Sandbags on the Beach: Quick Help, Long Term Trouble – Frontiers for Young Minds
Have you ever seen big bags of sand stacked along a beach or near a house during a storm? These… big bags filled with sand (are) used to stop water from flooding streets, buildings, or beaches during storms….Sandbags can be helpful during emergencies, but what happens when the storm is over, and the bags are left behind? It turns out that sandbags can cause serious problems for nature…
Is Earth in a New Time Period: The Plasticene? – Frontiers for Young Minds
Earth has a special calendar called the geologic time scale…We are currently in the Holocene Epoch, but some scientists believe we have entered a new time called the Anthropocene or the “Age of Humans” because of our impact on the planet. One of the biggest changes humans have made is inventing and using plastic..Because plastic is now found everywhere, some scientists, like us, think we have entered a new stage in Earth’s history called the Plasticene…
Mangroves: “Superhero” Ecosystems – Frontiers for Young Minds
Because mangroves live along the land-ocean boundary, they are unique plants that provide several benefits to nature and humans. For example, mangroves provide refuge and food for organisms, hurricane protection, and water filtration; mangroves also promote the release of oxygen into the atmosphere and the uptake and trapping of carbon dioxide, which helps to fight against climate change. To understand mangrove ecosystems, it is important to consider the role of the microorganisms that live there…
How Can Nature Protect People Against Sea-Level Rise? – Frontiers for Young Minds
Now that Earth’s climate is changing, sea-level rise and storms are becoming more intense and frequent, which increases the risk of flooding. Therefore, we need to develop bigger flood-defense structures to stay safe from flooding. However, this is very expensive. Is there an alternative? It may sound surprising, but nature can help us out…