May 5, 2010
I received this great letter today from Miranda in Maryland. She didn’t tell me what grade she is in, but her Elementary School teacher is using my books in the classroom.
Here’s what Miranda wrote about GLOBAL WARMING.
Before I read your book, I did not know anything about Global Warming. Now that I read your book I know a lot. I learned that coral reefs are in jeopardy. The photograph where the coral reef is bleached white surprised me a lot. In addition, I also learned that polar bears, walruses and the seals (sic) survival might be impacted by global warming. I am glad that you are telling kids like me and grownups some ways to help stop global warming. My family and I will be sure to help stop global warming, by turning off the lights when we are out of the room and by using fans instead of air conditioning in the summer. I want to help the earth.
I hoped, when I wrote this book, that children would be empowered by the facts and become stewards and protectors of our Planet Earth. I was so pleased to receive this letter from Miranda!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 29, 2010
The news from the Gulf of Mexico this morning is not good. British Petroleum (BP), the owner of the ruptured oil line, is finally confirming what NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Coast Guard have been saying for several days now. This spill is MUCH larger than previously reported - 5 times as large - and is currently spilling 5,000 barrels per day into the Gulf.
There is great urgency around attempts to contain the spill and/or disperse the oil before it reaches land, where it would have a major impact on wildlife, marine life, sensitive habitats and shorelines in four states (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida).
I’ve been reading everything I can about whether or not the proposed burning of oil is an environmentally sound strategy. From what I’ve found, it sounds like it is our best option.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory
Here is what biologist Andrew C. Revkin, who teaches environmental science at Pace University and writes the DOT EARTH environmental blog for the New York Times, is reporting today:
One of the biggest such tests was undertaken off Newfoundland in 1993. Called the Newfoundland Offshore Burn Experiment, the joint Canadian and American project concluded that combustion consumed most of the more problematic compounds and the levels of harmful compounds in smoke were below danger thresholds outside 150 yards of so of the fire zone. The water beneath the burn area showed no detectable levels of harmful compounds.
I photographed an offshore oil rig when I took a boat trip in the Santa Barbara (California) channel last month.
These are massive structures, and there is as much below the water as there is above - the water here was nearly 200 feet deep, and the rig is anchored to the ocean floor. As the captain of our boat noted, from ocean floor to the top of the rig is as tall as a skyscraper.
Do we really need to construct more of these oil rigs along our coasts? What is the risk-reward ratio of offshore drilling? As an environmentalist, I’m terribly afraid that the possible damage to wildlife and our coastlines are not worth the risk of building more oil rigs that produce only a tiny fraction of the oil our nation uses. If most of us changed the incandescent light bulbs in our homes to more energy-efficient light bulb source, we would not only be making up for the oil that off-shore rigs produce but saving our own money in the bargain.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 29, 2010
I have always wanted to have a casual videogame on my website, and now Nanny in Space is finally live! Scroll down - it’s right below the Seymour Science BLOG on my homepage. If you don’t see it there, refresh the page.
I don’t know about you, but I love to play videogames on my computer.
I also hope a game like this might attract some kids who otherwise might not be inclined to come to SeymourSimon.com…..and once they are here, I hope they will find images and information that grab their imaginations and keep them coming back for more.
We’ve set up a high score table so that players, including children, can register and have us keep track of their scores. Anyone (like me) who likes to play casual games knows that half the fun is trying to a) improve on your best score, and b) pull ahead on the high score table!
Registration for everyone is free, and we’ve taken pains to make sure it is safe registration for kids - no using real names, or keeping any personal information. A special thank you to our friends Tina and Alan at Ultimate Arcade, who went above and beyond the call of duty to make it possible for us to have a game on the site.
This is just pure fun, so enjoy it. By the way - did you notice who is king of the high score table, at least for the moment?!
- Seymour (ssimon)
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 29, 2010
The Boston Globe continues to post a huge number of pictures of the Icelandic volcano. Click here to have a look. What gorgeous sights.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 28, 2010
Now that we’re home from Chicago (and before we head up to our house in Columbia County for the Hudson Children’s Book Festival this weekend), it is time to settle in at my desk and get back to work! The manuscript for BUTTERFLIES (the new title I’m working on for my Collins/Smithsonian series) is due at the end of the week. Like all writers, I work most productively when there is an actual deadline looming, so today is the day.
I opened my email and started the morning with the sweetest letter from Adrian, in Texas. He wrote:
I am nine years old.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 28, 2010
I am just back from the International Reading Association Convention in Chicago, which was excellent.
I am always happy both to see old friends, and to make new friends among the teachers who ask me to sign their books or talk to them about using non-fiction in the classroom. This week was particularly rewarding because of the terrific, day-long Institute put together by author and professional development consultant Linda Hoyt called "Informational Literacy: Making It Intentional, Connected, and Engaging." A large group of teachers (300+) were present for the whole day as various experts talked about the power of non-fiction in both reading and writing. I talked about how to make complex concepts comprehensible as well as how to make expository writing both lyrical and exciting, using examples from my books. We were also treated to engaging presentations by literacy experts like Tony Stead, Michael Shoulders, and The2Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser). It was an inspiring day. I think that non-fiction is definitely moving to the forefront in school reading programs - and that’s exciting.
