Such is the case with the advancement of green studies on the high school level in Central California, so our observer has been deep in study with little time for green observation.

While or student struggles to find a "green" balance; the environmental information keeps coming-faster and faster.

Al Gore is front an center in the class now. Gore's movie "Inconvenient Truth" is required viewing. Our student observer is fully considering Gore's data and story line about global warming. 

Many in the class find the movie to be a hoax (though they would never say it out loud).  Our student, however, feels Gore's information has some merit. The class reaction illustrates how global warming seems more a political debate than scientific study these days.  Both sides lining up evidence to prove the other wrong. 

In the meantime many in the middle, like our student, simply ask for facts and figures to make an informed decision. It seems a great number of people prefer to keep politics out of their science. 

That may be at the heart of the struggle in a class of this caliber. Science butts heads with politics and no one knows who to believe. It's even more confused when politicians make the science movies. 

P.S.

Nothing confusing about this, a hand full of classmates left the comforts of home on Saturday November 13, 2010 to help along the San Joaquin River. Students from our class planted Vally Oak trees and Boxwood shrubs to help restore the river's green growth. That's the kind of learning the students could get their heads and hands wrapped around.

Tuesday, September 22: Current events review. Found an article on venus fly trap threat in Southern California. If you thought only little creatures could wind up on endangered lists, guess again. Plants are threatened too and the venus fly trap could get listed if things do not improve for the exotic plant soon. Class discussion, 'threat' duly noted, class dismissed.

Thursday, September 23: Green note taking from the textbook. Pretty basic stuff. There is a movie coming.

Friday, September 24: Land Between Two Rivers. Really interesting movie about where we live. The two rivers are the Kings and the San Joaquin, vital rivers that once flowed naturally through the San Joaquin Valley. Now, those rivers flow mechanically controlled through the Valley. Found it very interesting but saw others drifting on the saga of rivers. Made those who stayed awake wonder about big dams and big rivers. Maybe we will visit the river this weekend or UCLA.

Land Between Two Rivers
Producer: Michele Dennis & Kevin White
Director: Kevin White
Writer: Stephen Most & Kevin White
Narrated by: Rita Moreno
Director of Photography: Eli Adler
Editor: Gina Lebreicht
Original Music: Tom Disher
Associate Producer: Marnie Berringer

Lessons on global population and global development take place. The "wealth gap" is factored in. Those who have may be more responsible for planet use and abuse than those who have not as much.

Many in developing countries have a tougher time gathering essentials like food, fuel, and water; therefore, they do not appear to use these resources frivolously. In places like the United States, modern convenience gives easy access to resources, which may be contributing to overuse. 

Terms like renewable resources and carbon footprint come into play in the early going of this class. Then, the test that gives students a sense of global reality at myfootprint.org. If the whole world lived like you, how many Earths would it take to keep the population going? 

Information like the chart below guides you through the global testing.

In the case of our student in this AP class, it would take five...yep, five...planet Earths for us all to survive. Someone needs to turn off the water sooner, not drive when it is possible to bicycle, turn off lights, and so on.

According to our student AP Environmentalist before this class, "green" meant recycling and not much more. The class has given at least one person pause to consider a more Earth-friendly way.

A lot of book learning the first three weeks. The book is "Living in the Environment" 10th Edition by G.Tyler Miller, Jr.

Our student in the class is listening and taking notes and still forming an opinion on the topic. The instructor in our high school advanced placement class suggests that scientists would not lie about such a serious conclusion.

The student does not rule out the possibility that some might be profiting from global warming and may be throwing gas on the global fire if you will. It's big business for those in government and in the scientific community, just to mention two.  

But extreme weather changes and strange natural occurrences globally have the attention of the class. And have our student wondering if there's merit to the science of global warming.

The teacher cited evidence of global abuse which are well documented and certainly more visible than O-zone or carbon emissions. 

The pollution of Lake Erie and the burning Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio were cause for environmental concern that boiled over in the 60's. There was little doubt that man was careless with the environment.  

It took government mandate to force industry to clean up its act.  Almost 4o years later the water ways are coming back to a more acceptable standard.  

Prompting the teacher to tell the class there's always "hope" over time that things can be restored.  And even reinvented, like the wind power projects being pushed along Lake Erie now.

Global warming? No definitive answer this time, but we have a whole school year left to find the answer. Things are just warming up in AP Environmental Science in Central California.

The thought-provoking tale is one of the first lessons in the AP Environmental Science class followed by Alviston.com this school year. The green studies students watched the movie and took notes on "truffula trees" and the "glorious place," and of course "The Lorax."

As the story goes, "glorious place" is ravaged by greedy citizens in polluting cars, who do reckless things to natural resources. The carelessness even produces dirty birds that go from white to black with smog. It is a book, movie, and a story that introduces environmental truth to youth as the author saw it in the '60s and '70s.

It is no wonder younger generations are tuned into "green" themes with "The Lorax" on the bookshelf. Dr. Seuss is world-renown for easy-to-understand, yet cleverly complex children's stories. There is talk that another Seuss book, "Green Eggs and Ham," is required reading for some students at leading business universities around the nation.

In 2010, there is an important assignment due on "The Lorax" in AP Environmental Science. That is not just talk; it is a fact.

MC-Haylee

We will go to class in a central California high school to learn the lessons taught to our impressionable youth. 

One day one, the students learn their instructor has a Masters in environmental studies from a west coast university.  

Before the year of green lessons, the instructor asks for insight from the new class. What the students expect, what they hope to learn, and what worries them about the future.

Our student in the class hopes to learn ways to improve the environment, as well as how man-made environmental disasters can be avoided. All this comes after a summer of watching the oil disaster in the gulf. This class will provide our student a lot to discover and uncover. Come back for lessons as they unfold in environmental science.

MC-Haylee