CLIMATE CHANGE and GLOBAL WARMING

ACTIVITY ONE:  THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE

FOCUS: 1) What are the characteristics of the ocean of air above us?

 

 

OBJECTIVES:

2)  Identify the structure of the earth’s atmosphere.

 

 

3)  Identify the characteristics of the troposphere.

 

 

Online Resources

The Earth’s Atmosphere www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/Atmosphere.shtml

 The Atmosphere www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfjps/1400/atmos_struct.html

 

ACTIVITY TWO:  CLIMATE CHANGE

FOCUS: 4) What is climate change and what causes it?

 

 

 

What is Climate Change? http://adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/posters/cc_en.asp

Climate Change Over the Past 100 Years http://clinton5.nara.gov/Initiatives/Climate/last100.html

 

OBJECTIVES:

5)  Define climate  and  weather.

 

 

 

Climate and Weather www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/climateweather.html 

6)  Define the term climate change.

 

 

  

7)  Explain the causes of climate change past and present.

 

 

 

The Elements of Climate

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/elements_of_climate.html

7.A) How do volcanoes and volcanic dust affect climate?

 

 

 

CHAP.2 Natural Climatic Variations

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309075742/html/8.html#pagetop

7.B)  How does latitude affect the climate?

 

 

 

Factors Affecting Climate - LATITUDE

http://www.ecn.ac.uk/Education/factors_affecting_climate.htm

Latitude and Climate

http://www.polaris.iastate.edu/NorthStar/Unit5/unit5_sub1.htm

Climate Changes with Latitude

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/climate/cli_latitude.html

7.C)  How does altitude affect the climate?

 

Climate Notes – you need to scroll down some. 

http://www.bestplaces.net/html/climate_notes.html

Effects of Altitude on Climate and Vegetation

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/rforest/explore/elev.htm

7.D)  How do mountains affect the climate?

 

 

 

Factors Affecting Climate - MOUNTAINS

http://www.ecn.ac.uk/Education/factors_affecting_climate.htm

Re: Why are leeward sides of mountains drier than windward?

http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar2001/984778221.Es.r.html

7.E)  How does global air circulation affect the climate?

 

 

Factors Affecting Climate

http://www.ecn.ac.uk/Education/factors_affecting_climate.htm

7.F)  How do ocean currents affect the climate?

 

 

Ocean water and currents affect climate

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_currents_4.html

NDBC Science Education Pages

http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/educate/educate.shtml

The Gulf Stream

http://www.coastalguide.com/bearings/gulfstream01.htm

Ocean currents and climate

http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap10/currents.html

 

7.G)  How do large bodies of land or water affect the climate?

 

 

Average Annual Precipitation Michigan

http://www.ocs.orst.edu/pub/maps/Precipitation/Total/States/MI/mi.gif

 

How fast are we losing forests? How does losing forests affect us?

http://gcmd.nasa.gov/Resources/FAQs/gofcfaq.html

 7.H)  How do El Nino and La Nina affect the climate?

            DEFINE/EXPLAIN: El Nino

 

 

 

What is El Niño and what are its effects on the planet?

http://gcmd.nasa.gov/Resources/FAQs/elnino.html

NASA Global Change Master Directory – Learning Center – El Nino

http://gcmd.nasa.gov/Resources/Learning/elnino.html

                                                DEFINE/EXPLAIN: La Nina

 

 

 

                                                How do they affect the climate?

 

 

 

 

                                    7.I)  How do ice ages affect the climate?

 

 

 

The Little Ice Age in Europe

http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/little_ice_age.html

How Global Warming May Cause the Next Ice Age...
by Thom Hartmann Saturday January 31, 2004 at 03:14 PM

http://maritimes.buffaloimc.org:8080/news/2004/01/7305.php

 

                                    7.J)  How are ice ages evidence of short-term climate change?

 

 

 

General Overview of the Ice Ages

http://calspace.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/climatechange2/01_1.shtml

                                    7.K)  How does sunspot activity affect climate?

