by becky cheston
TRANSCRIPT
Pearson Scott ForesmanSuggested levels for Guided Reading, DRA,™
Lexile,® and Reading Recovery™ are provided in the Pearson Scott
Foresman Leveling Guide.
Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.6.1
Genre Comprehension
Nonfi ction • Draw Conclusions
ISBN-13: ISBN-10:
978-0-328-52541-6 0-328-52541-3
9 7 8 0 3 2 8 5 2 5 4 1 6
9 0 0 0 0
52541_CVR.indd_Page A-B_1/4/10_10:55:32 AM c_trepp
Word count: 2,522
Note: The total word count includes words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in chapter titles, captions, labels, diagrams, charts, graphs, sidebars, and extra features are not included.
By Becky Cheston
8.073809
2.0506933
Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Pearson Education, Inc.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd)
Opener Images-USA/Alamy Images; 1 Tom & Dee Ann McCarthy/Corbis; 3 Alan Hills/©DK Images; 5 Carlos Osorio/©AP Images; 6 Pascal Saez/Alamy Images; 8 Michael Shake/ShutterStock; 10 Tom & Dee Ann McCarthy/Corbis; 13 14 Images-USA/Alamy Images; 16 James Marshall/The Image Works, Inc.; 17 (T) ©Masterfile Royalty-Free; 18 ©Blend Images/Jupiter Images; 20 Richard Ward/©DK Images; 22 (TL) Alan Hills/©DK Images, (B) JSC/NASA, (TR) Nigel Hicks/©DK Images.
ISBN 13: 978-0-328-52541-6 ISBN 10: 0-328-52541-3
Copyright © by Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permissions, write to Pearson Curriculum Rights & Permissions, 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030.
Pearson® is a trademark, in the U.S. and/or in other countries, of Pearson plc or its affiliates. Scott Foresman® is a trademark, in the U.S. and/or in other countries, of Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates.
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3
Chapter 1 ....................................6 What Drove Us to Drive?
Chapter 2 ..................................10 Hike It or Bike It
Chapter 3 ..................................17 One Good Change Leads to Another
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Introduction When was the last time you walked or rode
a bike to school? Most likely your answer is, not recently. The fact is, if you take a bus or are driven to school instead, you aren’t alone. One recent study discovered that in 2004, 87 percent of kids in the United States took a bus or were driven to school. That means that only 13 percent of kids walked or biked to school! That number represents a remarkable decrease from just five years before when those walking or biking numbered more than 50 percent.
These decades of increased motoring have alarmed experts. Not only has the dependence on motor vehicles been awful for kids’ physical health, it’s been bad for our planet, as well. Now, however, at schools across the country, people are starting to see signs of change. Communities are finding value in people using their own power to get to their destinations, and the numbers of those doing so are already increasing.
5
What is driving this change? The cost of fuel is one factor. With fuel prices often high, many school districts have cut back on providing buses to transport students. In many towns, parents are also rethinking their need to drive their kids to school.
Additionally, people are also reconsidering how they design communities in order to make them more compact and walkable. This requires thoughtful planning and building to develop towns and neighborhoods with sidewalks, bike lanes, and short distances between homes and schools, stores, parks and public transportation.
At the same time, it’s not easy for us to change all the routines that we’ve formed over years. It’s difficult to give up driving everywhere when we’ve been doing it our whole lives. So how did we get this way? What are the effects of our actions? What can be done? Let’s find out.
48.985935
43.921223
6
Chapter 1
What Drove Us to Drive? Urban sprawl has become a fact of life across
much of the United States. Urban or suburban sprawl describes the way in which cities and towns have expanded farther and farther from their centers into their surrounding areas. We see it in the many new houses that are built in areas that were once farms, forests, or fields.
In part, it all began, say the experts, because of Americans’ pursuit of “The American Dream.” Amongst many things, this dream includes the hope of owning a home and yard of one’s own. As a result, suburbs have grown and grown since the end of World War II as people moved out of cities in pursuit of homes and backyards.
7
But urban sprawl has caused problems. People now live farther from schools, shopping, and jobs. As a result, passenger vehicles are vital, and many, if not most, families have more than one.
