3 Rs

Ready

Reliable

Reasonable

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Mega Quarry

I did an interview about Melissa Battler, Planetary Geologist and currently working on her Ph.D. at UWO, June, 2007. I respect Melissa's opinion and when I saw her posting on Facebook about a week ago, I wondered about how I could get the word out.

Melissa said: "I recently learned about the proposed "Mega Quarry" in Melancthon, Ontario. I am concerned, because this potential massive open pit mine would be the largest open pit mine in Canada, and is scheduled to be blasted only ~120 km away from Toronto, not far from Orangeville/Shelburne area. If it is built, it will destroy prime agricultural land, and may have devastating effects on the ground water supplies to most of southern Ontario.

My very major concern is that they plan to blast 200 feet below the water table, into the aquifer that supplies the headwaters of many southern Ontario rivers, possibly including the Grand River. This will certainly have very adverse environmental effects on the immediate area around the mine, and on the drinking water of many parts of southern Ontario, and perhaps even on all ecosystems of all the rivers flowing south from that area, as contaminants from the mine will flow directly into our rivers."

See (http://www.ndact.com/NDACT/Water_Issues.html  for more information.

Replies are welcome.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Astronomy Websites Part 2

I came across this excellent website from the Canada Science and Technology Museum, entitled School Zone. It contains Virtual Programs on Astronomy (created for the International Year of Astronomy, 2009) and Classroom Resource for Teachers. It is loaded with information. There are five modules that can be downloaded free of charge by educators. Each module can be downloaded separately or all together as the website explains. Each module has links to specific astronomy websites that expand upon each module’s content. It is a great resource to assist educators from Kindergarten to Grade 12. It is not only science based — it is also cross-curricular.

The Canadian Space Resource Centre located at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute just South of the Ontario Science Centre has one of the largest collections of space information, activities and resources for teachers and students.
Steve Lang is the Executive Director. Steve has spoken at STAO’s annual conference every year for as long as I can remember. His talks are never the same for Grades 6, 9 and 12 because new developments are happening so rapidly and Steve stays on top of them as he shares his expertise with educators at STAO and talks he gives in school classrooms.