The very first commercial wind project on U.S. Forest Service land will locate 15 turbines on government land in southern Vermont by the end of 2017. This project sets a precedent since it's the first agreement in the country between wind developers and the forest service. Some support the turbines saying the project will bring jobs and save money, and some oppose the project. Protesters say this is public land and shouldn’t be developed because it will hurt wildlife. Listen to hear more about this project and what is being done to protect the land.
Story Length: 3:27
Socrative users can import these questions using the following code: SOC-1234
August 24, 2016
2:54
For the first time in history, two pilots flew the Solar Impulse 2, a solar powered plane, around the world without using any fuel. This technology will have to be developed more before the public will be able to fly in them. Nevertheless, this flight symbolized the innovative progress made by aviators and energy conservationists. Listen to the story to hear more about the flight from pilot, Bertrand Piccard.
Read MoreJune 18, 2016
4:03
The Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to find out how bears will react to a new wind project. It will be the first commercial wind project on U.S. Forest Service land and will include 15 turbines.They started tracking bears by using radio collars to see how they move around before the turbines are in place. The collars had many problems, so they started using cameras to track the bears. Now they have data to study bears and wildlife both before and after the wind project begins. Share this story with your students so they can learn more about this wind project in Vermont and its impact on wildlife.
Read MoreSeptember 30, 2015
3:18
It may seem like planting a billion trees would help global warming because they absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. But that would depend on the total number of trees on the planet, which was a number no one knew. Recently, researchers conducted a tree census that gathered the national forest inventories and tree information at a global scale. A previous estimate found 400 billion trees on Earth, but researchers discovered there were 390 billion in the Amazon basin alone. It took over two years to find a better estimate of the number of trees on the planet. Listen to this story to find out the results.
Read MoreJanuary 11, 2015
4:17
Solar power is becoming an attractive alternative to traditional electric as solar panels become more affordable. This shift away from traditional electricity is worrying utilities companies that provide energy and the electric grid itself. Listen to learn how this battle between electric and solar is playing out in sunny California and Colorado.
Read More