Save Gas- Ride a Bike

HEY MRS SCHULZ! I HAVE A NEW IDEA FOR THE BLOG. MY FAMILY AND I WERE TALKING ABOUT GAS PRISES AND WE THOUGHT THAT MAYBE IN THE LONG RUN, IT IS GOOD THAT THEY ARE GOING UP. IF THEY ARE HIGHER, MAYBE PEOPLE WOULD BUY FUEL EFFICIENT CARS AND WALK AND USE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MORE OFTEN! IT DOESNT MATTER WHEN YOU GET THIS OR IF YOU RESPOND, I WAS JUST THROWING OUT AN IDEA! [posted by EW, 4th grade]
photo by tandemracer

Reviving the Florida Everglades

A reservoir is being built to help revive the ecosystem of the once famous River of Grass in the Florida Everglades. The reservoir will be contained within earth and concrete walls, similar to an aboveground swimming pool- bigger than the size of Manhattan! The wetlands used to cover over 6,250 square miles, but that has shrunk by half, due to the building of homes and farms and drainage canals. Animals are at risk. The Everglades has lost 90% of its wading birds. In addition, 68 other species are considered threatened or endangered. The reservoir will help protect animals and restore natural water flow to the wetlands, near sugar cane fields, where turtles grow the size of basketballs!
photo of purple gallinule: Savannah Grandfather;
source: Associated Press staff Brian Skoloff

BIG FREE Event! Recycle Your Electronics!

Vanderbilt University, University of Memphis, and East TN State University are hosting a statewide FREE electronics recycling event May 14-17! The event will be held at the LP Field (Titans Stadium) from 9 am to 3 pm each day. Any type of computer system, printers, copiers, fax machines, TVs, cell phones, iPods and other mp3 players, game consoles, and other types of consumer and office electronics will be accepted for recycling.

• On May 14-16, the event if open to school, government institutions, and no-profit organizations (click here to register your institution)

• On May 17, the event is open to the public

More information
(photo by D'Arcy Norman)

Comics Celebrate Earth Day

On Earth Day, King Features Syndicate encouraged cartoonists to feature "green" cartoons on Earth Day. Kind Features runs comics and other features in about 5,000 newspapers around the world! Many cartoonists participated by submitting a cartoon for Earth Day last Tuesday. A few cartoonists are "green" all the time, like Alex Hallatt, whose comics are about endangered penguins and polar bears (b/w comic above.) To view these and other Earth Day cartoons: Kleefeld's blog on Comics To read more: USA Today article by David Colton

And The Winners Are!

Wow! What great participation from third, fourth, and fifth grade students. A special thanks goes to the Sign and Save members, who organized, made announcements, and judged this contest, with four of their teachers. The contest was a close one! The judges are happy to share the results of the winning posters (see right), which included a balance of information, creativity, photos, and illustration. Besides recognition on this blog, each winner is the happy winner of an ice cream gift certificate- Mmmm! Way to go, Tigers! You all did a fantastic job. Take care of your environment- Take care of your planet Earth.

photo by laffy4k

Earth Day Poster Contest!

Grades 3-5 are invited to participate in an Earth Day poster contest! You may choose any Earth Day theme and hand-draw your poster. All entries are due on Earth Day, April 22nd. The winning poster per grade will be featured on this website, and an additional ice cream gift certificate will be awarded! Join in on the fun. Celebrate our beautiful planet Earth!

photo by woodleywonderworks

Nat Geo TV

National Geographic is showing two interesting programs on Sunday night the 13th. Now that NCAA basketball is finished up, there ought to be some freed-up TV time to catch one or both of these programs! (photo by Cyron)

"Six Degrees Could Change the World" (Narrated by Alec Baldwin) 6-8pm central
NGC visualizes in spectacular high-definition the devastating ecological impact each single degree increase in temperature could have on our planet over the next century.
"Human Footprint" (two-hour world premiere) at 8pm central
Follow the lifetime consumption of an average American, from T-shirts to soda cans to laptop computers, and everything that goes into making them. The volume will shock you. This program also airs the following Sunday the 20th, 3pm Central time

Nat Geo TV Schedule