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My STEM Lesson PlanTOPIC : GLOBAL WARMING
Goals
To introduce students about greenhouse effect. To explain the role of engineering in monitoring greenhouse gases in
atmosphere and designing technology that helps clean air To allow students to collect and record local temperature rise in atmosphere
Prerequisites:
Students should:
Be familiar with the terms, "global warming," the "greenhouse effect," and "greenhouse gases." Also, they should be aware that the U.S. is a leading producer of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
Be able to identify some man-made sources of greenhouse effect. Have some understanding of the effects of global warming on humans and their
environment.
Instructional Objective(s)
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to: Define global warming. Identify some ways to reduce global warming.
Understand the roles of engineers in the field of global warming. Describe how engineers create technology to help study global warming and help industry
clean up their greenhouse gases. Identify the major types of greenhouse gases. Understand and explain that greenhouse gases are generated by nature and by human
activity
Instructional ResourcesIntroduction/Motivation: What Is Global Warming?
Global warming is the gradual heating of Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere. Scientists have
documented the rise in average temperatures worldwide since the late 1800s. Earth's average temperature has risen by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) over the past century, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Temperatures are projected to rise another 2 to 11.5 degrees F (1.133 to 6.42 degrees C) over the next 100 years.
Most of the leading scientific organizations in the world acknowledge the existence of global warming as fact, according to a NASA report. Furthermore, 97 percent of climate scientists agree that the rate of global warming trends the planet is now experiencing is not a natural occurrence, but is primarily the result of human activity. That consensus was made clear in a major climate report released Sept. 27, 2013, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In that report, climate scientists indicated they are more certain than ever of the link between human activities and global warming.
The greenhouse effect
Global warming begins with the greenhouse effect, which is caused by the interaction between Earth's atmosphere and incoming radiation from the sun. "The basic physics of the greenhouse effect were figured out more than a hundred years ago by a smart guy using only pencil and paper (Svante Arrhenius in 1896)," Josef Werne, an associate professor in the department of geology and planetary science at the University of Pittsburgh, told Live Science.
Solar radiation passes through the atmosphere to the surface of Earth, where it is absorbed and then radiated upward as heat. Gases in Earth's atmosphere absorb about 90 percent of this heat and radiate it back to the surface, which is warmed to a life-supporting average of 59 F (15 C). This very helpful process is called the greenhouse effect.
Greenhouse gases
Human-caused global warming occurs when human activity introduces too much of certain types of gas into the atmosphere. More of this gas equals more warming. The atmospheric gases primarily responsible for the greenhouse effect are known as "greenhouse gases" and include water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The most prevalent greenhouse gas is CO2.
CARBON DIOXIDE: . Carbon dioxide (CO 2) : Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels
(coal, natural gas and oil), solid waste, trees and wood products, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere (or "sequestered") when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle.
Some atmospheric CO2 is natural. For example, before the Industrial Revolution, there were about 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 in the atmosphere, and during most of the past 800,000 years, CO2
fluctuated between about 180 ppm during ice ages and 280 ppm during interglacial warm periods. Since the Industrial Revolution, though, the amount of CO2 has dramatically increased. Currently, the increase is 100 times faster than that when the last ice age ended, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In May 2013, scientists reported measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as high as 400 ppm. Levels of CO2 haven't been that high since the Pliocene Epoch, which was between 3 million and 5 million years ago, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
In 2012, CO2 accounted for about 82 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA. "We know through high-accuracy instrumental measurements that there is an unprecedented increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. We know that CO2 absorbs infrared radiation [heat] and the global mean temperature is increasing," Keith Peterman, a professor of chemistry at York College of Pennsylvania, and his research partner, Gregory Foy, an associate professor of chemistry at York College of Pennsylvania, told Live Science in a joint email message.
CO2 makes its way into the atmosphere through a variety of routes. Burning fossil fuels, for example, releases CO2. Deforestation is also a large contributor to excessive CO2 in the atmosphere. In fact, deforestation is the second largest anthropogenic (human-made) source of carbon dioxide, according to research published by Duke University. When trees are killed, they release the carbon they have stored for photosynthesis. According to the 2010 Global Forest Resources Assessment, deforestation releases nearly a billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere per year.
But fossil fuel combustion is the number one anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide. The EPA lists this source as the cause of 32 percent of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 27 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012.
