Planetary Notions
Planetary Notions (PN) is an environmental
project that gives students around the world an
opportunity to publish articles in an annual magazine
so that they can share their views about the world's
environmental health and how better to protect it.
In addition to articles, Planetary Notions facilitates
discussion about these issues through a forum it
has set up called "iearn-environ -- Planetary
Notions" The forum gathers articles on environmental
subjects and promotes discussion of environmental
issues. Beginning in 2002, the once print publication
became an online
magazine  . |
Planetary
Notions |
Letter from the Editors, 2001
Issue of Planetary Notions
Welcome to Planetary Notions, a student-run international
environmental forum and magazine. Planetary Notions
allows students from around the world to share and discuss
pressing global environmental issues. It is one of the
numerous projects of iEARN, the International Education
and Resource Network, and it strives to achieve iEARNs
goal of helping youth make a positive difference in
the world through telecommunications.
Planetary Notions is in its ninth year, and this is
the first year that New York City's Stuyvesant High
School has undertaken the editing and production responsibilities
of the project. In previous years, Cold Spring Harbor
High School and then H. Frank Carey High School, both
also located in New York State, have been the home of
Planetary Notions. In April of 2000, Dr. Jim Van Tassel,
H. Frank Carey's Planetary Notions faculty advisor,
announced to the forum (iearn.environ) that Planetary
Notions needed a new school to take over the publication
of the magazine because he was retiring and the student
staff graduating. Stuyvesant High School, having participated
in some of the discussions on the forum before, was
impressed by the level of discourse that took place
and by the finished project of the discussions; that
is, the published editions of Planetary Notions and
has done its best to live up to the standards set by
the previous two schools.
This year's publication is divided into three main
sections: articles, projects, and creative writing.
Articles are submitted by iEARN participants around
the world. Students write about various aspects of their
environments, especially the forces that are changing
their area, like the pollution that is now plaguing
most parts of the world. In fact, some of the major
themes of this year's issues are pollution and proper
waste management, which are both local and global concerns.
Various countries' environmental policies are discussed
by students living in or having close ties to those
countries, which gives the subjects a fresh and unique
perspective. Current environmental problems that are
making headlines today are reflected on the students'
articles. For example, some articles deal with the increasing
concerns about global warming and the depletion of the
ozone layer.
One student, Aditi Utpat of Pune, India, aptly observed
that the issue of pollution "is an area which,
though highly important, has to date only been a matter
of discussion-no actual steps have been taken so far
to curb this threat to mankind." The projects described
in this magazine try to show that students are actually
taking measures to help the environment. Planetary Notions
is not only a discussion forum, which is valuable in
its own right since it spreads environmental awareness,
but it also strives to be a facilitator of activism.
Some of the projects described in the publication are
independent iEARN projects. Others are school projects
that been brought to the attention of Planetary Notions.
Still others are exclusive Planetary notions projects.
In any case, each of them shows that students are indeed
doing something for the environment, whether it is launching
a neighborhood lead awareness campaign or cleaning the
school river. They are examples of students contributing
their share to make the world a better place to live
in, and it is through these projects that the purpose
of Planetary Notions really shines through-to not only
inform, but to inspire.
Inspiration takes other forms, too, as can be seen
in the creative writing that is located towards the
end of the magazine. This section provides another outlet
for students to express their thoughts about the environment
-anything from their admiration of the beauty of nature
to their indignation at its destruction.
Student artwork can also be found throughout the magazine.
These paintings and drawings are all are efforts by
students to show their appreciation of the natural world.
Planetary Notions also contains a number of photographs,
most of which were taken by students; the rest were
taken by their teachers.
This year, Planetary Notions includes submissions from
Bulgaria, Ghana, India, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon,
Macedonia, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, Suriname, Thailand,
Uganda/Kampala, Ukraine, and the United States. They
represent the diverse viewpoints of students from all
areas of the world, but it is evident that these students
share a common concern for the welfare of the planet
and all the life forms inhabiting it.
It has been fulfilling experience working on Planetary
Notions, watching the ideas and opinions of students
from all parts of the world form and develop and having
the opportunity to partake in this process.
Of course, all are welcome to join this project. Anyone
interested is invited to submit articles or participate
in the discussions that are always taking place at (iearn.environ).
An extensive range of topics are discussed, and in many
ways, this year's issue, or any issue from any year,
is just a small sampling of the forum's content. To
join Planetary Notions or any other iEARN project, write
to iearn@us.iearn.org or visit www.iearn.org.
Thank you for supporting environmental awareness and
action. Please enjoy this issue of Planetary Notions.
Sincerely,
Note: Since 2002, Planetary Notions has become a web-based
publication. Recent issues can be found via links from
Planetary
Notions
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