Lesley Bio 1 Fall 2013 slides for the Planetline Semester Project.

1. Biology 1
Planetline
Semester
Project

2. By the end of the semester,
you will have developed
a path that goes through
10 locations related to Biology.

3. Instructions

4. 1.
10 distinctly different locations you have visited,
each clearly and directly related to
at least one concept covered in this course,
with a clear paragraph of description.

5. 2.
Two of the locations must be connected to
recent Biology-related news stories.

6. 3.
One of the locations must be or be connected to
a Biology-related event you attended.

7. 4.
At least 4 of the locations should include
a photo taken by you with the date.

8. 5.
At least 5 of the locations should include
a reference to a source of extra information.
This may help you get into habit of
linking your work to the work of others.

9. Present your Planetline
in the medium of your choice
with personal reflections.
(poster, PowerPoint, Prezi, journal, blog, vlog,
chapbook, scroll, pop-up book, mobile, etc.)

10. Example

11. Minuteman Bikeway

14. A. Whole Foods
Biological Macromolecules,
Artificial Selection, GMOs

15. http://www.npr.org/
blogs/thesalt/
2012/03/27/1494740
12/activists-say-
americans-support-
labeling-genetically-
modified-food
Activists Say Americans Support Labeling Genetically
Modified Food
People march demanding labels for genetically modified food near the White House in
Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 2011.
Ren Haijun/Xinhua /Landov
Activists who want genetically modified food to be labeled in the U.S. say there's more
support than ever for their cause. As evidence, a coalition calling itself Just Label It re-
leased the results today of a survey it commissioned from The Mellman Group, a na-
tional pollster. The survey found that 91 percent of voters favor the labeling of food
with genetically modified ingredients.

16. B. Fresh Pond:
Water Treatment Facility
pH, Water, Ecosystems,
Ecosystem Services, Water Cycle

18. C. Cambridge
Stormwater Wetland
Ecosystem Services, Ecological Restoration,
Water Cycle

19. http://
www.bioengineering.com
/projects/view.php?id=42

21. D. Spy Pond
Ecosystems, Water Cycle, Chemistry,
Human Impact—water pollutants,
bioaccumulation, biomagnification

23. http://www.npr.org/
2013/01/17/169636357/understanding-
climate-change-with-help-from-thoreau
http://www.plosone.org/
article/info:doi/10.1371/
journal.pone.0053788

24. E. Arlington Library:
Walden Pond Phenology Talk
Ecosystems, Climate Change, Scientific Inquiry

26. F. Busa Farm
Artificial Selection, Mutualism,
Ecosystems, Biodiversity

27. How Making Food Safe Can Harm Wildlife And Water
03:36 am
April 23, 2012
by DAN CHARLES
We'd probably like to think that clean, safe food goes hand in hand with pristine
nature, with lots of wildlife and clean water. But in the part of California that grows a
lot of the country's lettuce and spinach, these two goals have come into conflict.
Adam Cole/NPR
A clampdown on contamination in growing fields has pushed out wildlife
and destroyed habitats.
http://www.npr.org/
blogs/thesalt/
2012/04/23/15104795
7/how-making-food-
safe-can-harm-
wildlife-and-water

30. G. Walking Trails
Parasites, Viruses,
Invasive Species, Biodiversity

31. With West Nile On The Rise, We
Answer Your Questions
by RICHARD KNOX
03:00 pm
August 29, 2012
This year is on track to be the worst ever for West Nile virus in the United States.
Here are the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
LM Otero/AP
A Beechcraft airplane sprays insecticide over Dallas early Monday morning to curb the spread of
West Nile virus.

33. H. Apiary
Ecosystem Services—pollination,
Mutualism, Ecology, Biochemistry
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Apiary

34. I. Geoengineering Talk
Biosphere,
Human Impact—Climate Engineering

35. http://www.technologyreview.com/
featuredstory/511016/a-cheap-and-
easy-plan-to-stop-global-warming/
A Cheap and Easy Plan to Stop Global Warming
Here is the plan. Customize several Gulfstream
business jets with military engines and with
equipment to produce and disperse fine
droplets of sulfuric acid. Fly the jets up around
20 kilometers—significantly higher than the
cruising altitude for a commercial jetliner but
still well within their range. At that altitude in
the tropics, the aircraft are in the lower stratos-
phere. The planes spray the sulfuric acid, care-
fully controlling the rate of its release. The sul-
fur combines with water vapor to form sulfate
aerosols, fine particles less than a micrometer in
diameter. These get swept upward by natural
wind patterns and are dispersed over the globe,
including the poles. Once spread across the
stratosphere, the aerosols will reflect about 1
percent of the sunlight hitting Earth back into space. Increasing what scientists call the
planet’s albedo, or reflective power, will partially offset the warming effects caused by
rising levels of greenhouse gases.
The author of this so-called geoengineering scheme, David Keith, doesn’t want to imple-
ment it anytime soon, if ever. Much more research is needed to determine whether in-
jecting sulfur into the stratosphere would have dangerous consequences such as dis-
rupting precipitation patterns or further eating away the ozone layer that protects us
from damaging ultraviolet radiation. Even thornier, in some ways, are the ethical and
governance issues that surround geoengineering—questions about who should be al-
lowed to do what and when. Still, Keith, a professor of applied physics at Harvard Uni-
versity and a leading expert on energy technology, has done enough analysis to suspect
it could be a cheap and easy way to head off some of the worst effects of climate change.