News

News 20^th April
2020 was the hottest year ever – the climate crisis continues
United Nations organisation say that the pandemic has made it worse.  True – less cars were on the road in 2020.  There was less carbon dioxide from cars.  But in the atmosphere, high up, the greenhouse gas continued the same.  Greenhouse gas keeps the Earth warm.  It holds in the heat.  That is OK but as more gas comes from cars, aeroplanes, factories, then the heat becomes too much.  It is like being inside a greenhouse in summer.   They call it global warming.  That is definitely bad.  Now we have extreme weather – too many storms and forest fires.  The UN says we have to change now or else there will be real disaster.
Shoppers made “revenge purchases” when shops opened
Last week, PM Boris opened up all the shops.  The crowds arrived.  Lots of people splashed out – bought loads.  They call it revenge … because there were no shops in lockdown.  People are free to look and touch real gifts.  They saved lots of money in lockdown.  People have a big treat – expensive Swiss watch or diamond ring.  People want real shops not just online.  The shops are happy.
Can you fly a drone?  If you can’t see it?
What about if the helicopter-drone is 189 million miles away?  That is the job of the staff at NASA.  Tuesday, there was success.  The little helicopter on Mars took off and flew around for 40 seconds.  So… what’s the problem?  The atmosphere on Mars is really thin so the propellers have to turn 2,500 times per minute to take off. Biggest problem is it is too far away from NASA – it takes minutes for signals to send and come back – you can’t use a joystick.  It is amazing – it means scientists in future can explore other planets from this distance.