Roads have become clogged with cars taking people to and from their daily activities. As a result, people spend more time on the road. The high volume of traffic has led to worsening air pollution.
As suburbs creep farther outward, farms and forests, which are animal and plant habitats, are threatened or destroyed. When they lose their habitats, animals lose their homes, birds lose their roosts, and entire ecosystems are lost.
The rural way of life is quickly disappearing. Noise pollution has increased with the high-pitched sounds of drills and jackhammers from new construction. And all of these factors have created a decrease in water quality.
36.479404
42.468185
8
Residents in these new types of communities often report that they feel isolated. They find that there are fewer “built-in” opportunities to get to know their neighbors and to socialize with them in a variety of activities. It turns out that there are fewer chances to build what many call “a sense of community.”
Halting the spread of suburbs seems like a huge task, but unplanned realities, such as high gas prices and global warming, are forcing us to “think outside the box.” Already, planners at city, state, and national levels are thinking about how to stop urban sprawl.
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9
Farsighted planners of communities want to combat urban sprawl with something they call “smart growth.” In their vision, the ideal community has a town center with groups of varied neighborhoods surrounding it. Shops, businesses, schools, and hospitals are close by, ideally within walking distance, but there is also an open space for parks, jogging paths, and nature preserves. Getting to most places will be easier because people can walk or take public transportation.
In the meantime, many people are working in small ways to change how Americans get from place to place. Some of the most interesting ideas are coming from kids who are focusing on how they get to and from school. Read about how kids like you are making a difference in their communities.
52541_001-024.indd Page 9 23/03/14 6:04 AM GG-054 /149/SF00327_R5_G3/work%250/indd%250/SF_RE_TX:NL_Leveled_G5/On/5.6.1O%2052541
28.636349
35.985996
By walking to and from school, these students may win the Golden Sneaker Award.
10
Hike It or Bike It Win the Golden Sneaker!
Students at Hall Middle School in Larkspur, California, knew the deal: Getting many of their peers to move their feet was going to take some serious motivation. That’s when they got creative. Tapping into the competitive spirit of students everywhere, they invented a mileage contest with a class prize called the Golden Sneaker Award.
Making the trophy was the easy part. All it took was a high-top sneaker, some gold spray paint, and a wooden pedestal to display the shoe on. Then, they developed contest rules that would inspire kids to “Go for the Gold.”
Students entered the contest by keeping track of how often they walked or biked to school, counting their total mileage and entering their totals into a classroom record. The contest rules even took into account the fact that some kids realistically lived too far away to walk or bike to school. Those students were allowed to collect walking
11
and biking miles on weekends. Each month, the class with the most total mileage wins the Golden Sneaker—and, usually, a celebration.
The Golden Sneaker Award is getting more kids to power themselves to school. It’s also prompting nearby communities to come up with similar contests. Called “Frequent Walker/Rider Miles,” these activities get kids to collect mileage points from walking, biking, or carpooling. When they reach certain totals, kids can redeem their points for prizes.
45.94549
4.1980667
24.9325
12
Take the Walking School Bus Fourth-grader Nia used to ride the school bus.
Recently, however, when the Columbia, Missouri, schools needed to cut their transportation costs, Nia’s route was eliminated. Now, she and her friends walk the half-mile to school via a “walking school bus” – an idea that’s spreading across the country.
Here’s how it works: Each morning and afternoon, a few adults take turns escorting a group of neighborhood kids on an organized walk. Like school buses, these daily trips each have their own “routes.” The “bus” originates at one home and then picks up other kids and adult supervisors at “stops” along the way.
So far, Nia loves her new school commute. Not only is the route shorter than the bus she used to take, Nia finds that the walk helps her start her day with more energy. “I like it because I get to sleep late, and I don’t get as grouchy,” she told Newsweek magazine.
All Aboard the Bike Train Sometimes, change occurs in stages. In Duluth,
Georgia, students and teachers at the Mason Elementary School weren’t sure about expanding their monthly Walk to School Day to include bicycles. While discussing the idea, someone reminded the group that only one student at Mason had ever been seen riding a bike to school. They decided to kick off the year by renaming their monthly event “Walk and Roll to School Day.” This time, it would include something called a “Bike Train.”