METHANE
Methane is the second most common greenhouse gas, but it is much more destructive. In 2012, the gas accounted for about 9 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the EPA. There may be less methane in the atmosphere, but this gas is much more efficient at trapping radiation. The EPA reports that methane has 20 times more impact on climate change over a 100-year period.
Methane (CH4) : Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices and by the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills.
Methane can come from many natural sources, but humans cause a large portion of methane emissions through mining, the use of natural gas, the mass raising of livestock and the use of landfills, according to the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks report from 1990 to 2012. In fact, according to the EPA, humans are responsible for more than 60 percent of methane emissions.
Nitrous oxide (N 2O) : Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste.
Fluorinated gases — that is, gases to which the element fluorine was added — including hydro fluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride, are created during industrial processes and are also considered greenhouse gases. Though they are present in very small concentrations, they trap heat very effectively, making them high "global-warming potential" (GWP) gases. Hydro fluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride are synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases that are emitted from a variety of industrial processes. Fluorinated gases are sometimes used as substitutes for stratospheric ozone-depleting substances (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons, hydro chlorofluorocarbons, and halons). These gases are typically emitted
in smaller quantities, but because they are potent greenhouse gases, they are sometimes referred to as High Global Warming Potential gases ("High GWP gases").
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), once used as refrigerants and aerosol propellants until they were phased out by international agreement, are also greenhouse gases.
Current greenhouse gas concentrations
GasPre-1750
troposphericconcentration
Recenttropospheric
concentration
Absolute increase
since 1750
Percentageincrease
since 1750
Increasedradiative forcing(W/m2)
Carbon dioxide (CO2) 280 ppm 395.4 ppm 115.4 ppm 41.2% 1.88
Methane (CH4)
700 ppb1893 ppb /1762 ppb
1193 ppb /1062 ppb
170.4% /151.7%
0.49
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
270 ppb326 ppb /324 ppb
56 ppb /54 ppb
20.7% /20.0%
0.17
Troposphericozone (O3)
237 ppb 337 ppb 100 ppb 42% 0.4
How do we know if the temperature increase is caused by anthropogenic emissions?
Computer models strongly suggest that this is the case. The following graphs show that 1) If only natural fluctuations are included in the models (such as the slight increase in solar output that occurred in the first half of the 20th century), then the large warming in the 20th century is not reproduced. 2) If only anthropogenic carbon emissions are included, then the large warming is reproduced, but some of the variations, such as the cooling period in the 1950s, is not reproduced
(this cooling trend was thought to be caused by sulfur dioxide emissions from dirty power plants). 3) When both natural and anthropogenic emissions of all
TYPES ARE INCLUDED, THEN THE TEMPERATURE EVOLUTION OFTHE 20TH CENTURY IS WELL REPRODUCED
Effects of global warming
Global Warming Impacts
Many of the following "harbingers" and "fingerprints" are now well under way:
1. Rising Seas--- inundation of fresh water marshlands (the everglades), low-lying cities, and islands with seawater.
2. Changes in rainfall patterns --- droughts and fires in some areas, flooding in other areas. See the section above on the recent droughts, for example!
3. Increased likelihood of extreme events--- such as flooding, hurricanes, etc.
4. Melting of the ice caps --- loss of habitat near the poles. Polar bears are now thought to be greatly endangered by the shortening of their feeding season due to dwindling ice packs.
5. Melting glaciers - significant melting of old glaciers is already observed.6. Widespread vanishing of animal populations --- following widespread
habitat loss.7. Spread of disease --- migration of diseases such as malaria to new, now
warmer, regions.8. Bleaching of Coral Reefs due to warming seas and acidification
due to carbonic acid formation --- One third of coral reefs now appear to have been severely damaged by warming seas.
9. Loss of Plankton due to warming seas --- The enormous (900 mile long) Aleutian island ecosystems of orcas (killer whales), sea lions, sea
otters, sea urchins, kelp beds, and fish populations, appears to have collapsed due to loss of plankton, leading to loss of sea lions, leading orcas to eat too many sea otters, leading to urchin explosions, leading to loss of kelp beds and their associated fish populations.
Where do we need to reduce emissions?
In reality, we will need to work on all fronts - 10% here, 5% here, etc, and work to phase in new technologies, such as hydrogen technology, as quickly as possible. To satisfy the Kyoto protocol, developed countries would be required to cut back their emissions by a total of 5.2 % between 2008 and 2012 from 1990 levels. Specifically, the US would have to reduce its presently projected 2010 annual emissions by 400 million tons of CO2 . One should keep in mind though, that even Kyoto would only go a little ways towards solving the problem. In reality, much more needs to be done.
