The Hole In The Wall Gang ...

Are you a member of the "hole in the wall gang?" Do you get meals in a car from someone "throwing food through a hole-in-a-wall to you? Have you ever really thought about that? Lets leave the food out of the discussion.. for now.

Every time you use a drive through, you burn at least 18 -25 cents worth of gas idling your car. According to Quick Service Restaurant Magazine, the average drive through wait time once the order is taken is three minutes. Add the minute or two that it takes to place the order, and that means one billion car-minutes spent idling each year in front of Burger King restaurants alone! Estimates for total fuel costs for idling in front of every drive through in America are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. You have to let your window down twice ; to order and to get your food.. ( some places have a third window just to pay.) Its not just food that's served ... a heaping helping of hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide... all toxic- are served right along with the fries.

An idling car is guilty of using up valuable fuel, not only unnecessarily wasting this expensive resource, but also causing danger to the environment and a risk to the health of many others. Idling may actually harm your vehicle, but that's only the start. It can also be responsible for increasing pollution levels caused by gasoline burning in the atmosphere.

Reportedly idling Americans burn at least 2.9 billion gallons of gas a year, worth around $7.82 billion, according to a recent report from Texas A&M. That doesn’t count the damage done to idling engines by incompletely burned fuel. There are a lot of studies, and people often disagree on the numbers. But ask yourself, would you really want to spend a lot of time behind a vehicle in a long line breathing in the exhaust?

Neither does the planet.

Many people believe that there are times its okay for their car to be idle. This common misconception is what makes parents rushing to drop their children off at school or those in a hurry at the cleaners to leave their car in this dangerous mode. Avoiding idling can also help preserve your car's engine. An engine that's in an idle state doesn’t operate at its peak temperature and fuel combustion is unfinished. This causes fuel residue to constrict cylinder walls, expel oil and harm engine components.

The damage that can be done by an idle car, though, isn't limited to just the vehicle itself. Idle cars produce emissions that have been found to negatively affect respiratory health. Vehicle exhaust also contributes to unhealthy air quality and the presence of smog. These factors have resulted in ailments like asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Children and the elderly have been affected the most, but the environment itself is also impacted.

So lets see:

Idling your car gets:
ZERO miles to the gallon, damages your engine, wastefully pollutes the environment -outside and in, directly and immediately endangers the health of children and the elderly, is specifically a waste of money and dwindling natural resources.

Hmmmmmm......?

Long lines of idling cars doesn't seem too "green" now does it?

What can you do?

Some cities and countries have anti-idling laws. What do you think?

Should cars automatically turn off when in idle? ( hint: mine actually does)

Read more:

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/5135#ixzz0PnSR8DOz

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Letting-Your-Vehicle-Idle-Can-Cost-You-Big-Money-At-The-Pump&id=343799

Morning Flight

Well... first day has begun. We really need to talk to traffic control for Tampa International Airport. MBFS has people coming and going. Cars doing drop-off and pick-up where they're supposed to and where they are not. Students struggling with luggage too big, overloaded or barely balanced on wheels bumping over humps or cornered in cracks. Bigger people pulling smaller people, rolling, dragging, bumping in multiple directions at once. Head and shoulders above the adolescent gaggle, semi-official "directors" , drovers of the disembarked, gesture at traffic, waggle at obstinate autos, holding onto wayward nomads. Ahh... notice how just the tiniest bit of authority and one's physical demeanor is infused with an earnestly evident sense of duty. The clustered congregation mills about all the while deciphering script on schedule slips and asking anyone who stands still or even slows down "which way is whatever." We have first class and coach, aisle seats and window, overhead bins, long lines, stay-in-your-seats, and pilots aplenty, TIA has nothing on us.

Surprisingly, the afternoon pickup went ...hmmm...lets say, "as well as could be expected." One problem however, all the cars in idle create a major carbon footprint. Let's trust this will be reduced.