13
No one expected more than one or two students to show up and pedal. Imagine how surprised everyone was when 45 kids showed up that first morning, helmets on their heads, ready to roll!
69.42561
8.592751
14
Like Walking School Buses, Bike Trains help reduce peoples’ reliance on gas-powered vehicles. Here’s how the Bike Train works at Mason Elementary School: Adults from a local cycling group join bike-riding parents to escort the students. Each one wears a neon-green reflective vest.
The train has two starting “stations.” When each group reaches the main road, they merge into one large train. One adult “engineer” leads the train, with another at the end acting as the “caboose.” Other adults mix in with the train so that there is usually one grown-up for every four kids.
The experience of the Mason School Bike Train shows that groups can lead by example. Families who see the bike train riding to school have taken notice. Perhaps, Bike Train members hope, they’ll be coming aboard soon.
15
A Protest Is Afoot In Gadsden, Alabama, many juniors and seniors
drove their own cars or were driven by their parents to Glencoe High School. When gas hit $4.00 a gallon in 2008, they knew something had to change. On Earth Day in 2008, students not only talked about how the use of fossil fuels impacts the Earth and peoples’ wallets, but also about how it impacts the wallets of the oil companies.
Two days later, 40 Glencoe students decided to take a stand against high gas prices. How did they protest? They simply stopped driving to school. Instead, they met in a group and rode their bikes. What did kids say about this experience?
For some kids, biking to school involved extra time. “I left my house at 6:45 a.m. this morning and got to school at 7:15. I was just in time,” J.P. Watson told The Gadsden Times.
While some parents initially had concerns about students crossing traffic intersections, most liked the idea. And the headlines describing the group of 40 kids had a “snowball effect,” encouraging even more people, including teachers, to join their ranks. As student T.J. Johnson told the Times, “We just want them to ride bikes, carpool, anything to reduce gas.”
40.120346
60.69936
These high school students choose to walk to school to do their part to save the environment and also to improve their health.
16
As it turned out, the “snowball effect” rolled across the state. One month later, about 50 students at Brooks High in Florence, Alabama, decided to see if their actions could change gas prices. Their goal was to get the entire student body to walk to school. They would start the process themselves and pick up numbers as the days went on.
Their determination amazed the adults in the community as the high school students met together and mapped out several routes. Not only did they take into account the fact that some students would have to hike long distances to get to school, they also considered the fact that some would have to travel along a major route which had no sidewalks. With police overseeing their safety, the student walking routes were a success.
17
One Good Change Leads to Another
Walking school buses, bike trains, frequent mileage awards, gas protests, and better city planning are just a few ways that communities are reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. As this movement spreads, these small actions will contribute to bigger changes in our own health and the health of our planet.
Improving Our Health Several research studies have shown that regular
exercise is essential for good health and that kids should get at least one hour of exercise each day. Students who walk or bike to school already have a jump-start on meeting this goal. And, as anyone who exercises regularly, they will see many benefits.
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Mental Benefits
Science Says . . .
Physical activity and exercise provide
Over time, activity makes your heart grow in size. This allows it to pump more blood with each beat, delivering greater oxygen to cells throughout your body.
Activity improves how the cells in your body get energy. Inside each cell, oxygen and fuel molecules combine to make something called ATP. This is a chemical that helps people’s muscles work harder and longer without getting tired.
Activity builds lean muscle, making it a larger part of your body mass. This increases your metabolism because muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does.
Activity prompts your brain to produce endorphins, better known as your body’s “feel- good” chemicals.
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Helping Our Planet There are powerful benefits to reducing the
numbers of cars and buses used to transport students to school. First of all, the use of fewer vehicles means less consumption of fossil fuels. Scientists are concerned about burning fossil fuels because this process releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into our atmosphere.
Earth’s temperature depends on balancing the energy that comes from the Sun with the energy that bounces back into space. Releasing CO2 into the air is harmful because it traps heat that normally would drift off into space. Some of this trapped energy is returned to Earth, causing the imbalance that can result in global warming.
Global warming is causing many problems, from bizarre weather patterns to melting polar ice caps. Some of its major effects are:
The ozone layer in our atmosphere protects all life from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays. Global warming has created holes in the ozone layer, allowing UV rays in. These rays cause skin damage and eye problems in people. They are also harmful to other forms of life.