ACTIVITY 1
ObjectiveTo use a statistical analysis technique, the moving average, to search for meaningful trends in regional raw temperature data.
o copy of the "Temperature Trends" student handoutsPart IPart IITemperature Graph
o pencilo yellow, blue, green, and red pencils, markers, or crayonso scissorso tapeo calculator
Part 1
1. Divide the class into 10 groups, one for each year of data.2. Distribute both Part 1 Temperature Trends and "Temperature Graph" student handouts with the other materials. Ask
student to discuss the raw data before graphing.3. Record their observations on the board.4. Have each group graph its year of data, using the data Monthly Average Temperatures and chart provided on the Part 1
"Temperature Trends" student handouts. After they have graphed their data year, direct students to cut out their graphs and lightly tape them together temporarily, spanning 1989 to 1998.
5. Display the taped-together graphs on the wall or floor. Have students observe any trends. Add these observations to the initial observations on the board.
Part 2
1. Students will now plot a 12-month moving average. Distribute the Part 2 "Temperature Trends" student handout. You may need to help students with the instructions in this part.
2. Demonstrate the algorithm until students are able to calculate the moving averages on their own. Students will realize they can plot only their first seven averages, June to December, on their own graph. They must plot the next five
averages on the next year's group's graph, January to May. The previous year's group will fill in averages for January to May on their graph.
3. The group working on the final year has only enough data to produce one moving average, June.4. Once students have finished their moving averages, discuss the results with them. What do they see in the data now?
How does that differ from what they inferred from the previous plotting technique? What does each plotting technique tell them? What is the value of the moving average?
The graph students create will show temperatures above and below the average temperature line of the chosen data set. The moving average sums for each month are presented below. Plotting for the January sums begins in June. (Note: Strictly speaking, plotting for a moving average would begin at the exact center point of the data set; however, because 12 months is an even number and a 12-month average can't have a "center month," June was chosen as the starting point for plotting the averages.)2-Month Moving Average for Boston, Jan. 1989 to Dec. 1998*
JanFeb
MarAprMay
1989 1990
50.750.950.951.151.6
1991
54.354.454.354.165.8
1992
51.150.850.850.550.3
1993
51.151.451.451.451.7
1994
51.451.351.351.551.8
1995
52.452.552.452.652.0
1996
50.950.750.850.450.3
1997
51.251.251.251.251.3
1998
52.152.252.352.552.7
ACTIVITY 2
Purpose: This activity will introduce you to the Global Warming Wheel Card.
This homework requires that you take your Global Warming Wheel Card home with you and ask your parents or other adult to share their electricity and home heating bills with you.
1.Look around your house for items that need electricity to operate. List the first 10 items that you find.
1……………………………………………….2 ………………………………………………3 ………………………………………………4 ………………………………………………5 ………………………………………………6 ………………………………………………7 ………………………………………………8 ………………………………………………9 ………………………………………………10. ……………………………………………..
2.Of those 10 items, which ones do you use every day?
3.How much did your family spend each month for electricity in the past six months? Total amount: Now divide that number by 6. This will give you an average monthly bill. Average monthly bill:
4.Using your Global Warming Wheel Card, pick the amount that is closest to the “average for six months” that you just calculated. How much carbon dioxide does your household produce every year?
5.Use your Global Warming Wheel Card to find what your household can do to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that you generate.
6.Can you think of other things that you can do to reduce the amount of electricity that you use in your home?
ACTIVITY 3
Electricity Use and Carbon Dioxide
Purpose: This activity will allow you to think about what you can do to help reduce the release of carbon dioxide into the air and perhaps limit future climate change.
Time required: 40 minutes
Equipment:
•Pencils and paper •Materials provided in this packet, including responses to Activity #2 and Global Warming Wheel Card
1.Find three other students with whom you would like to work. You will need pencils and paper, and you might want to have these things with you:
2. Take the next 20 minutes to discuss the following:
A)The four of you work for your town’s Department of Environmental Protection. You have learned a great deal about climate change in the past several months, and you are becoming concerned about the possible effects it will have on your local community if it continues to get worse. You are now aware of some of the causes and effects of climate change, and you would like to do everything you can to make sure that your community does not contribute more carbon dioxide than is absolutely necessary. However, you also realize that people in your community enjoy the way their lives are now, and you do not want to make too many changes that will upset their lives. Your department has been asked to come up with some new programs for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide generated by your community. What three programs would you propose to encourage your community’s citizens, businesses, and institutions (such as schools) to change their behavior so they produce less carbon dioxide?
