Two Famous Americans

WHO: Thomas Edison

WHAT: Inventor

WHY: He invented the lightbulb

WHEN: In 1879 he filed a patent 

WHERE: Menlo Park, NJ

WHO: Neil Armstrong

WHAT: Astronaut

WHY: First man on the moon

WHEN: 1969

WHERE: The moon

Family Kilowatt Usage

At my house we use electricity for many things including but not limited to the refrigerator,  air conditioner, lighting, and television.  As you can see in the chart above the highest kilowatt usage is in July.  The reason the electricity is so high is because July is the hottest month of the year and so the air conditioner is running a lot more than usual.

Here is a short list of ways you can reduce energy use.

• Use the fan more often than the air conditioner
• Spend less time watching television
• Use natural lighting more often

Spying on Animals

For scouts I had to observe animals from a distance.  To do this I went to a pond near my home.  The reason I went to a pond was because I knew there would be some birds there.  There usually are many  birds because there are lots of fish to eat.  The type of bird that I saw was a Cormorant.  It was doing a very odd thing.  It was moving its head a little and back.  Then a lot and back and repeating this motion for a good 5 minutes.  Another odd thing was the wings. they were spread out in an M shape.  I think the bird was doing this to dry off after a swim.  The way I got a close look was by sneaking behind a tree and creeping towards the bird very S L O W L Y .  Unfortunately when I got too close it flew away.  :( bye bye.

Nature - IT'S EVEREYWHERE

Today I went on a 2-mile nature hike at Tibet-Butler Preserve near my home.  It is a nature reserve with hiking trails. Most of the hike was in an area with many trees.  It was so thick, it was difficult to see any wildlife.  The Tar Flower Loop, another part of the trail, didn't have so many trees.  I do not know why it didn't have so many trees.  It was also the driest part of the hike.  We also saw some animal poop in the Tar Flower Loop.  I knew it was animal poop because it had hair in it and it smelled disgusting.  By the way I actually smelled it. The coolest thing I saw was a giant woodpecker.  I also saw two lizards and some purple berries.  My second favorite thing was the lichen (lie-ken).  I had a fun time.

Here is a list of animals that I saw.

• Woodpecker
• Spider
• Bee
• Ant
• Bird
• Wasp
• 2 Lizards
• Butterflies
• Turtle
• Tortoise

 

Compost - USEFUL TRASH!

"Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost).  There are many things you can put in compost such as leaves, grass, food scraps (apple cores, orange peels, banana peels, etc. ) and animal/human poop. Compost is used for fertilizer in gardens to help the soil grow the plants.  I have composted a banana peel! It turned brown!

Black Rhinoceros - CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

This is a Black Rhinoceros. It is critically endangered. "A Critically Endangered species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critically_endangered). There are only 2,410 left! The cause of the decline is illegal poaching.

Dusky Seaside Sparrow - EXTINCT!!!

This is a Dusky Seaside Sparrow.  It went extinct in 1990 due to humans.  The causes were, first, a man made flood with the goal of decreasing Mosquito populations, not birds.  Second, the marsh that was caused by the flood was drained to make highways and roads. Finally, there was too much pollution and pesticides.