MR V BEACH TEACH Website link

THE MRV BEACH TEACH website

Balance Barron Broncos Beaver and Bones

I traveled to Clearwater High School early this morning and hung out with a complete passel of science teachers. It was the Pinellas County Schools - District Wide Training Science Mini-Conference . Every year, it reminds me in no small way of The National Science Teachers Association conferences that I used to quite regularly attend - only I don't have to present at this one, thank goodness. We filled the high school's auditorium. I sat with several Madeira Beach science teachers and my good friend Mr. Barron. We started at Madeira Beach together. Mr. Barron was going to be at Madeira Beach this year too, but he switched to Dunedin MS about the same time I switched back to Madeira from Seminole. Can you say "musical chairs?" I'll miss him, we put some really good work together. The first thing Mr Barron asked of me was could he "steal" some of my labs and take them with him. That just proves he's a genuine science teacher now.

After a surprisingly short welcoming speech and some introductory information, there were door prize drawings, directions to web resources by suppliers of science services, products, and more testing programs. Following a "coffee" break, we were entertained by a young motivational speaker telling of how he'd learned life lessons that apply to all of us. He reminded us how important it was to FOCUS, find balance, communicate with clarity, never stop learning, keep perspective, and let go of that which holds one back. He recounted and demonstrated how he learned these important lessons by balancing ladders on his chin, cinching a bareback bronco's girth, unearthing cemeteries in Scotland, and lassoing wild beaver.

It was an interesting morning.

After lunch, I volunteered to attend a presentation on safety in the laboratory. Federal and state government agencies are really taking high school and middle school lab safety VERY SERIOUSLY. There are some really big fines if it is discovered rules aren't being followed. At Madeira Beach, we are lucky. A very thorough check-up was done over the summer. The importance of doing experiments - safely, and what makes for a truly safe science lab was a pretty hot topic in the seminar, as well as types of equipment, ventilation, emergency kits ... and more. Madeira Beach can be proud to have such good labs in the science building. The two other seminars I wanted to attend were canceled.

When you put it all together: old colleagues, door prizes, safety debates, rodeo ponies, spill kits, wild beaver on a rope and ancient boneyards .. it was a pleasant end to the week.

Mad Beach Thinkin'

Mr Rankin came by G1 today , he's everywhere it seems. He seemed positive that we can get picnic tables outside the classroom to begin an "outdoor" classroom. Both the Environmental Science and Marine Science courses require water and with MR V that means lots of water.
The classroom has one really good sink, not a lot of lab counter-space and is carpeted. That makes for a lot of "wet carpet" no matter how careful we are. My kids know that MR V can get pretty messy when doing labs ... so an outside place to work will be just the ticket. There's not a lot of sunlight inside G-POD, but there's plenty outside - so plant and energy experiments have potential. ( and if we make a really big mess, well ... it's outside!!)

I'm thinking we can get a class set of old lightweight beachchairs then that way we can have a mobile outdoor classroom

Environmental Science

This is just the half of it.

Books and Boxes Back and Forth Once Again

Well today was hectic. Everyone was skittering about the campus hither and yon. Overloaded AV carts trundling boxes and books undercover from the rain. Ms. Butler was everywhere moving science texts. The questions of the day were "What are you teaching this year?" and "Where's your room ?" and "Have you got your computer yet?" I saw more people holding open doors for others, lifting the other end of bookshelves, pointing out directions, and sharing stories of "What I did this summer." (My thanks to Mr Vukelich for trucking in boxes with me.)

Progress Logs

The Progress Log is a tool to help student keep track of their daily and weekly progress. Good science and understanding is based on knowledge and skills development: observation, data, measurement, evaluation, are but a few. The student's self-reflection on their personal progress is equally important to their understanding and learning.

Beginnings are confusing sometimes

This was the first day at the "new" Madeira Beach (Fundamental) school. I was going to be teaching at Seminole Middle School this year. However, Mr Ateek called me and asked if I would be interested in coming back to Madeira Beach to teach Environmental Science and Marine Science. I was very excited. One of my degrees is a Master of Science degree in Environmental Education from Nova Southeastern Universtity (Oceanographic Center - Dania, Florida). There is a lot of confusion when schools change, and there was a lot of confusion with the classes I was going to teach and there have been some changes but now it looks like it is pretty settled. Instead of all 6th grade classes, there will be some 7th and 8th graders too. Cool!

For Bonus:

Where is Dania, Florida?

What is a Master of Science degree ?

How might Madeira Beach be like an Oceanographic Center ?