B) What would your community probably like about these programs?
C)What would your community probably NOT like about these programs?
ACTIVITY 4
OBJECTIVE To compare the thermal properties of carbon dioxide, methane and air.
EQUIPMENT • 3 identical plastic bottles • 3 temperature probes • 3 pre-drilled bungs (optional, helpful) • Stopwatch • Carbon dioxide • Methane • 3 Clamp stands if you have access to them (not essential) • Lamp (or other heat source)
METHOD • Clean and dry the bottles (they should be dry inside as well) • Remove any labels • Insert temp probes through the bungs. If you haven’t got bungs then drill holes in the bottle caps and insert the temp probes through the hole, seal the edges of the hole with plastecine or similar.
• Fill one bottle with carbon dioxide. If you’ve got a soda stream use that, if not put some indigestion tablets into a balloon containing some water, hold the neck of the balloon closed and wait for it to fill with carbon dioxide given off by the tablets. Fill the bottle with the carbon dioxide from the balloon. • Fill one bottle with methane – from the normal domestic gas supply. • Seal all three bottles with the bung or the cap • Secure a bottle in each of the clamp stands • Place all three bottles equidistant from an indirect heat source such as a lamp (don’t switch the lamp on yet) • Wait until the temp in all three bottles is identical • Switch on the lamp • Take temperature readings from all three bottles for the next 30 minutes at one minute intervals • Plot the results on a graph
RESULTS This graph shows the results of an experiment we did a few years ago using just carbon dioxide and air, you should be able to achieve similar results in your experiment http://www.flickr.com/photos/trevorandcl...
CONCLUSION The experiment should demonstrate that carbon dioxide and methane will retain more heat than air.
LIMITATIONS The experiment does not explain why the greenhouse gases retain more heat than air, this is explained at the quantum physics level and isn’t something that can be done at home. Here’s an answer I provided a while back which explains the physics http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...
ENGINEERING AND MONITORING GLOBAL WARMING
Is there a connection between the recent drought and climate change?
Yes. A recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gives strong evidence that global warming was a major factor.
Who studies global warming, and who believes in it?
Most of the scientific community, represented especially by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC - www.ipcc.ch), now believes that the global warming effect is real, and many corporations, even including Ford Motor Company, also acknowledge its likelihood.
Who are the IPCC?
In 1998, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in recognition of the threat that global warming presents to the world.
The IPCC is open to all members of the UNEP and WMO and consists of several thousand of the most authoritative scientists in the world on climate change. The role of the IPCC is to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change. It does not carry out new research nor does it monitor climate related data. It bases its assessment mainly on published and peer reviewed scientific technical literature.
The IPCC has completed two assessment reports, developed methodology guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories, special reports and technical papers. Results of the first assessment (1990--1994): confirmed scientific basis for global warming but concluded that ``nothing to be said for certain yet''. The second assessment (1995), concluded that the balance suggests a discernable human influence on global climate'', and concluded that, as predicted by climate models, global temperature will likely rise by about 1-3.5 Celsius by the year 2100. The next report, in 2000, suggested, that the climate might warm by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years, which would bring us back to a climate not seen since the age of the dinosaurs. The most recent report, in 2001, concluded that "There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities".
Due to these assessments, debate has now shifted away from whether or not global warming is going to occur to, instead, how much, how soon, and with what impacts.
carbon sequestration method
Carbon sequestration is capturing the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels and storing it safely away from the atmosphere.
How do you capture CO2?
Methods already exist for key parts of the sequestration process. A chemical system for capturing carbon dioxide is already used at some facilities for commercial purposes, such as beverage carbonation and dry ice manufacture. The same approach could be adapted for coal-burning electric power plants, where smokestacks could be replaced with absorption towers. One tower would contain
chemicals that isolate carbon dioxide from the other gases (nitrogen and water vapor) that escape into the air and absorb it. A second tower would separate the carbon dioxide from the absorbing chemicals, allowing them to be returned to the first tower for reuse.
