Archive for the ‘9-12’ Category

Delta Dilemmas

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Once built, the Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project had unforeseen effects on the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, particularly on its historic salmon runs. The Delta is the hub of the state’s massive water distribution system, with much of the estuary’s water supply pumped to other locations. View this segment to learn how

  • engineering has forever changed the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta ecosystem.
  • dams and other components of the water projects interrupt the life cycles of salmon and other fish.
  • managing the effects of California’s water projects on ecosystems has cost billions of dollars.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Vanishing Tidelands

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Most of the tidelands in San Francisco Bay have been diked or filled. In the South Bay, tidal salt marshes were turned into salt ponds. View this segment to learn

  • how different the Bay shoreline used to be.
  • how tidal marshes were exchanged for grasslands and salt ponds.
  • about solar salt production in the South Bay.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Threats to the Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Water quality in San Francisco Bay is affected by urbanization and industrialization of the Bay Area. View these segments to learn

  • about the mercury and other toxins that still threaten the water quality of San Francisco Bay.
  • about the five main threats to water quality in the Bay.
  • how the future of San Francisco Bay is undetermined due to climate change, sea level rise, oil spills and other events.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

The Sinking Delta

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Most of the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta has been reclaimed for agricultural use, which has led to subsided land. View this segment to learn

  • about the tidal freshwater marshes that used to exist in the Delta.
  • how the construction of levees has altered the Delta.
  • how reclamation of the marshes led to subsidence of the land.
  • why subsided land makes levees prone to break.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Turning the Tide

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

In the 1950s, few people questioned the steady filling and development of San Francisco Bay. An extraordinary grassroots effort—the first of its kind in the nation—changed the fate of the Bay. View these segments to learn

  • about the movement to save San Francisco Bay from development that began in the early 1960s and changed how people thought about conservation.
  • that the effort to save the Bay was extraordinary in that it was both a grassroots effort and one that was led by women.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Restoring San Francisco Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Agencies and organizations are currently working to restore tidal marsh around San Francisco Bay. View these segments to learn

  • how historical ecologists use a variety of historical documents to piece together how an ecosystem used to function for restoration purposes.
  • how dredge material is moved to the Hamilton Field Restoration Project to fill in subsided lands and restore tidal marsh.
  • about the restoration of the South Bay salt ponds.
  • about the importance of San Francisco Bay to migrating birds.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

The Aftermath of the Gold Rush: Mining and Mercury in the Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Mercury-laden sediments from mining operations in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges still enter the vast network of streams and rivers that feed into San Francisco Bay. The mining activity dates as far back as California’s Gold Rush era. View this segment to learn

  • how hydraulic mining techniques caused massive amounts of sediment to enter the San Francisco Bay watershed.
  • where mercury (which was needed to separate gold from ore) was mined in the Bay Area.
  • about the mercury that persists in area rivers and its toxic effects in the food chain.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

Moving California’s Water Supply

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Together, California’s Central Valley Project and State Water Project stand as an engineering marvel that endowed the state with the ability to move water from the north to the arid south, permanently transforming California. View this segment to learn about

  • Robert Bradford Marshall’s network of dams and canals designed to move Northern California water to the Central Valley.
  • the rapid growth of California’s agricultural industry following the construction of the Central Valley Project.
  • California’s two water projects that bring fresh water for drinking from the San Francisco–San Joaquin Delta to 23 million people throughout the state.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

The Reber Plan: A Big Idea for San Francisco Bay

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

In the years after World War II, John Reber proposed a plan that would have drastically changed the San Francisco Bay Area. View this segment to learn about

  • John Reber and his ideas about nature and the Bay.
  • the details of John Reber’s plan and how it would reshape the Bay.
  • the Bay Model and its impact on the Reber Plan.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.

The Greatest Shipbuilding Center in the World

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

The San Francisco Bay Area played a critical role in World War II as the “greatest shipbuilding center in the world.” View this segment to learn about

  • the bombing of Pearl Harbor from a Bay Area perspective.
  • the significance of Henry Kaiser and San Francisco Bay Area shipyards in World War II.
  • the role women played in the shipbuilding industry.

Download the Viewing Guide for pre- and post-viewing discussion questions, activities, and additional resources to use with students.