21
The polar ice caps have shrunk to record lows. In the Antarctic, glaciers are melting at a rate. Scientists predict that if we don’t severely reduce CO2 emissions, nearly 90 percent of the Arctic permafrost could melt by 2100. Wildlife there would become extinct. And about 400 billion tons of methane gas—now trapped in the frozen soil—would be released. This would speed up global warming even more.
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Melting ice causes rising sea levels. This could cause worldwide coastal flooding, forcing people and animals inland. Rising sea levels could also affect annual rainfall patterns. These climate changes could force Earth’s temperature to rise even more.
As the temperatures of the oceans rise, so, too, will the likelihood of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. Additionally, some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming while others will suffer from more severe droughts and heatwaves.
While scientists and world leaders are still studying ways to reduce global warming on a grand scale, each one of us can change some of our habits. Think about this: For every gallon of gasoline burned, about 20 pounds of CO2 enter the atmosphere. Suppose you used to drive or take the school bus, but now you walk or ride a bike. Over a year’s time, and even with rainy days and holidays thrown in, you could really make a difference.
Don’t you think it’s time to get started?
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breathtaking adj. amazingly beautiful; awe-inspiring
headline n. sentence that states important news
high-pitched adj. shrill or piercing to the ear
roost n. a place for birds to rest or stay; v. to rest or stay in one place, as birds do
vital adj. of critical importance
Reader Response 1. Reread Chapter 2. Use information from the
chapter to fill in a chart like the one below. The first box is done for you. Then write a conclusion you might draw from your chart. Your conclusion can be a fact or an opinion.
How students in these towns are changing the ways they get to school:
Larkspur, CA:
Columbia, MO:
Duluth, GA:
Gadsden, AL:
Conclusion:
2. What are some important ideas you learned about the value of walking or riding your bike more often?
3. Write down another definition of vital. How is it different from the way vital was used in this book? How is it similar?
4. No one planned on having higher gas prices, but they are having definite effects on how Americans live. Which of these effects are positive? Which are negative? How do you feel about them?
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Button3:
Button5:
Button2:
next:
previous:
Scott Foresman Reading Street 5.6.1
Genre Comprehension
Nonfi ction • Draw Conclusions
ISBN-13: ISBN-10:
978-0-328-52541-6 0-328-52541-3
9 7 8 0 3 2 8 5 2 5 4 1 6
9 0 0 0 0
52541_CVR.indd_Page A-B_1/4/10_10:55:32 AM c_trepp
Word count: 2,522
Note: The total word count includes words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in chapter titles, captions, labels, diagrams, charts, graphs, sidebars, and extra features are not included.
By Becky Cheston
8.073809
2.0506933
Photographs
Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its attention in subsequent editions.
Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Pearson Education, Inc.
Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom (B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd)
Opener Images-USA/Alamy Images; 1 Tom & Dee Ann McCarthy/Corbis; 3 Alan Hills/©DK Images; 5 Carlos Osorio/©AP Images; 6 Pascal Saez/Alamy Images; 8 Michael Shake/ShutterStock; 10 Tom & Dee Ann McCarthy/Corbis; 13 14 Images-USA/Alamy Images; 16 James Marshall/The Image Works, Inc.; 17 (T) ©Masterfile Royalty-Free; 18 ©Blend Images/Jupiter Images; 20 Richard Ward/©DK Images; 22 (TL) Alan Hills/©DK Images, (B) JSC/NASA, (TR) Nigel Hicks/©DK Images.
ISBN 13: 978-0-328-52541-6 ISBN 10: 0-328-52541-3
Copyright © by Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is protected by copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For information regarding permissions, write to Pearson Curriculum Rights & Permissions, 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030.
Pearson® is a trademark, in the U.S. and/or in other countries, of Pearson plc or its affiliates. Scott Foresman® is a trademark, in the U.S. and/or in other countries, of Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V0G1 13 12 11 10 09
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3
Chapter 1 ....................................6 What Drove Us to Drive?
