Hay Fever Season Lasts Longer

News Update

02/17/2021

On this week’s news update: A biofuel-powered rocket, hay fever season lasts longer, and a tree-planting drone!

Transcript

On this week's news update:

Biofuel-Powered Rocket

A biofuel-powered rocket...

Hay Fever

… hay fever season lasts longer…

Tree-Planting Drone

… and a tree-planting drone!

First up:

Humans are sending increasing numbers of rockets into space.

But launching rockets requires a lot of fuel, and this presents a problem.

Because most rocket fuel is made by mixing liquid oxygen with a type of fuel called kerosene, lots of greenhouse gases are produced when rockets launch.

biofuels

However, a new rocket has been developed that uses a different kind of fuel—biofuels.

Biofuels are an energy source produced from organic materials, such as crops.

carbon neutral

When they are burned, they only emit as much carbon dioxide as was absorbed by the crops when they were growing, meaning they are carbon neutral and much better for the environment.

Named “Stardust 1,” this new biofuel-powered rocket was tested several times on the ground, before being successfully launched into the winter sky.

Reaching 4,000 feet, before parachuting back to earth, engineers hope the new rocket will fire up a new era of more sustainable space exploration!

Up next:

Every spring, as temperatures warm, plants release tiny spores of pollen to reproduce.

Many of these particles find their way into people's noses and throats, causing some people to suffer an allergic reaction.

Known as hay fever, this allergic reaction causes a range of symptoms such as sneezing, itchy eyes, and a runny nose.

Normally, this only lasts for a few weeks, but because climate change is altering seasonal weather patterns, plants are now releasing pollen over a longer period of time.

Researchers have discovered that pollen season in North America now lasts twenty days longer than it did in 1990.

This means people can suffer from hay fever for almost three extra weeks each year!

And if the world continues to warm, people's allergies could last even longer.

Tackling climate change will, therefore, not only make the world a more sustainable place, but also a far less sniffly one!

And finally:

Encouraging forests to thrive is one way we can tackle climate change.

And engineers in Spain are helping save their country's forests with a surprising technology—a tree-planting drone!

Nicknamed “Dronecoria,” the drone can fly high above damaged woodland and drop seeds onto the ground below.

As well as dropping a large number of seeds very quickly, the seeds dropped by the drone get a good chance to put down roots as they are coated with a blend of fertilizer and nutrients to help them grow.

Last year, the team successfully spread 140,000 seeds across southern Spain, and hope this year the drone can be used to sow even more seeds across Spain, and beyond.

That's all for this week, we'll see you next time!

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Hay Fever Season Lasts Longer

Teaching overview

Learning points

A new rocket has been launched that runs on sustainable biofuel.
Due to climate change, plants are releasing pollen over a longer period of time in spring. This is causing some people to suffer from hay fever for nearly three extra weeks.
A drone is being used to reforest woodland in Spain, scattering seeds as it flies over damaged forests.

Curriculum keywords

Sustainability
Nature
Drones

Video viewing guide

This graphic organizer supports your students to capture their thoughts and questions as they watch the news update.

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Spark a discussion

Biofuel-Powered Rocket

What are biofuels made from?
What other purposes do you think biofuels could be used for?
Can you think of any disadvantages that using biofuels might have on the natural world?

Hay Fever

How is climate change causing plants to release pollen over a longer period of time?
Have you ever suffered from hay fever?
Can you think of any other health problems that climate change may cause to get worse?

Tree-Planting Drone

Why are thriving forests important for tackling climate change?
Why might a drone be more efficient at planting trees than humans?
Does designing drones sound like an interesting job?

Discover more about the topics covered in this week's News update

Classroom resources

Use these resources to get the most out of the news update and engage your class in topical science!

Video viewing guide

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Make your own science news update

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Language and literacy activities

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Hay Fever Season Lasts Longer

Transcript

Teaching overview

Learning points

Curriculum keywords

Video viewing guide

Spark a discussion

Biofuel-Powered Rocket

Hay Fever

Tree-Planting Drone

Discover more about the topics covered in this week's News update

Classroom resources

Video viewing guide

Make your own science news update

Language and literacy activities

Twig Science: A Complete Pre-K–8 Program for the NGSS

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