The Iceland Volcano Eyjafjallajokull

The volcano erupted in Iceland because ice mixing with magma can cause explosive eruptions. Air travel in Europe is being grounded because of the Iceland volcano because planes cannot fly through the "grinding silica ash". Other than the delay of air travel, the volcano has possibly agitated it's neighboring volcano, the Katla volcano. We are now not sure of the volcano's future. This volcano is not affecting the United States because the pyroclastic flow is going from East to West.

Researchers puzzle over how long Iceland volcano will erupt
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0416/Researchers-puzzle-over-how-long-Iceland-volcano-will-erupt
Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland Erupts, Disrupts Travel
http://www.pdc.org/PDCNewsWebArticles/2010/Iceland/eruption.htm

Minerals in Daily Life

Everyday I brush my teeth. In my toothpaste there is Fluorite. I watch television regularly. Quartz is used in my television. Sometimes I use baby powder. That is made from Talc. I always look in mirrors. Silver is used to make certain mirrors.

http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/go336/talkingt/
Common Minerals and Their Uses in Everyday Life. Julie Talkington. December 3, 2001

Michigan Minerals

Halite's chemical formula is NaCl, sodium chloride. It is used for "salting the streets" to melt away snow. It is usually clear and it has a conchoidal fracture.

Gypsum's chemical formula is CaSO4·2H2O. It is used for fertilizer and it is used to make plaster. It is colorless to white, and can take on many shapes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsum

Metamorphic Rocks

Slate was shale before it became metamorphoed. It is used for roof and floor tiles.

Marble was limestone before it became metamorphoed. It is used for building material.

Quartzite was sandstone before it became metamorphosed. It is used in road construction.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geophys/slate.html

http://blog.builddirect.com/slate

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble

http://geology.csupomona.edu/alert/metamorphic/quartzite.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartzite

Igneous Rocks

Pumice is an Igneous Rock that can be used to scrape dry and excess skin off of the bottom of a foot. Granite is another Igneous Rock that can be used for countertops and flooring in modern-day homes. Obsidian is used for modern-day scalpels. Gabbro is mostly used for cemetary headstones. Basalt is used for making cobblestone, and statues. This is a picture of an obsidian scalpel.

Pumice, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumice

Granite, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granite

Obsidian, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian

Gabbro, Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabbro

Basalt. Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basalt

www.gc.maricopa.edu/.../obsidian_pictures.htm

Canada's Wind Farms

Putting Wind Farms in the Great Lakes is very controversial. If Canada installs them, the shoreline homes would have the property values changed. Also, the turbines would be on the migratory pathway for birds around the area. On the other hand, the wind turbines would help Canada in their new law about "going green", which could also help close the coal mines in under five years. I believe Canada should proceed with this. The beauty of the lake does not concern me. I don't believe that the wind turbines shouldn't be put up just because it would disturb the view of the sunset. It would help Canada to become more "green" and I believe that going green is more important than the property value of shoreline houses. If I opposed this idea, I could write a detailed, opinionated article, and publish it in the Grosse Pointe North High School Newspaper, and increase people's awareness of the matter.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100226/NEWS06/2260374/1322/Storm-brews-over-Ontario-winds
March 2009 Detroit Free Press Tina Lam

The Ring of Fire

On this map, the volcanoes both have convergent and divergent boundaries. The volcanoes can be ocean-ocean convergent, and divergent boundaries. They can also have continent-continent convergent and divergent boundaries. Volcanoes cannot have ocean-continent divergent boundries though. Volcanoes can only be created on ocean-continent convergent boundaries.

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange1/current/lectures/evolving_earth/evolving_earth.html
University of Michigan
http://map.ngdc.noaa.gov/website/seg/hazards/viewer.htm
NOAA Satellite and Information Service