Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.

Can you explain gravity? How come two balls hit the ground at the same time? If you hang a one liter bag of formula from a six foot pole and another one liter bag of formula from a three foot pole. Will the bags empty at the same rate ??

Have you ever played with magnets? The Earth acts like a giant magnet, pulling everything near it to the ground. It pulls on bigger objects more than little objects. But it's harder to pull larger objects down than little ones. That's why they all fall at the same speed to the ground.

Have you ever jumped off a swing? Gravity pulls you down at the same speed as a ball that you throw into the air! It doesn't matter how big you are! Isaac Newton was one of the first scientists to work with gravity.

Things that are farther away aren't pulled on as much, so they fall slower than objects near the ground.


Submitted by Danielle (age 9, California, USA), Matthew (age 11, Ontario, Canada), Adrienne (age 33, Michigan, USA), G.S.(age 40, New Jersey, USA), K(age 13, Chennai , India)
(May 18, 1999)



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