you, so we need to be careful

about how much salt we consume.

Long ago, salt was used as money! Kings and

queens paid for many of their tools with salt. The

Great Wall of China was paid for with salt. Since

salt was so valuable, people began wars, and they

debated for it. Salt can change foods into different

types of foods. For example, salt can turn milk and

cream into cheese. Salt can help us in many ways,

and keep us alive.

Why Do We Need Salt Mining?

We need salt mining because it has the least dying

rate of all the ways to get salt. Although salt mines

collapse, there were more ways to get salt that

were twice as dangerous. People blew tops off of

mountains to find salt! People killed animals for the

salt in their bodies. When salt mining was made,

less people died getting salt. If we can’t salt mine,

we need to quickly find a new way to find salt. It is

extremely important to continue to salt mine.

What are the Benefits of Salt Mining?

There are many benefits of salt mining. Salt mining

is not harmful to the environment. If you visit a salt

mine, there will be chandeliers everywhere. It will

look beautiful. Salt mining is way less dangerous

than what they used to do. People would put tubes

into the ground or

mountains. Doing

that can cause

explosions that

can kill an entire

crew! Salt mining is

very helpful to

us.

What Are the

Downsides of Salt Mining?

There are some downsides of salt mining. Salt mines can

collapse and kill many people. People spend a lot of

money while salt mining, so when they collapse all of

their money was wasted. For instance, a salt mine in

New York recently collapsed. It was one of the big-

gest salt mines in the world. Salt mining, like any

type of mining is, extremely difficult. Part of a salt

mine can fall and trap you in the salt mine. There are

definitely more benefits of salt mining.

There are advantages and disadvantages of salt mining,

but overall there are more advantages. Salt mining might

be hard to do, but humans need it. What is more im-

portant, your money or your life? Still, people might

think that salt mining just gets us something we put on

French fries, but if people really think about it, they will

finally realize that salt mining is special.

Salt mines could look just like an underground mu-

seum with no ancient artifacts.

Salt rocks can come in

many shapes and sizes.

When you put salt on your food you

think that it is harmless, but did you

know that it was bad for the envi-

ronment? It can create large un-

derground caverns which can lead

to bedrock collapsing. Read to find

more information about the prob-

lems and solutions about salt min-

ing.

What Is Salt Mining?

Salt mining is when large moving

equipment is used to get rock salt.

You can

get salt

other

ways such

as the sea

and salt

deposits.

There are

also many

types of salt that you can use such

as pink salt, sea salt and the salt

that we use to get the ice off of our

driveway.

A long time ago salt was worth

money. If you had a lot of salt, you

were rich. That is how we paid for

the Great Wall of China. If we did

not have salt, we would not have

the Great Wall of China. Did you

also know that China is the largest

salt producer in the world. There-

fore you could say salt was pretty

important.

How Is Salt Mining Bad for the En-

vironment?

In some cases salt mining can be

pretty bad for the environment. For

example, one way salt mining is bad

for the environment is when salt

mining into the ground it can create

large underground caverns. These

caverns can lead to bedrock collaps-

ing. However this can also lead to

lowering of

the Earth’s

surface.

Salt mining

is not to

great for

the envi-

ronment.

How Can We Solve These Problems

of Salt Mining?

We can try solving these issues of

salt mining. One way we can stop

the issues of salt mining is when

salt mining there is something

called a subsidence. This subsid-

ence must be avoided when salt

mining. This can be avoided by

spacing out holes which are

supported by a big amount of

rock underground. That is

one way we can solve these

issues of salt mining.

Why Do We Need Salt?

We use salt for our food and

for a few other things, but

did you know we actually

need salt? Salt is very im-

portant for our body. If you

eat to much, it can cause

many serious health issues.

Salt has sodium chloride,

which we use in our food.

Humans need sodium chlo-

ride which we use in our

food. Humans need sodium

chloride to have their body

carry out any essential func-

tions. People have shown

that eating too much salt can

cause high blood pressure.

When you have high blood

pressure, you can have heart

disease and also a stroke. So

make sure you have salt but

not too much.

So the next time you put salt

on your food don’t think it’s

to harmless. Salt mining is

bad for the environment and

we need to solve these is-

sues.

Is Salt Mining Harmless?

by Mohabat Mustafa

This salt chopper is used

to extract salt under-

ground.

This is an underground

cavern which can lead

to bedrock collapsing and

lowering of Earth’s sur-

face.

Naughty Nitrogen

by Nicholas DeBiccari

What does using your car and having a running

factory have in common? It all contributes to the

problem of nitrogen overload.

