Sustainability Freshman Inquiry

Jan. 11, 2010

Jeff Fletcher

Logistics• Service experiences

– MLK service day a great opportunity to get involved (Register Here)– Ideas and/or preferences for class project (Recyclemania?)

• Attending outside events for Extra Credit– See EcoWiki events calendar

• 1 on 1 meetings; be sure you know your time– I’m use to clutter so don’t worry – Can meet in 3rd floor lobby if you prefer not to meet in your room

• Read Kolbert Chapters 3 & 4 (Quiz on Monday?)• Turn in HW1 except for map (take to mentor session) • Turn in reading questions Kolbert Ch. 1 & 2• Mentor Session Today

– Sharing Your Sustainability Autobiography “maps”– Practice using Excel to analyze data

Group Exercise

• New groups• Names on top of paper• What were Kolbert’s main goals in 1st and

2nd chapter– What important concepts or information did

she what to convey to the reader?– What techniques did she employ?– Were they effective? Anything that felt out of

place or left out?

Field notes Chapters 1&2

• Chapter 1(Artic Change)– Shishmaref, AK (close up, further)– NOAA Artic Ice Extent Sept. 2002-2008– Drunken Forests– Albedo (ratio of reflected to incident light)

• Chapter 2 (History of CO2-warming connection)– Historical

• John Tyndall (mid 1800s)– Absorption of infrared by CO2, methane, water vapor (but not Oxygen

and Nitrogen)

• Svante Arrhenius– First model of effect of CO2 on global temperature

• Composition of Atmosphere (fairly robust in short term)

– Charles Keeling Curve CO2 and global warming

Climate Change?

Correlation ≠ Causation

• There may be confounding or hidden variables!

• What is a possible hidden variable for this graph?

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