Subtopic: Natural Resources

An Alaska Native Community Helps Seals
This video from First Alaskans Institute spotlights the Alaska Native community of St. Paul and its hands-on commitment to care for the land and animals on which it depends.

As the Rotor Turns: Wind Power and You
An Investigation of Wind Power as an Energy Resource in Pennsylvania

Capturing Carbon
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, a scientist, inspired by his daughter's science fair project, develops a synthetic "tree" to remove excess carbon dioxide from the air.

Careers in Science
In this media-rich lesson, students explore careers in science through profiles of Alaska Native scientists. They consider how traditional ways of knowing and Western approaches to science can complement each other and allow students to incorporate their own interests when considering careers in science.

Compost Office
This interactive activity from Keep America Beautiful, Inc. uses illustrated text and a game to explain why it is important to compost, the science involved, and the perfect recipe for decomposition.

Deforestation in Bolivia
This visualization adapted from NASA features two satellite images from 1984 and 2000 that show the dramatic deforestation of the Bolivian rainforest.

Diamonds Everywhere
This Nature video offers an introduction to the socio-economic value of diamonds.

Dolly Garza: A Tlingit and Haida Scientist
In this interactive resource adapted from Raven Radio/KCAW, listen to biologist Dr. Dolly Garza as she explores the sea otter population of Sitka, Alaska, from the perspectives of her tribal heritage and her Western education.

The Effects of Global Warming in Alaska
In this media-rich lesson, students learn how global warming is changing the Alaskan environment and examine the consequences of climate change on the region's human and wildlife inhabitants.

Kerri-Ann Richard
In this video from Science City, Kerri-Ann Richard, an environmental engineer, describes how she became interested in the field and why it is important to clean up the environment by removing contaminants from soil and ground water.

Farm Solutions to Water Pollution
In this KET video from Common Ground and Cleaner Water, Tribby Vice, a Kentucky farmer, talks about the changes he has made on his farm to protect the water quality of the stream running through his property and the watershed in which he lives.

Global Warming Threatens World Water Supply
Potentially half of the world's water supply may be at risk because of melting glaciers. Learn more about the consequences of global warming in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: "Heat."

The Grand Canyon: Conservation and Development
This video segment adapted from NOVA explores the effects of the Glen Canyon Dam on the beaches, wildlife, and vegetation of the Colorado River.

Hurricane Katrina: Wetland Destruction
Tour the wetlands south of New Orleans that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in this video segment from NOVA scienceNOW.

Introduction
This video from WOSU Public Media defines wetlands; describes their different varieties; and demonstrates why we should care about them.

Liquid Assets: A Water System
This segment from a WPSU documentary Liquid Assets succinctly explains how water in New York journeys from its source to our faucets. Although water flows under our feet everyday, we are blissfully unaware of this service and take it for granted.

Liquid Assets: Public Health
This video segment from a WPSU documentary Liquid Assets connects public health to the availability of clean and safe drinking water and elaborates on the threats our bodies face due to increasing kinds and quantities of pollutants.

Liquid Assets: Wastewater
This video segment from a WPSU documentary Liquid Assets describes the progression of wastewater management from its early days to present day wastewater treatment systems. The development of Boston’s first-ever waste management system is described.

Living from the Land and Sea
In this video segment adapted from the Alaska Native Heritage Center, discover the connections between Alaska Native subsistence culture and the natural cycle of the seasons.

Melting Permafrost
In this video adapted from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, see melting permafrost and hear Alaska Native peoples and Western scientists discuss its impact on Inuit culture and resources.

Oil Contamination Affects Food Web
This video adapted from KTOO explores the impact of oil contamination on the herring population of Prince William Sound, Alaska, in 1999, 10 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

On the Yukon River
In this video segment adapted from the Yukon River Panel, visit fishing communities along the Yukon River and see how Alaska Native peoples exercise stewardship of salmon to ensure that it remains a central food source and cultural touchstone.

Pennsylvania Stream Water Treatment Systems
The video asks who will be around to keep water treatment systems going, monitor the quality of streams, and create new initiatives to keep water sources clean. A number of programs address these issues and get young people involved in environmental and conservation activities.

Performing Well Under Pressure
In this Nature lesson, students will explore the characteristics of diamonds. They will begin building an understanding of their formative environment, the resulting crystal structures and the physical properties of earth materials.

Recycling and Composting
Students learn about the value renewable resources hold for our society and the broader community of living things. They expand their understanding of two important conservation activities we can engage in: recycling and composting.

Shower Estimation
In this adapted ZOOM video segment, cast members calculate how much water they each use during a typical shower. They compare their results to their original predictions.

Solar House
In this What's Up in the Environment? video segment, an electrical engineer in Virginia and his 13-year-old son explain how they produce electricity in their home. 

Students Making a Difference
This interactive activity features three video segments produced by students in Alaska that demonstrate fun and innovative ways to help protect the environment.

Take Action for Nature and Your Community
In this media-rich activity, students explore human relationships with the natural world, learn how both Alaska Native ways of knowing and Western science can be used to study and help the environment, and take action on a local environmental issue.

Urban Solutions to Water Pollution
In this KET video segment from Louisville Life, high school students in Louisville, Kentucky describe the benefits of creating rain gardens as a solution to non-point source water pollution.

Water Conservation: Denver, CO
This video segment adapted from Last Oasis explores the use of new dams as a way to provide or store water. In the 1990s, the city of Denver was looking for a new source of water for its growing population, and its plan to build a new dam suddenly became highly controversial.

Water Conservation: Mexico
This video segment adapted from Last Oasis shows the challenges Mexico City faces in providing enough water for its growing population. As a result of over pumping of its ground water, some parts of the city are sinking 12 inches a year.

What Happens When an Oil Spill Occurs?
This interactive activity from McDougal Littell/TERC visualizes the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, factors that influence oil spill behavior and impact, and techniques used to contain and clean up oil spills at sea.

Who Owns the Water of the Great Lakes?
In this video segment from Planet H₂0: Water World, experts and teens inside and outside the Great Lakes watershed provide different perspectives on sharing the water from one of the largest bodies of fresh water in the world.