The first of a series of lawsuits by young U.S. citizens against state and federal governments over climate change has come to trial. Held v. Montana was the subject of a two-week court case in June. Sixteen young Montanans accused their state of violating their constitutional rights to a “clean and healthful environment”; to seek … Continue reading “Teens Sue Montana Over Climate Change”
April 22 is Earth Day and its organisers are encouraging us all to “invest in our planet”, the theme of this year’s event. It certainly needs us all to pay more attention to its needs. Earthday.org and NASA provide lots information and teaching tools to engage students and offer practical actions to take. This 1-minute … Continue reading “Earth Day 2022”
This Earth Day, 22 April, President Biden is hosting an online Leaders’ Summit on Climate ahead of the UN’s COP 26 Climate Change Conference that is supposed to take place in Glasgow in November. And he made the surprise pledge to cut the U.S.’s carbon emissions by half in the next decade, double the previous … Continue reading “A Free Poster for Earth Day”
2020 marks the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day marches to support the environmental movement. Like so many events in 2020, the marches and events planned to mark the anniversary on 22 April will have to become virtual. But these videos of 50 Voices for Earth Day, from age 8 to 80, from around … Continue reading “50 Years of Earth Day”
The mathematician Katherine Johnson has died at the age of 101. Her calculations were vital many NASA space missions. She was one of the “Hidden Figures” brought into the spotlight by the 2016 book and film. Hidden Figures told the true story of a team of female mathematicians who worked in NASA during the early … Continue reading “Katherine Johnson Human Calculator Dies”
On Friday June 15th, after a memorial service which saw Stephen Hawking’s ashes interred at Westminster Abbey, his “message of peace and hope” was sent to the stars. Ashes to Ashes… The ashes of British physicist Stephen Hawking were buried Friday June 15th in a corner of Westminster Abbey between the graves of Charles Darwin … Continue reading “Back in Black… Hole”
Professor Stephen Hawking, possibly the most famous modern scientist, has died at the age of 76, after beating enormous odds to survive and work for 55 years with the debilitating motor neurone disease. Hawking had an exceptionally brilliant mind. He became the prestigious Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University at just 35. But by … Continue reading “Stephen Hawking: Death of A Scientist”
On the occasion of the death of Professor Stephen Hawking, we’ve updated this B1-level article, which we published for his 75th birthday in 2017. Students will learn about Hawking, one of Britain’s most famous scientists, who had a brilliant career in spite of a terrible neurological disease. The film The Theory of Everything , released … Continue reading “Stephen Hawking: a Unique Scientist”
Darkest Hour, a new award-winning film about Winston Churchill’s role as Britain’s WW2 Prime Minister, gives an excellent opportunity to work on this historical figure and historical period with pupils at B1 level. The resource and the film focus on some of Churchill’s most famous speeches and their morale-boosting effect. The theme can be related … Continue reading “Winston Churchill’s Darkest Hour”
Dunkirk tells the story of one of the most extraordinary events of the Second World War: the evacuation of 338,000 men from the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France, against incredible odds. In May 1940, the Nazi Army was on the offensive. Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium rapidly fell, then they set their sights … Continue reading “The Miracle of Dunkirk”