Chapter 2 ..................................10 Hike It or Bike It
Chapter 3 ..................................17 One Good Change Leads to Another
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Introduction When was the last time you walked or rode
a bike to school? Most likely your answer is, not recently. The fact is, if you take a bus or are driven to school instead, you aren’t alone. One recent study discovered that in 2004, 87 percent of kids in the United States took a bus or were driven to school. That means that only 13 percent of kids walked or biked to school! That number represents a remarkable decrease from just five years before when those walking or biking numbered more than 50 percent.
These decades of increased motoring have alarmed experts. Not only has the dependence on motor vehicles been awful for kids’ physical health, it’s been bad for our planet, as well. Now, however, at schools across the country, people are starting to see signs of change. Communities are finding value in people using their own power to get to their destinations, and the numbers of those doing so are already increasing.
5
What is driving this change? The cost of fuel is one factor. With fuel prices often high, many school districts have cut back on providing buses to transport students. In many towns, parents are also rethinking their need to drive their kids to school.
Additionally, people are also reconsidering how they design communities in order to make them more compact and walkable. This requires thoughtful planning and building to develop towns and neighborhoods with sidewalks, bike lanes, and short distances between homes and schools, stores, parks and public transportation.
At the same time, it’s not easy for us to change all the routines that we’ve formed over years. It’s difficult to give up driving everywhere when we’ve been doing it our whole lives. So how did we get this way? What are the effects of our actions? What can be done? Let’s find out.
48.985935
43.921223
6
Chapter 1
What Drove Us to Drive? Urban sprawl has become a fact of life across
much of the United States. Urban or suburban sprawl describes the way in which cities and towns have expanded farther and farther from their centers into their surrounding areas. We see it in the many new houses that are built in areas that were once farms, forests, or fields.
In part, it all began, say the experts, because of Americans’ pursuit of “The American Dream.” Amongst many things, this dream includes the hope of owning a home and yard of one’s own. As a result, suburbs have grown and grown since the end of World War II as people moved out of cities in pursuit of homes and backyards.
7
But urban sprawl has caused problems. People now live farther from schools, shopping, and jobs. As a result, passenger vehicles are vital, and many, if not most, families have more than one.
Roads have become clogged with cars taking people to and from their daily activities. As a result, people spend more time on the road. The high volume of traffic has led to worsening air pollution.
As suburbs creep farther outward, farms and forests, which are animal and plant habitats, are threatened or destroyed. When they lose their habitats, animals lose their homes, birds lose their roosts, and entire ecosystems are lost.
The rural way of life is quickly disappearing. Noise pollution has increased with the high-pitched sounds of drills and jackhammers from new construction. And all of these factors have created a decrease in water quality.
36.479404
42.468185
8
Residents in these new types of communities often report that they feel isolated. They find that there are fewer “built-in” opportunities to get to know their neighbors and to socialize with them in a variety of activities. It turns out that there are fewer chances to build what many call “a sense of community.”
Halting the spread of suburbs seems like a huge task, but unplanned realities, such as high gas prices and global warming, are forcing us to “think outside the box.” Already, planners at city, state, and national levels are thinking about how to stop urban sprawl.
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9
Farsighted planners of communities want to combat urban sprawl with something they call “smart growth.” In their vision, the ideal community has a town center with groups of varied neighborhoods surrounding it. Shops, businesses, schools, and hospitals are close by, ideally within walking distance, but there is also an open space for parks, jogging paths, and nature preserves. Getting to most places will be easier because people can walk or take public transportation.
In the meantime, many people are working in small ways to change how Americans get from place to place. Some of the most interesting ideas are coming from kids who are focusing on how they get to and from school. Read about how kids like you are making a difference in their communities.
52541_001-024.indd Page 9 23/03/14 6:04 AM GG-054 /149/SF00327_R5_G3/work%250/indd%250/SF_RE_TX:NL_Leveled_G5/On/5.6.1O%2052541
28.636349
35.985996
By walking to and from school, these students may win the Golden Sneaker Award.
10
Hike It or Bike It Win the Golden Sneaker!
Students at Hall Middle School in Larkspur, California, knew the deal: Getting many of their peers to move their feet was going to take some serious motivation. That’s when they got creative. Tapping into the competitive spirit of students everywhere, they invented a mileage contest with a class prize called the Golden Sneaker Award.
