Space on Earth: How Thinking Like an Astronaut Can Help Save the Planet
To Bug and Bean with love to infinity and beyond LP To those committed to preserving our planet for future generations DW The authors would like to thank Ms Joanne Arcand science teacher at the Dr David R Williams Public School for her helpful feedback on the experiments included in this book
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Spaceship Earth 6 CHAPTER 1 Water Inspiration Make Every Drop Count 10 CHAPTER 2 Air Inspiration Keep It Clean 28 CHAPTER 3 Food Inspiration Grow Your Own 48 CHAPTER 4 Waste Inspiration Reduce and Reuse 68 CHAPTER 5 Energy Inspiration Say Goodbye to Fossil Fuels 86 CONCLUSION The Future of Sustainability 108 GLOSSARY s 114 SELECTED SOURCES s 116 IMAGE SOURCES s 118 INDEX s 119
INTRODUCTION SPACESHIP EARTH Have you ever seen a photo of the International Space Station ISS It’s kind of an odd-looking thing Picture an insect with really big wings that stick out from a tiny body Those wings are solar panels that collect energy from the sun and they make the ISS look pretty big But actually the area where the astronauts live and work is small not even the size of an American football field That’s not a lot of space to house everything astronauts need to live safely and well for months at a time No wonder then that ever since humans launched themselves into orbit sustainability has been the name of the game for space travel and stays Astronauts have to protect their resources and their environment because their lives depend on it They can’t open a window to get fresh air because there is no air They can’t pop out to the store to pick up new supplies of water or food They can’t take out the trash And they can’t buy new parts if an important piece of equipment breaks down They have to take very good care of their home because that space station is their whole world Pollute the air or water for example and someone might get sick or worse Run out of power and the systems that make it possible to live in space will fail 6 SPACE ON EARTH
Planting trees helps keep the air we breathe clean Down here on Earth we think a lot about sustainability too Taking care of our environment is a top priority We know that living unsustainably using too many fossil fuels for example or creating too much garbage has contributed to climate change And so we work hard every day to protect the planet for future generations We recycle we turn off the tap when we’re brush ing our teeth and we walk to school instead of driving if we can We know that the future of the planet depends on actions like these and that even more needs to be done Earth’s average temperature has risen by about 0.8 C 1.5 F over the last 100 years That doesn’t sound like a huge change but it’s enough to melt glaciers cause droughts and kill off certain species And the temperature is still rising Scientists expect it to increase at least another 1.5 C 2.7 F by 2100 If that happens we will find ourselves in trouble that may be too hard to fix Changing weather patterns will force some people out of their homes due to rising sea levels forest fires INTRODUCTION Spaceship Earth 7