A variation to this approach would alter the combustion process at the outset, burning coal in pure oxygen rather than ordinary air. That would make separating the carbon dioxide from the exhaust much easier, as it would be mixed only with water vapor, and not with nitrogen. It’s relatively simple to condense the water vapor, leaving pure carbon dioxide gas that can be piped away for storage.
In this case, though, a different separation problem emerges — the initial need for pure oxygen, which is created by separating it from nitrogen and other trace gases in the air. If that process can be made economical, it would be feasible to retrofit existing power plants with a pure oxygen combustion system, simplifying and reducing the cost of carbon dioxide capture.
Advanced methods for generating power from coal might also provide opportunities for capturing carbon dioxide. In coal-gasification units, an emerging technology, coal is burned to produce a synthetic gas, typically containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Adding steam, along with a catalyst, to the synthetic gas converts the carbon monoxide into additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide that can be filtered out of the system. The hydrogen can be used in a gas turbine (similar to a jet engine) to produce electric power.
How do you store CO2?
Several underground possibilities have been investigated. Logical places include old gas and oil fields. Storage in depleted oil fields, for example, offers an important economic advantage the carbon dioxide interacts with the remaining oil to make it easier to remove. Some fields already make use of carbon dioxide to enhance the recovery of hard-to-get oil. Injecting carbon dioxide dislodges oil trapped in the pores of underground rock, and carbon dioxide’s presence reduces the friction impeding the flow of oil through the rock to wells.
Depleted oil and gas fields do not, however, have the capacity to store the amounts of carbon dioxide that eventually will need to be sequestered. By some estimates, the world will need reservoirs capable of containing a trillion tons of carbon dioxide by the end of the century. That amount could possibly be accommodated by sedimentary rock formations with pores containing salty water (brine).
The best sedimentary brine formations would be those more than 800 meters deep far below sources of drinking water, and at a depth where high pressure will maintain the carbon dioxide in a high-density state.
Sedimentary rocks that contain brine are abundantly available, but the concern remains whether they will be secure enough to store carbon dioxide for centuries or millennia. Faults or fissures in overlying rock might allow carbon dioxide to slowly escape, so it will be an engineering challenge to choose, design, and monitor such storage sites carefully.
Concerns about leaks suggest to some experts that the best strategy might be literally deep-sixing carbon dioxide, by injecting it into sediments beneath the ocean floor. High pressure from above would keep the carbon dioxide in the sediments and out of the ocean itself. It might cost more to implement than other methods, but it would be free from worries about leaks. And in the case of some coastal sites of carbon dioxide production, ocean sequestration might be a more attractive strategy than transporting it to far-off sedimentary basins.
It is also possible that engineers will be able to develop new techniques for sequestering carbon dioxide that are based upon natural processes. For example, when atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide increased in geologic times to a certain unknown threshold, it went into the ocean and
combined with positively charged calcium ions to form calcium carbonate – limestone. Similarly, engineers might devise ways of pumping carbon dioxide into the ocean in ways that would lock it eternally into rock.
It may well be that multiple strategies and storage locations will be needed to solve this problem, but the prospect for success appears high. “Scientific and economic challenges still exist,” writes Harvard geoscientist Daniel Schrag, “but none are serious enough to suggest that carbon capture and storage will not work at the scale required to offset trillions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the next century.” [Schrag, p. 812]
Creating biochar and mixing it with soil to create terra preta Carbon air capture to remove carbon dioxide from ambient air Planting trees to offset carbon emissions Ocean nourishment including iron fertilization of the oceans
Quick facts about global warming
According to NASA:
Carbon dioxide levels are at 399.2 ppm as of November 2014 The global temperature has risen 14 F (7.8 C) since 1880 The global Arctic ice minimum (the extent of sea ice in warm months) is decreasing by 13.3
percent each decade Land ice is decreasing by 258 billion tons (234 million kilotons) each year Due to melting ice, the sea level has risen by 0.12 inches (3.17 millimeters) per year
HOW TO MANAGE GLOBALWARMING
There are many steps humans can take to lessen the effects of global warming. NASA is committed to a two-pronged approach:
Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and stabilizing the levels of these gases in the atmosphere
Adapting to the climate change already happening
Decreasing the rate at which fossil fuels are burned is critical to that effort. Development of clean energy, including solar, wind and geothermal energy, has immense potential to reduce the amount of coal and oil burned in powering electrical generating plants, NASA said.
