I-search

=The "I-Search" Process=

toc

Introduction
In San fransisco people need to buy oxygen to survive in the smog. Oxygen is Vital to the Human body, and we are burning it away. I wanted to know how forest fires were caused, and how we could prevent them. I wondered how much was burned away each year, and how harmful they are. I was interested in this because I remember hearing about a massive fire caused by a ciggerete. I Had no idea how much humans burn more than nature.

My Resarch Process
The First thing i did was gather what i already knew. it wasn 't much, so i promptly hit the internet for research. I Found a good website, used the information, and cited the source. I repeated this over and over again until i gathered a respectable amount of resources. then i added pictures, videos, and other enhancing parts of the website. This was fairly easy, but I my sources began running dry after the third site, so i had to try a different approach to find my final sources.

What we learned
I found some great information. For one, nine out of ten forest fires are caused by human error. That's a staggering 90%! I also learned that an annual equivilent to the entire state of massachucetts is burned every year! Another one is that fires can release a stunning amount of carbon dioxide and monoxide, sometimes hundreds of times what you exhale in your entire life!

What it all means
The Most important thing i learned is that forest fires burn hundereds of thousands of acres a year, and are a large factor in pollution. This is important because air pollution is very bad. Just look at what happened to san fransisco! As a resarcher, I developed very well during this project, and now, finding information on //__any__// topic is //__very__// easy! If i had any more time, i would definatly research the human error segment. i know humans cause most fires, but it would have been nice to know more.

Websites
1) "Wildfire" __Wikipedia__ 9/18/07 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire 2) "It could be you" __Smokey bear__ 9/19/07 http://www.smokeybear.com/couldbe.asp 3) "problems: Forest fires" __WWF__ 10/1/07 http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests/problems/forest_fires/index.cfm 4) "How wildfires work" __Howstuffworks__ 10/2/07 http://science.howstuffworks.com/wildfire.htm 5) "fire" __Forest ecosystems of canada__ 10/5/07 http://ecosys.cfl.scf.rncan.gc.ca/disturb/fire_e.asp

Images
Trophy image. http://www.buglebandcontest.co.uk/images/illustration/bugle_band_contest_trophy_b.jpg Oh noes! http://img.qj.net/uploads/articles_module/70436/ohnoes_qjpreviewth.jpg Bitteroot national forest fire. [|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wildfire] forest fire smoke image. [|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wildfire]

Videos
Firewhirl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFwzNNEuOSY Classic Smokey Bear Ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxRxPVc_zuY Smokey Bear Ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vmEzMUjPvo

Books
101 Cool Science Projects (san fransisco Oxygen bars)

Widgets
"Forest fires" flaming text [|Flamingtext.com]