Making the trophy was the easy part. All it took was a high-top sneaker, some gold spray paint, and a wooden pedestal to display the shoe on. Then, they developed contest rules that would inspire kids to “Go for the Gold.”
Students entered the contest by keeping track of how often they walked or biked to school, counting their total mileage and entering their totals into a classroom record. The contest rules even took into account the fact that some kids realistically lived too far away to walk or bike to school. Those students were allowed to collect walking
11
and biking miles on weekends. Each month, the class with the most total mileage wins the Golden Sneaker—and, usually, a celebration.
The Golden Sneaker Award is getting more kids to power themselves to school. It’s also prompting nearby communities to come up with similar contests. Called “Frequent Walker/Rider Miles,” these activities get kids to collect mileage points from walking, biking, or carpooling. When they reach certain totals, kids can redeem their points for prizes.
45.94549
4.1980667
24.9325
12
Take the Walking School Bus Fourth-grader Nia used to ride the school bus.
Recently, however, when the Columbia, Missouri, schools needed to cut their transportation costs, Nia’s route was eliminated. Now, she and her friends walk the half-mile to school via a “walking school bus” – an idea that’s spreading across the country.
Here’s how it works: Each morning and afternoon, a few adults take turns escorting a group of neighborhood kids on an organized walk. Like school buses, these daily trips each have their own “routes.” The “bus” originates at one home and then picks up other kids and adult supervisors at “stops” along the way.
So far, Nia loves her new school commute. Not only is the route shorter than the bus she used to take, Nia finds that the walk helps her start her day with more energy. “I like it because I get to sleep late, and I don’t get as grouchy,” she told Newsweek magazine.
All Aboard the Bike Train Sometimes, change occurs in stages. In Duluth,
Georgia, students and teachers at the Mason Elementary School weren’t sure about expanding their monthly Walk to School Day to include bicycles. While discussing the idea, someone reminded the group that only one student at Mason had ever been seen riding a bike to school. They decided to kick off the year by renaming their monthly event “Walk and Roll to School Day.” This time, it would include something called a “Bike Train.”
13
No one expected more than one or two students to show up and pedal. Imagine how surprised everyone was when 45 kids showed up that first morning, helmets on their heads, ready to roll!
69.42561
8.592751
14
Like Walking School Buses, Bike Trains help reduce peoples’ reliance on gas-powered vehicles. Here’s how the Bike Train works at Mason Elementary School: Adults from a local cycling group join bike-riding parents to escort the students. Each one wears a neon-green reflective vest.
The train has two starting “stations.” When each group reaches the main road, they merge into one large train. One adult “engineer” leads the train, with another at the end acting as the “caboose.” Other adults mix in with the train so that there is usually one grown-up for every four kids.
The experience of the Mason School Bike Train shows that groups can lead by example. Families who see the bike train riding to school have taken notice. Perhaps, Bike Train members hope, they’ll be coming aboard soon.
15
A Protest Is Afoot In Gadsden, Alabama, many juniors and seniors
drove their own cars or were driven by their parents to Glencoe High School. When gas hit $4.00 a gallon in 2008, they knew something had to change. On Earth Day in 2008, students not only talked about how the use of fossil fuels impacts the Earth and peoples’ wallets, but also about how it impacts the wallets of the oil companies.
Two days later, 40 Glencoe students decided to take a stand against high gas prices. How did they protest? They simply stopped driving to school. Instead, they met in a group and rode their bikes. What did kids say about this experience?
For some kids, biking to school involved extra time. “I left my house at 6:45 a.m. this morning and got to school at 7:15. I was just in time,” J.P. Watson told The Gadsden Times.
While some parents initially had concerns about students crossing traffic intersections, most liked the idea. And the headlines describing the group of 40 kids had a “snowball effect,” encouraging even more people, including teachers, to join their ranks. As student T.J. Johnson told the Times, “We just want them to ride bikes, carpool, anything to reduce gas.”
40.120346
60.69936
These high school students choose to walk to school to do their part to save the environment and also to improve their health.
16
As it turned out, the “snowball effect” rolled across the state. One month later, about 50 students at Brooks High in Florence, Alabama, decided to see if their actions could change gas prices. Their goal was to get the entire student body to walk to school. They would start the process themselves and pick up numbers as the days went on.