 

 

 

THE SUN AND SUNSPOTS – again you need to scan and scroll down.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/fsd/astro/sunspots.htm

Sunspots and climate

http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s21489.htm

Of Sunspots, Volcanic Eruptions And Climate Change

http://unisci.com/stories/20022/0613022.htm

    8)  Identify the role of human activities as causes of climate change.

 

 

 

CHAP.3 Human Caused Forcings

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309075742/html/9.html#pagetop

 The Human Factor

http://environet.policy.net/warming/costs/

Hot Earth:Messing Up Our Planet’s Climate -

http://www.oneworld.net/penguin/global_warming/climate_home.html

 

Online Resources

 

Climate Timeline Information Tool - INTERESTING

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/ctl/

 

Climate History

http://www.scotese.com/climate.htm

 

 

ACTIVITY THREE:  GLOBAL WARMING

FOCUS: 9) What is the greenhouse effect?

 

 

 

OBJECTIVES:  10) Define the term global warming.

 

 

 

Global Warming

http://das.ee.unsw.edu.au/~solar/classrooms/2_1.html

Global Warming 101

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp

                             11) Explain the concept of the greenhouse effect.

 

 

 

Greenhouse Effect

http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/greenhouse.html

                             12) Link the greenhouse effect to global warming.

 

 

 

 Online Resources

The Greenhouse Effect and Historical Emissions

http://clinton5.nara.gov/Initiatives/Climate/greenhouse.html

 

Causes of Global Warming

http://www.arm.gov/docs/education/globwarm/causglobwarm.html

 

The Greenhouse Effect

http://www.climateark.org/vital/03.htm

 

The Greenhouse Effect

http://das.ee.unsw.edu.au/~solar/classrooms/1_1.html

 

Greenhouse Effect

http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/greenhouse.html

 

Greenhouse Effect

http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/aric/eae/Climate_Change/Older/Greenhouse_Effect.html

 

 

ACTIVITY FOUR:  EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

FOCUS: 13) How is global warming affecting the planet?

 

 

 

OBJECTIVES:  14) List how global warming is affecting the natural world.

 

 

 

                             15) Determine how global warming is affecting us.

 

 

 

                             16) Compare historical monthly temperature data.

 

 

 

Online Resources

Global Warming:Early Warning Signs

http://www.climatehotmap.org/

 

Global Warming

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html

 

NRDC: Consequences of Global Warming

http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons.asp

 

Climate Trends

http://www.climatetrend.com/

 

 

ACTIVITY FIVE:  GLOBAL WARMING AND ME

FOCUS: 17) What can I do to reduce global warming?

 

 

 

OBJECTIVE:  18) Identify how we can reduce global warming at home and in school.

 

 

                       

Online Resources

We Can Make a Difference

http://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/difference.html

 

Ten Things You Can Do To Stop Global Warming

http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/tenthings.asp

 

What Can We Do About Climate Change?

http://climatechange.gc.ca/english/issues/what_can/index.shtml

 

Energy Saving Tips for Kids

http://www3.gov.ab.ca/env/climate/docs/oopie_climate_change.pdf

 

NRDC: What Can We Do About Global Warming

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/gsteps.asp

 

Energy

http://www.oneworld.net/penguin/energy/energy.html

 

 

OTHER CLIMATE/GLOBAL WARMING SITES

Cool Climate Kid’s Club – this could be used with Activity Two

http://www.coolclimate.org/climatechange.htm

 

National Wildlife Federation:Climate Change – this could be used with Activity Five

Click on DO YOUR PART – 10 Things You Can Do

http://www.nwf.org/climate/programHomepage.cfm

 

Greenhouse – Green Planet – this could be used with Acitivity Three

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ice/greenhouse.html

 

Global Warming – other opinions

http://www.globalwarming.org/index.htm

 

David Suzuki Foundation: Climate Change

Click on Solutions – Activity Five      Click on Impacts – Activity Four

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/

 

EPA Global Warming

http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/index.html

 

Climate Change Challenge

http://www.co2challenge.com/index_flash.htm

 

 

Thanks to Jim Cornish, teacher in Newfoundland , Canada

Classroom Connect, Summer 2003