Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2022, issue 97 i Eco Kids Planet Magazine

My name is Wisdom and I am a Laysan albatross. At 70 years, I’m the oldest wild bird in history. I am so old, I’ve outlived my many partners (and remember, albatrosses mate for life), as well as the human who first banded my foot in 1956. I’m still with my mate Akeakamai, whom I met about 15 years ago at a ‘dance party’. (This is how we albatrosses get together – a bit like humans!) Akeakamai (whose name means ‘lover of wisdom’ in Hawaiian – how perfect!) is the father of my most recent chick. I had her last year, aged 70 – astonishing, right? But I’ve almost lost count of the number I’ve hatched in my lifetime… Was it 35 or more? So many chicks! Every year since…

The world runs on oil When you flick on a light switch in your house or go for a ride in a car, the energy to power the device most likely comes from burning fossil fuels. Planes, trains, cars and trucks guzzle different types of oil, and mains electricity is mostly generated in power stations by burning coal and oil. As well as providing energy, a mind-boggling number of modern materials and products started out life as oil. Our clothes, shoes and most things in our homes are made from plastics that come from oil. What are fossil fuels? Oil, coal and natural gas are called fossil fuels, because they are formed from the remains of ancient living things. When they were alive, these plants, algae and microscopic plankton captured…

RHONA REPORTS! N0. 36 And don’t forget about me – Rusty! BUZZING BEE BALL! The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition announced this year’s winners on 14th October. No wonder this winning entry by Karine Aigner created such a buzz! It’s a ball of cactus bees spinning over hot sand on a Texas ranch. It’s not some weird kind of insect sport. All but one are males, competing to mate with a female bee who’s somewhere in the middle. Only one of them gets to fly off with her. Cactus bees are ground-nesting. They hatch underground in little, pollen-packed burrows. Males come out first, then wait above ground for the females. You can see what happens when a female bee finally comes out of the sand. Karine had to spend…

Many people find lightning frightening. No wonder – it can split trees in two! But what is it? Well, lightning storms are when you get to see electricity. Electricity builds up in clouds, and lightning is some of it shooting out. I’ve heard lots of advice about staying safe during lightning storms. But which lightning beliefs are true? LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME PLACE FALSE. It does – often! YOU MUST KEEP AWAY FROM TREES TRUE. Lightning usually strikes the tallest object in its range, which can easily be a tree. The electricity may shoot out of the tree’s sides and zap nearby objects – including people. Fun Fact Lightning can be five times hotter than the surface of the sun! YOU’RE SAFE FROM LIGHTNING IF THERE’S NO STORM…

Many people think we’ve taken control of nature, but sometimes nature shows us who’s really boss. It usually supports us and keeps us alive, but it can turn against us, too. Tsunamis (say “soo-nar-mees”) are a series of giant waves. They can speed across oceans as fast as a jet plane. The waves can be enormous – hundreds of kilometres long, but they don’t grow tall until they approach a shore. Then, the tallest can reach 30 metres high – as tall as a ten-floor block of flats! You can imagine the damage they do when they crash on to land. Fierce Fact The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was so huge, it harmed at least 14 separate countries. Imagine a 40,000-kilometre chain of volcanoes. Well, it exists, surrounding the Pacific…

Conservationist Dyan deNapoli is known as the Penguin Lady. Dyan raises awareness and funding to protect penguins. In 2000, a large ship called MV Treasure sank off the coast of South Africa, spilling oil into the sea. Dyan flew to Cape Town to help rescue 40,000 penguins. Timmy: How often do penguins get stuck in oil spills? Penguins in Antarctica are much less likely to get oiled. Ship traffic there is strictly limited and it’s rare for a ship to sink. African penguins in South Africa get caught in oil spills more than any other species. Busy shipping lanes run close to their breeding and foraging grounds, and the ocean there is often rough and stormy. Wilf: How does oil affect penguins? When thick oil gets on a penguin’s feathers,…

Amy: We all like the idea of clean energy, don’t we? Everyone but Charlie: Yes! Rhona: I wish you liked the idea of clean fingers, Rusty. You’ve got grubby fingerprints all over my notes! Rusty: You can have them back. I can’t read your handwriting anyway! Amy: Wait, Charlie – you didn’t say yes. Charlie: I wanted to check: is it the same as green energy? Amy: That’s right. So, when people burn fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – they warm up the atmosphere and add to climate change. Simon: Which could be the biggest threat to wildlife! Amy: We could call that dirty energy. But if we get power from water, wind and sunlight, that doesn’t heat the planet. Simon: And they’ll never be used up or…

Charlie: I’m on Fernandina Island, one of the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It’s an active volcano and lots of it is covered in lava. It’s erupted at least 24 times in the last 200 years – so I don’t think I’ll stay too long! No humans live here, but there’s plenty of wildlife. Ah, there’s a land iguana. Hello! Iguana: You’re a strange-looking lizard. Charlie: I’m a human. Are you busy? Iguana: Yes, I’m looking for plants to eat. And I need to be fast when hunting for plants. Charlie: Well, plants aren’t usually very quick – and most of the plants here are prickly cacti. Iguana: I love their fruit – yum! Charlie: But what about the prickles? Iguana: I usually scrape them off with my claws,…

Volcanoes are AWESOME! But maybe just a tiny bit scary, right? Why do they erupt? How much power do they create? How many volcanoes are there in the world? Are there different types of volcano? What are lava fountains? How big is the Ring of Fire? And what’s history’s LOUDEST volcano? The more I discovered about volcanoes, the more I was in awe. And the more I learnt, the less scary volcanoes became! (Well, I realise they’re still deadly but – wow – they’re cool!) Let’s look at the utter awesomeness that is VOLCANOES! HOW DO VOLCANOES HAPPEN? A volcano is a mountain with an opening down towards the Earth’s crust. This opening reaches all the way to liquid rock called magma. Just imagine, rock so EXTREMELY HOT that it…

Poetry Contest: Nature’s Power What could be more awe-inspiring than a tropical storm, volcanic eruption or giant tsunami wave? For this month’s competition, we would love to see your best poem describing an extreme natural event. Maybe you will imagine an albatross escaping from a storm or a sea turtle being swept away by a tsunami wave. Or perhaps you will write about lightning dancing in the stormy sky. Make sure your poem is 24 lines or fewer. We will publish the winning entries in the January 2023 issue and on the Eco Kids Planet website. Four lucky winners will win this fun science kit from Galt Toys! Violent Volcano Galt Toys, Horrible Science This Horrible Science kit has everything you need to make a ‘lava-ly’ erupting volcano, including safety…