More-sustainable transportation options, such as mass transit and alt-fuel vehicles, will also reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. (The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that about 25 percent of energy-related CO2 emissions in the United States come from passenger vehicles.)
Even individual efforts, such as lowering thermostats in winter and using energy-efficient light bulbs, can help to address global warming. But most climate researchers also stress the immediate need for large-scale, international policies to address the complex causes and effects of global warming.
Extensions In Demo 1, compare the changes in temperature every year due to cause of global warming by
drawing a graph. Post a chart listing the types of green house gases and what can be done to prevent them.
Leave the chart up so students can add to it whenever they have an idea. Have students make a bar graph showing the quantity of greenhouse gases (vertical) vs. the
jar locations (horizontal). What conclusions can you draw from the graph? Find out about factories in your area. What do they make? What types of waste do they
produce? How do they dispose of the waste? In the U.S., you can check them out on the EPA website.
Invite someone from the EPA (or other local person responsible for monitoring air quality) to your classroom. Encourage students to ask questions about the types, causes, and levels of air pollution in your community.
External Resources
1. The Heat Over Global Warming http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/304/ 2. EPA’s Climate Change Web site at: www.epa.gov/climatechange The site contains detailed information about greenhouse gas emissions, science, effects of climate change and what you can. • EPA’s Climate Change Frequent Questions:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/fq/index.html • EPA’s Climate Change Glossary: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/glossary.html
3. http://www.ipcc.ch : Try the Summaries for Policy Makers for starters. These are concise, well written documents that also contain some of the best and latest data.
US Global Change Research Program: www.usgcrp.gov Weathervane: an online forum designed to provide the news
media, legislators, opinion leaders, and the interested public withanalysis and commentary on U.S. and global policy initiatives related to climate change. http://www.weathervane.rff.org/
The global warming primer and discussion at website of the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at Los Alamos National Laboratory: http://www.igpp.lanl.go
4. MONITORING GLOBAL WARMING :erzog, H., and D. Golomb. 2004. Carbon Capture and Storage from Fossil Fuel Use. Encyclopedia of Energy, ed. C.J. Cleveland. Vol. 1. Elsevier Science: .
Lal, R. 2004. Carbon Sequestration, Terrestrial. Encyclopedia of Energy, Vol. 1 (Elsevier Inc.).
Schrag, D.P., et al. 2007. Preparing to Capture Carbon,” Science 315, p. 812. DOI: 10.1126/science.1137632.
Socolow, R.H. 2005. Can We Bury Global Warming? Scientific American (July 2005), pp. 49-55.
Zenz House, K. et al. 2006. Permanent carbon dioxide storage in deep-sea sediments,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103 (15 August 2006), pp. 12291-12295.
NASA/Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio
This material was adapted from the websites what is global warming? http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/304/,
Assessment and Rubrics
Pre-Activity Assessment
Class Discussion Question: What does global warming look like? What are causes and effects of global warming?
Activity Embedded Assessment
Student Observations: During the activity, students will be assessed for as directed in the Procedure section. Students deriving better conclusion and observation from the activity will be awarded with1 point, those with satisfactory observation will be awarded with 2 points, those with good observation will be awarded with 3 points, those with very good observation will be awarded with4 points, those with excellent observation will be awarded with 5 points. The total score for each activity will be 5 points.
Post-Activity Assessment
Informing others / Map Making: A school map on large chart paper will be made. For each test site, a shape from colored construction paper will be cut and writing on it the ranking and location. Adhering each shape to the correct location on the map. Conclusions will be drawn from the map? Few of these conclusions will be written neatly on index cards. The map and index card conclusions will be displayed in a school hallway for others to see.
Credits
S.GANDHIMATHI
PG ASST IN BOTANY
CHSS, VELACHERY,
CHENNAI - 42
Email ID: [email protected]
Syllabus Guidelines
This lesson plan has covered all the contents given in the syllabus for the classes 9 th 10th, 11th, and 12th standard.( definition of global warming and greenhouse effect, greenhouse gases, causes of global warming , effects of global warming , managing global warming)
In this lesson plan the integration of the subjects involved are Environmental science by learning about the global warming effect on environment and human beings , Geography by learning about the different places in the world affected with rise in temperature, Mathematics by drawing graphs for the classroom activities given , chemical sciences by learning about different greenhouse gases in atmosphere and its sources, Physical science by learning about the temperature rise and plotting it in graph .
