The use of unsafe water as a source for drinking, cooking, and bathing can lead to serious health complications. Point of Use (POU) water treatment technologies can play an important role in making safe and clean drinking water available to communities. One low-cost, low-technology POU system is the biosand filter (BSF). BSFs offer an effective…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that to protect and promote the health of all children, robust environmental health protections must be in place, and the inequities that lead to environmental injustice must be eliminated. The environment is a powerful social determinant of health and a critical factor in our…

Cloud cover created fog and many days of low visibility. With surprisingly no wind for weeks on end, water droplets in the fog froze on impact with tree branches, poles, doors--any stable object, creating a magical display of rime ice, which is heavier and denser than hoarfrost. The picturesque result made the month seem so much less dreary,…

Oftentimes, due to the involute nature of the issues involved, society leaves it up to the experts to tackle the environmental problems currently facing society. However, a more wholistic approach is needed to address these environmental issues in the timely fashion necessary. With a reductionist treatment of sustainable development issues, the…

There is growing interest in surfing as a recreational activity that may facilitate skill development and improved mental health. However, there remains uncertainty regarding the causal processes through which surfing may improve psychological well-being. With the aim to guide future research, we review potential mechanisms that may underpin the…

The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (REMS) has created a list of resources on the role of school nutrition directors in school safety efforts. The list includes the following categories: (1) Food Safety, Food Defense, and Contaminated Food Annexes--Training; (2) Feeding and Food Distribution--Training;…

We propose a semiquantitative experiment that associates video-analysis and ordinary procedures of experimental physics whose objective is to investigate the dual character of Oobleck, a mixture of cornstarch in water, which appears thicker or thinner depending on how it is physically manipulated. The results are presented and interpreted taking…

Students may have some confusion understanding certain physical concepts and principles because of their abstract nature. Using analogies is one of the useful methods to help them more easily grasp abstract concepts to promote conceptual understanding. Bilaloglu classified analogies in four groups: (a) simple analogies, (b) storified analogies,…

What do we really mean by sustainability and why is biodiversity so important? What is nature-connectedness and how can it be developed? By exploring these questions, the need for education within this context becomes ever more apparent. This article takes you on a journey of sustainability, exploring the term from a variety of standpoints. It…

This paper reports a demonstration of a 90 min on-demand class where a chemical experiment is performed to educate nonscience majors on surfactants. First-year undergraduate students perform the water ball in a water bottle experiment at home and learn about the structure and properties of organic compounds in the demonstration. The experiment is…

In this laboratory experiment, students explore the aquatic photochemical fate of ranitidine and cimetidine, two common pharmaceutical pollutants found in wastewater. It provides an engaging environmental context for students to develop knowledge of reaction kinetics and photochemistry as well as skill in using analytical instrumentation. This…

A simple experiment was developed to introduce students to the sustainable procurement of water through fog harvesting that can be used for drinking or irrigation purposes. Access to clean water and sanitation is problematic particularly within dry regions such as in areas of Peru, although there is a significant amount of fog in the mountainous…

Simple, often artificial problems are normally preferred for introductory lab courses and are restricted to indoor participation. Microtitrations make it possible to leave the lab and study water chemistry directly in the natural environment. An exemplary outdoor challenge is presented here: travertine formation is context-rich, has to be examined…

Crises of all types are often the inspiration for innovation, as communities seek solutions to the immediate problems they face. Sometimes a crisis is localized, as in the case of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, USA, and the local community is therefore the most highly motivated to innovate on behalf of their children's future.

In this article we consider a well-known simple, very accessible demonstration of surface tension with a small boat propelled by substances that change the surface tension of water. A simple quantitative evaluation is provided that matches well with experimental data. A modification to the experiment is proposed allowing it to continue for a long…