Everyone knows when smoke is coming out of a

factory it is polluting the air, but it is also polluting

the water. When factories are polluting the air,

they are causing a problem for fisheries. Everyone

should be informed of the damage being caused

by nitrogen, not just to the environment, but to

humans as well.

What is Nitrogen Overload?

Nitrogen overload is when water is overloaded

with discharged nitrogen. Some bodies of water

are overloaded with discharged nitrogen. The ni-

trogen gets discharged by the pollution of cars

and factories. When the nitrogen gets in the water

it makes algae. If the algae is over aquatic plants, it

will kill the plants and the zone becomes a dead

zone. When nitrogen is discharged, it is very dan-

gerous, but when it is not it is essential to us.

Is Nitrogen Important to Us?

Nitrogen is very important to us if there wasn’t

any nitrogen we couldn’t live. When you mix nitro-

gen with water, you make part of an amino acid

which helps make protein. We get protein from

the food chain. The producers use the protein to

grow. Then one animal eats that plant, and another ani-

mal comes and eats that animal and so on. Even though

nitrogen is very important to us, there are debates

about it.

What’s the Debate?

Some people don’t care about what they’re doing to

the environment. However some people are taking into

consideration the destruction nitrogen overload is caus-

ing. In the past dozen years it has been getting worse.

From the more cars being sold and using tons of gas

and more factories being made, so you can see it is

getting worse. This is not just a North American prob-

lem. It’s a world wide problem, but nitrogen is also

effecting businesses. It impacts the water quality and

people’s health. Over fertilizing damages quality of wa-

ter.

How Is It Effecting The Earth?

Nitrogen overload effects the Earth like many other

forms of pollution. It is killing a lot of the sea life by

making a bunch of dead zones and making the fish go to

cold or hotter temperatures. Because the climate is

changing, the fish will die. Also, it

will make fisheries go out of busi-

ness. Oh no, no more sushi! There

are many things that nitrogen over-

load can effect, but how are we try-

ing to stop this problem?

Algae is what cau-

cuses all the prob-

http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fplants.ifas.ufl.edu%2Fmanage%2Fwhy-manage-plants%2Falgae&ei=u38JVbvHDYG_sQSQq4KYBw&bvm=bv.88198703,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNHBt-RTBtpxzHHSiui1Yuc3

How Are We Stopping This Problem?

Some people are actually trying to stop this prob-

lem. The reason why there are not a lot of people

trying to stop this is because they don’t have much

knowledge about this problem, but the people

who know about it are trying to stop it. One way

people are stopping it is by having farmers rotate

crops and fertilize their farms. Farmers are now

only using the exact fertilizer when needed, avoid-

ing over fertilization. In other continents such as

Europe, rules have been put in place to decrease

it. A special committee has been formed called the

International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) to help solve

the problem.

So now that you know, let’s see how much this

problem decreases.

Nitrogen is part of the periodic table.

Algae is effecting ponds world wide.

Strip Mining

Strip mining… it destroys everything. It’s like a

herd going over the grass

lands. It’s one of the most

common ways of coal

mining of. Strip mining

causes dust which causes

pollution. If the air is

polluted the people

and animals get dust in their lungs. Getting dust

in your lungs leads to lung damage. Wild animals

don’t have doctors, so they will probably die.

People will probably sill have lung problems in

the future like lung cancer or other diseases.

Under Ground Mining

Under ground mining is the most common way

of coal mining. Under ground

mining is also the most dan-

gerous way of coal mining. The

constant risk or the thin roof

clasping is one of the risks, but

sadly that’s not the only risk.

For example there is also lung

cancer at risk. Although under

ground mining is not all bad,

under ground mines are not

as destructive as strip mines although its still not

good for the environment.

Coal mining is a big problem that most put to a

stop. If we don’t do something it will remain a

bid problem, but with more help we can make a

big difference.

What do you think when you hear the word

coal? Not that interesting just another energy

source.

It may not be that interesting, but it’s a big

problem. Can these problems be solved or will

coal mining remain a big problem for the

U.S.A.?

Do We Need Coal?

Coal mining is an outdated energy source. The

U.S.A. does not need it. In fact, the U.S. does

not use the majority of what it produces. The

coal mining industry sells coal to other coun-

tries around the world, so a lot of profit comes

from coal mining. All we have to do is mine it

and sell it. Coal mining is sill a big problem cre-

ating for the U.S. because it’s creating most of

the mining for the majority of the world. Coal

mining businesses are making more and more

money. The coal mining industry is expanding

making the air worse in the areas where mines

are located.