I also want to thank Patty Rosati, Laura Lutz and all the other wonderful people at HarperCollins Childrens who were my hosts at IRA and who have been my friends and supporters all-year round. I love you guys!
Posted by: Seymour Simon
April 26, 2010
John James Audubon, bird watcher, artist, and one of America’s original conservationists, was born this day in 1785. 
His Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints, set the standard for painters of wildlife in this country. The National Audubon Society, whose mission is “to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity,” is named after him (although he played no role in its founding or operation). Although he was a hunter for most of his life, in his later years Audubon wrote about his concerns at the destruction of birds and their habitats.
You can see all 431 existing watercolors of the original 435 Audubon painted for “Birds of America” at the New York Historical Society, in New York City. Many of the copper plates used in the printmaking are across the street in the American Museum of Natural History (one of Seymour’s favorite places). It is also possible to see 18 original Audubon paintings in Key West, Florida at a small museum called the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens.
Audubon once wrote: "I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could."
John James Audobon is buried in what is now the Trinity Cemetery at 155th Street and Broadway in New York City. Audubon himself was the last private owner of that parcel of land, and had built an estate overlooking the Hudson River there. The property was eventually bought by the city, and his grave is marked by a large Celtic cross with likenesses of his work on either side.
Image: Iceland Falcon Falco rusticolus from plate 366 BIRDS OF AMERICA, John James Audubon, 1838.
Posted by: Liz Nealon
April 25, 2010
We received an interesting letter today from Sharl Heller, who works with her husband, Dr. Eric Heller, on his art. You may have seen some of it several months ago on this blog, where we used one of his spectacularly beautiful images in a post explaining Rogue Waves and why they happen.
Ms. Heller wrote:
Since reading the Seymour Science blog, ART & SCIENCE: "Working Together to Explain Rogue Waves", based on my husband Eric Heller’s work, I have been enjoying Dr. Simon’s website and your postings. I am delighted to see so many interesting topics explained in a way that makes complicated issues accessible to non scientists and children. Besides helping my husband with his artwork, I am working locally to raise awareness about global climate change, encouraging the people in our area to replace their landscaping with native plants to help mitigate global climate change and maintain biodiversity. In searching Seymour’s website I was very pleased to see that you are researching a new book on butterflies. The page mentions planting milkweed to sustain monarch butterflies, so I know you will be promoting the idea that people should plant native plants that support wildlife. I believe your book will be very important and useful to those of us who think we must all do whatever we can to mitigate global climate change. Thank you for including my husband on your blog. I look forward to your new book and the new blogs.
In fact, we’re going to be doing a whole series of posts this spring and summer about sustainable gardening, both as a nurturing family activity and as a way for individuals to move the needle when it comes to reducing their own carbon footprints and combatting global warming. And, I will be posting about the design of our new Butterfly Garden, at the same time that Seymour is finishing up the manuscript for his upcoming Collins/Smithsonian book, BUTTERFLIES.
All coming up on the Seymour Science Blog. Thanks for writing, Ms. Heller!
Posted by: Liz Nealon
April 24, 2010
As we close out the week of celebrations around the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we thought we’d share this quote from Albert Einstein.
"A human b
eing is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."
- Albert Einstein
Posted by: Liz Nealon
April 23, 2010
Did you see the images on television last night of snowplows removing hail (not snow – HAIL!) from the highways in Colorado? And if you click here you’ll see video of a tornado that touched down in Texas last night.
There are strong thunderstorms predicted throughout this weekend in the Eastern two-thirds of the US, and Tornado Watches are in effect for communities that regularly experience these violent storms.
Why is all this happening at once? Well, it’s April, and that generally marks the beginning of the tornado season in the U.S.
A tornado’s funnel looks like a huge elephant’s trunk hanging down from a cloud. The funnel acts like a giant vacuum cleaner…whenever the “hose” touches the ground, it sucks things up into the air.
Usually, tornadoes are local storms. A typical tornado is only 400 to 500 feet wide, has winds of less than 112 miles per hour, and last only a few minutes. But sometimes, monster tornadoes a mile wide with winds up to 500 miles per hour are born in very large thunderstorms – also called supercells – and they can cause tremendous destruction. Tornadoes have moved houses down a whole block, bounced 20-ton tractor-trailers up and down on the highway, even picked up a pond full of frogs and rained them down on a nearby town!
Photo Credit: Howard Bluestein, Photo Researchers, Inc.If you live near an area that is prone to tornadoes at this time of year, the most important things to remember are:
· Pay attention to early warning sirens and alerts on radio and television, so that you can take shelter before a tornado strikes.
· Cars and mobile homes are NOT safe during a tornado. Go to the basement of a solidly built house.
· If you are in an apartment or home without a basement, getting into a bathtub and covering yourself with a couch cushion protects you on all sides.
· If you are out walking or biking, life flat in a ditch if there is no rain. If there is rain, there may be a danger of flash flooding, so stay out of the ditch, get away from trees and power lines, crouch down and make yourself as small as possible - be a "human basketball"!
You don’t have to worry too much in advance about tornadoes, but finding out when they are coming and knowing what to do is certain to help you if one strikes.
Posted by: Seymour Simon