Their determination amazed the adults in the community as the high school students met together and mapped out several routes. Not only did they take into account the fact that some students would have to hike long distances to get to school, they also considered the fact that some would have to travel along a major route which had no sidewalks. With police overseeing their safety, the student walking routes were a success.
17
One Good Change Leads to Another
Walking school buses, bike trains, frequent mileage awards, gas protests, and better city planning are just a few ways that communities are reducing their dependence on fossil fuels. As this movement spreads, these small actions will contribute to bigger changes in our own health and the health of our planet.
Improving Our Health Several research studies have shown that regular
exercise is essential for good health and that kids should get at least one hour of exercise each day. Students who walk or bike to school already have a jump-start on meeting this goal. And, as anyone who exercises regularly, they will see many benefits.
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Mental Benefits
Science Says . . .
Physical activity and exercise provide
Over time, activity makes your heart grow in size. This allows it to pump more blood with each beat, delivering greater oxygen to cells throughout your body.
Activity improves how the cells in your body get energy. Inside each cell, oxygen and fuel molecules combine to make something called ATP. This is a chemical that helps people’s muscles work harder and longer without getting tired.
Activity builds lean muscle, making it a larger part of your body mass. This increases your metabolism because muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does.
Activity prompts your brain to produce endorphins, better known as your body’s “feel- good” chemicals.
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Helping Our Planet There are powerful benefits to reducing the
numbers of cars and buses used to transport students to school. First of all, the use of fewer vehicles means less consumption of fossil fuels. Scientists are concerned about burning fossil fuels because this process releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into our atmosphere.
Earth’s temperature depends on balancing the energy that comes from the Sun with the energy that bounces back into space. Releasing CO2 into the air is harmful because it traps heat that normally would drift off into space. Some of this trapped energy is returned to Earth, causing the imbalance that can result in global warming.
Global warming is causing many problems, from bizarre weather patterns to melting polar ice caps. Some of its major effects are:
The ozone layer in our atmosphere protects all life from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays. Global warming has created holes in the ozone layer, allowing UV rays in. These rays cause skin damage and eye problems in people. They are also harmful to other forms of life.
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The polar ice caps have shrunk to record lows. In the Antarctic, glaciers are melting at a rate. Scientists predict that if we don’t severely reduce CO2 emissions, nearly 90 percent of the Arctic permafrost could melt by 2100. Wildlife there would become extinct. And about 400 billion tons of methane gas—now trapped in the frozen soil—would be released. This would speed up global warming even more.
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Melting ice causes rising sea levels. This could cause worldwide coastal flooding, forcing people and animals inland. Rising sea levels could also affect annual rainfall patterns. These climate changes could force Earth’s temperature to rise even more.
As the temperatures of the oceans rise, so, too, will the likelihood of more frequent and stronger hurricanes. Additionally, some areas of Earth will become wetter due to global warming while others will suffer from more severe droughts and heatwaves.
While scientists and world leaders are still studying ways to reduce global warming on a grand scale, each one of us can change some of our habits. Think about this: For every gallon of gasoline burned, about 20 pounds of CO2 enter the atmosphere. Suppose you used to drive or take the school bus, but now you walk or ride a bike. Over a year’s time, and even with rainy days and holidays thrown in, you could really make a difference.
Don’t you think it’s time to get started?
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breathtaking adj. amazingly beautiful; awe-inspiring
headline n. sentence that states important news
high-pitched adj. shrill or piercing to the ear
roost n. a place for birds to rest or stay; v. to rest or stay in one place, as birds do
vital adj. of critical importance
Reader Response 1. Reread Chapter 2. Use information from the
chapter to fill in a chart like the one below. The first box is done for you. Then write a conclusion you might draw from your chart. Your conclusion can be a fact or an opinion.
How students in these towns are changing the ways they get to school:
Larkspur, CA:
Columbia, MO:
Duluth, GA:
Gadsden, AL:
Conclusion:
2. What are some important ideas you learned about the value of walking or riding your bike more often?
3. Write down another definition of vital. How is it different from the way vital was used in this book? How is it similar?
4. No one planned on having higher gas prices, but they are having definite effects on how Americans live. Which of these effects are positive? Which are negative? How do you feel about them?
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