Clean Coal Technology

Is clean coal technology what we think it is? The

idea of clean coal technology is to make coal

mining better for the environment. It is just an-

other type of coal mining, and it’s still bad for

the environment. Clean coal technology is a big

investment, so it’s most likely going to stay for a

long time.

Crazy Coal Mining

by Patrick Severino

This strip mine destroyed a

These men are coal miners

in an under ground mine;

the most dangerous way of

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Boom! You wake up in a hotel. Your room is shak-

ing. You walk out of your room. You see air in-

stead of other rooms. You walk down to the

bottom floor and see a huge hole. You ask how

did this happen?

What Is a Sinkhole?

Sinkholes are holes that form underground over-

time. Sinkholes are dangerous holes that take

every thing in its way. It’s basically the cookie

monster that eats buildings instead of cookies. It

forms under anything. It will swallow anything it

could, even the biggest building.

How a Sinkhole Forms

Sinkholes form when water under ground dis-

solves limestone. They could be right under you!

DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! They

can form when water dissolves the stone or lime-

stone. One other way it can form is by acid rain.

Acid rain forms by pollution. The pollution goes

into the air and clicks itself

together and dissolves ma-

terials such as limestone,

copper and many other

minerals

Dangers of Sinkholes

There are many dangers of sinkholes. A sinkhole

can eat a whole building it’s like a little bag of

chips. Sinkholes can also eat you. They can be as

deep as an abyss floor, so if you get eaten you

will fall to your death. They can spontaneously

open anywhere. They can cause many injuries

maybe even death. Some sinkholes do a little

damage or none. Some could even be a centime-

ter.

Signs of Sinkholes

Sinkholes are dangerous so you need to know

when they will happen and when one may form.

If you’re at home and loose nails, a sinkhole may

be forming under your house. If you feel small

earthquakes, that may also be a clue of it forming.

There are so many ways or signs of it forming.

These are the most common ways

There is no way you can stop sinkholes but we can

help prevent a lot of them from happening. We

can reduce all the pollution and make sure water

does not go under ground. This will help prevent

more sinkholes from occurring. No one wants a

sinkhole to form under their house!

Sinkholes Stink

by Robert Forgione

Sinkholes can form

anywhere

Is Fracking as Safe as It Seems?

by Serena Hecht

Boom! You jump up and hear another distant,

BOOM! That noise is drilling. People are drilling

for natural gas. That type of drilling is called

fracking. Fracking is hurting our climate, environ-

ment, and our earth.

Fracking is hurting our environment, but people

around the world can help stop it. If natural gas

reaches our ozone layer, the earth will get hotter

and it will make global warming worse. If we

work together, we can help stop fracking. Frack-

ing is awful to our environment, but people eve-

rywhere can help stop it.

What Is Fracking?

Fracking is a way to extract natural gas from rock.

Workers drill deep into the ground to a layer

called shale and start drilling. Natural gas is locat-

ed in this layer. According to the book “Fracking,”

the United States is estimated to have 482 trillion

cubic feet of shale now within reach, thanks to

fracking.

There are many

steps to the process

of fracking. First a

well is drilled into

the layer called

shale. Then the

workers drill horizontally through the shale. Next

a mix of water, sand, and chemicals are poured

into the tunnel. As a result, the shale cracks and

natural gas flows out of the cracks. Finally work-

ers trap the natural gas and water in a tank, and the

water evaporates. What is left is the natural gas.

What States Are Fracking Done In?

Fracking can be found in many states including North

Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and New

York. Can you believe that fracking is done in our be-

loved state New York?! Fracking may bring jobs to

tons of states, but on the other hand it is causing

many severe illnesses to the people living near wells.

Fracking needs to

stop!

How Is Fracking

Hurting Our Earth?

Fracking is hurting

our earth more than

helping it. It’s

hurting our earth

because it is causing air pollution, waste water, wa-

ter contamination, and earthquakes. An example of

water contamination is more than 1000 cases of wa-

ter contamination, linked to fracking, happened in

2008 alone. An example of earthquakes is in 2011, in

Ohio where a ton of fracking takes place, there was a

series of small earthquakes. An example of waste wa-

ter is, fracking creates huge amounts of left over wa-

ter called waste water that is contaminated with

chemicals. An example of air pollution is,\ the chemi-

cals from fracking can float into the air and can harm

many families.

How Is Fracking Hurting Humans?

People may be the creatures doing the fracking, but

they are also hurting their own environment. For in-

stance, there have been stories about blisters, bleed-

ing, and other illnesses that have happened to people

Fracking is damaging our clean water

supply.

