By PLT Staff

EcoLibrary
(Great support resource for PLT activities!)
Founded by Dan L. Perlman, EcoLibrary is a source for free educational materials on ecology, conservation, and the environment. Its goal is to help people of all ages, especially teachers and students, learn more about the world in which we live. All EcoLibrary materials are available for free download and use, as long as they are used for noncommercial educational purposes.
EcoLibrary is being built in partnership with Discover Life and currently contains a database of several hundred images with associated text. In the near future EcoLibrary plans to add case studies, maps, curriculum ideas, lesson plans, and interactive teaching materials.
To learn more and access resources visit ecolibrary.org/

Atlas of Our Environment
This new title from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides a comparative picture of our environment 30 years ago with the present day. "One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment" provides a comprehensive, visual presentation contains photographs, satellite images, maps and narratives that provide insights into the many ways people around the world have changed, and continue to change, the environment.
http://www.earthprint.com/show.htm
(courtesy of NAAEE’s EE News)

Green Cities: A Guide to Sustainable Community Development
(Good link to PLT’s upcoming Places We Live Secondary Module)
Green Cities: a Guide to Sustainable Community Development, an official document of United Nations World Environment 2005, is Harmony Foundation’s latest publication. The 4th in a series profiling specific issues, this 124-page publication offers a thorough overview of sustainable community development, inspiring success stories, and resources and tools for establishing priorities and taking action. http://www.harmonyfdn.ca/press.html#HotGreen
(courtesy of NAAEE’s EE News)

NPR’s Darwin's Islands Under Threat
(Good link to the PLT PreK-8 Guide’s new activity focusing on non-native invasive species—due out this fall!) 
The Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin observed the rich diversity of wildlife that inspired his theories of evolution are being invaded by humans of many descriptions. An influx of construction workers, migrants from Ecuador, tourists, and others, along with social problems such as unemployment and disease, threatens the wildlife that scientists have studied since Darwin first reported on it. The nearly 30,000 current residents, who have introduced nonnative plant and animal species that have no resident predators, and the housing construction that encroaches on habitat are overwhelming the islands. NPR's Morning Edition has produced a four-part series about the Galapagos, beginning with Galapagos Plants, Wildlife Under Threat. The article includes photographs, a map, and links to other articles in the series. Go to http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4794986 for more information.
(courtesy of ENC)

A Healthy Skepticism Recommended for Statistics of All Kinds
(Good link to PLT’s newly revised Risk Module—available now!—specifically Activity 5 “Communicating Risk”)
Most of us get our exposure to statistics from reading the newspaper, watching TV newscasts, or searching the web. We need to remind ourselves--and students--that just because a statistic is in print or quoted by a figure of some authority does not mean it is true. Any given statistic may be accidentally, or purposefully, misleading, inaccurate, or simply misinterpreted. Statistics of the Descriptive Variety (Grades 4-12) ( http://www.enc.org/redirect/?Url=http://www.enc.org/features/calendar/unit/0,1819,175,00.shtm&source=eu ) , a Classroom Calendar entry, aims to help you introduce a healthy sense of skepticism about the percentages, rates, and ratios that roll so easily from the pages of the newspaper and from the TV screen.
(courtesy of ENC)

Teens for Planet Earth Website
(Teens can get inspired by PLT activities and this website and then teacher can apply for PLT GreenWorks! grant to do project)
The Teens for Planet Earth website was developed by the Wildlife
Conservation Society (WCS) based at the Bronx Zoo. The website helps teens learn more about the environment and conservation, and then apply this knowledge in a service-learning project that will have a real impact on their own corner of the globe. http://www.teensforplanetearth.org/teenshome
(courtesy of NAAEE’s EE News)