Once the shale cracks, the

living near fracking wells. Dizziness, shortness of breath, and kidney and lung problems are also more stories

and complaints of these residents living near fracking wells. There are also complaints of methane in their wa-

ter. People who have had methane in their water have video taped it and set their water on fire. Would you like

to have to drink fire water? Would you like to have gas in your water? Probably not, but if you do, YOU’RE CRA-

ZY!

What Does The Government Say About Fracking?

There are two different sides of fracking in the NY and European government. Governor Andrew Cuomo would

like to ban fracking due to heath risks. ”I've never had anyone say to me, I believe that fracking is great,” he

said. “Not a single person in those communities.” Someone on the other side is Matthew Hancock, from the Eu-

ropean government. He says that fracking can transform northern towns in Norway. Norway believes that frack-

ing can help with very expensive bills from greedy energy firms. It is up to you to decide what side you would

like to be on, but I am on Andrew Cuomo’s side. I am not just on his side because I live in NY, I am on his side

because I agree with him. Fracking can cause many health issues. GO ANDREW CUOMO!

Fracking is very harmful to the environment, but people everywhere can help make a change. We can work

together to develop renewable energy sources like wind or solar energy, instead of fracking. We can make the

world a better place if we all work together.

Well water, contaminated by methane, burns at a home in Texas, as a result of fracking.

Biofuels For A Bio-clean Future

by Tristan Stout

Biofuels are the fuels of the future w fuels run low

and energy needs increase. As biofuels are better

for the environment. And better for cars engines.

Over the recent decade or so technology has

made a big leap creating a higher demand for ener-

gy most of our energy comes from fossil fuels. This

creates a lot of pollution, but we can fix that. The

answer is biofuels.

Biofuels

Biofuels are plant base fuels. They

are better for the environment and

could reduce carbon dioxide emis-

sions by 40%. Biofuels are a renewa-

ble resource.

Different Forms of Biofuels

There are many different types of biofuels, but

some are better than others. Corn ethanol is one

type of biofuel. One acre of corn can produce

about 350 gallons

of ethanol. Sugar-

cane ethanol is

another type of

biofuel. One acre

of sugarcane can

produce about

700 gallons of eth-

anol. Algae is one of many forms of biodiesel. One

acre of algae could produces about 15,000 gallons

of biodiesel.

Better For More Than Just The Environment

Biofuels aren’t just better

for the environment

they’re better for your car.

Yes, people your car, so

stop going to the auto

shop and make life bio

friendly. Your engines will run and smoother than ever.

Aren’t you tired of stinky exhaust.

Think of a world with clean air

and less pollution. We won’t

have to worry about global

warming. Our energy problems

are solved. If we stop using fos-

sil fuels and start using biofuels,

this is what awaits the world.

Biofuels

Algae plant

This were algae grows.

Ethanol

When people play on computers and gaming

systems, you don’t stop and think what they are

made of. People think they’re just made of wires

and all that, but there is more than that. Gold is

inside.

What Is Gold?

Gold is a shiny element deep in Earth’s crust. It is

a hard metal that miners dig miles to find. Gold

is also very rare. Gold takes a long time to form.

First rainwater goes underground through rocks

and soil. Then rainwater joins in with under-

ground water. Then magma gets heated to water

vapor. Next gold dissolves into water vapor

which goes toward the surface. After, when the

gold gets near the surface, it cools down and be-

comes solid again. Finally after time, erosion

pushes it back in the ground

How Do Miners Look For Gold?

Miners look for gold by digging in the ground.

They use dynamite to dig in the ground this wild-

life underground. Then they use cages to drop

down and mine

Were Can Gold Be Found?

Gold can be found deep in Earth’s crust. Miners

use dynamite to blow a hole in the ground. Then

the miners drop in a cage. This can kill the min-

ers if it brakes!

Why Is Gold Mining Bad?

Gold mining is bad because miners cut down and

destroy habitats. They also bulldoze forests to

find some. If the underground animals don’t get out of

there home, they will die. Good thing we don’t live in a

log. Miners can also get hurt and die from gold mining,

the chain holding the cage could brake. They could also

dig into subways. Worst of all they can get cancer! Min-

ing for gold is very bad for humans and animals!

Miners hurt and destroy habitats and animals get hurt

from this! Many animals will become extinct if this

doesn't stop NOW! We need a safer way to mine gold!

Danger in the Mine

by Zachary Wynne

Forests are being cut down so these miners can

just make a few bucks! Think if they did not find

any gold these animals just lost there home for

no reason! Those poor animals they just can’t

live in peace. They always have to move.

inner earth

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