The forests of North America have seen plenty of change in a pretty short period of time, at least geologically speaking. Up until about 18,000 years ago, the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered Canada and much of the eastern United States. When temperatures climbed and the ice sheet retreated, forests gradually reemerged. But how? Did pockets of trees find refuge in sheltered areas during the Ice Age? Or were all tree species pushed to the southern tier of the United States, only to spread north again after the ice disappeared? Scientists still debate the topic, but one thing is clear: today’s forests in the eastern United States bear little resemblance to post-glacial forests. Starting with European colonial settlers and marching through four centuries of development, drought, and fire, the tree cover of North America became fragmented.

Comment développer son esprit critique ? Cette animation propose de comprendre la nature de la science (faits prouvés) en opposition à des opinions, d'explorer le principe de la modélisation et de découvrir le fonctionnement du GIEC.

The year is 2050 and your once-idyllic beachfront vacation home is now flooded up to the second story. The crab your family has enjoyed every Christmas for as long as you can remember has now become an endangered species. The oceans have changed. In Earth 540, Oceanography for Educators, we explore the mechanisms that lead to sea level rise and ocean acidification. We strive to understand how natural processes such as ocean currents, the gulf-stream, tides, plate tectonics, and the Coriolis Effect, affect our oceans and ocean basins. We then predict how man-made issues such as climate change and overfishing will affect our beloved waters and our livelihoods. Want to see into the future? Then this course is for you!

This is a static visualization, referenced from a UNEP rapid response assessment report entitled In Dead Water, depicting the estimated contributions to sea-level rise from 1993 - 2003.

This video segment examines ethanol, a cleaner-burning fuel alternative to gasoline, and the efforts to produce it more efficiently.

This course presents an examination of ethical issues relevant to systems-based research procedures, professional conduct, social and environmental impacts, and embedded ethics in research and professional practice in RESS based jobs. In this course, you will consider case studies of ethical issues that can arise when engaging renewable energy and sustainability systems. You will also develop an ethics case study based on your area of RESS interests. The goals of the course are to provide you with tools for analyzing ethical issues both in the line of professional duties and in consideration of the various ethical issues that face an entire sector of renewable energy and that underpin the very reasons for taking a sustainable and renewable approach.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students explore three different personal perspectives on the effects of climate change, evaluate arguments and reasoning, and advocate for climate change through a personal call to action.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson inspires students to take an active role in combating climate change while also teaching them about various climate change impacts. The initial video talks about climate change from three different angles and gives students various ideas of how they could act such as voting, education, and activism. It introduces the idea of environmental racism and justice. The three videos about New Jersey sea level rise are all accurate and informative. This resource is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in English, persuasive writing, and social studies.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students become agents of change in their own communities.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should be familiar with the basics of climate change and potential effects to their own region.
-Students will be writing a call to action. The goal of a written call to action is to inspire others to perform a specific act with some urgency.
-Students should understand the basics of persuasive argumentation and using personal connections as evidence and reasoning to support an argument.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Calls to action can be expressed in different platforms. Students can explore adapting their calls to action in different platforms: creating a video, choosing specific social media outlets, and incorporating supporting artwork. Make sure to follow all school rules and monitor students’ progress if you allow this in the classroom.
-You may allow students to brainstorm and pursue other methods of communication not listed.
-Students can evaluate the effectiveness of using different platforms to make their calls to action.
-Students can present their calls to action to different audiences.

In this activity, students learn about the pros and cons of co-firing woody biomass fuels with coal to produce electricity.

In this activity, students make and manipulate physical shoreline models to discover the features of resilient shorelines and to critically evaluate the impacts of rising seas. Students will use NOAA's Sea Level Rise Viewer to observe a coastal area of interest and predict the consequences of sea level rise on people, the environment, and the economy. Though the curriculum references North Carolina, this lesson will work for all coastal areas.

In this video scientists discuss possible rates of sea level rise, storms and resulting damage, rising temperatures and melting ice, and their collective effects on ecosystems.

In Massachusetts, Manchester-by-the-Sea's wastewater treatment plant is located right on the coast. The town's water utility is working with the EPA's Climate Ready Water Utilities program to consider its adaptation options.

In this activity, students use authentic Arctic climate data to explore albedo and its relationship to seasonal snowmelt as a self-reinforcing feedback mechanism, which is then applied to large scale global climate change.

In this lesson, students complete a Myers-Briggs Type Inventory of their personality type as an introductory step to understanding what green jobs might suit their personal styles. From the information on this online tool, they look at different green jobs to explore possible careers.

This Earth Exploration Toolbook chapter uses ArcGIS and climate data from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Climate Change Scenarios GIS Data Portal to help users learn the basics of GIS-based climate modeling. The five-part exercise involves calculating summer average temperatures for the present day and future climate modeled output, visually comparing the temperature differences for the two model runs, and creating a temperature anomaly map to highlight air temperature increases or decreases around the world.

In this activity, students analyze data maps of sea surface temperature anomalies for a 14-year interval and create an ENSO time line in a case study format. Based on their findings, students determine the recurrence interval of the ENSO system.

This 4-H project book includes a series of eight activities, focused on polar science, that youth can complete with an parent or mentor. Each activity includes a hands-on component and options for communication. The activities featured are appropriate for use outside of 4-H, for instance in science classrooms, with after school programs, or during enrichment camps. Each activity includes links to supplemental materials to extend learning.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This teaching activity addresses regional variability as predicted in climate change models for the next century. Using real climatological data from climate models, students will obtain annual predictions for minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation for Minnesota and California to explore this regional variability. Students import the data into a spreadsheet application and analyze it to interpret regional differences. Finally, students download data for their state and compare them with other states to answer a series of questions about regional differences in climate change.

Students evaluate the energy sources used to generate electricity in their state, then consider ways in which their energy infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea level. Students then consider ways that their local energy grid can be made more resilient.

The Extreme Events Game is an in-person role-playing game that allows participants the experience of building community resilience in the face of disaster. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during a fast-paced disaster simulation.

This short video clip is part of a longer video series titled How Climate Effects Community Health. This clip focuses on human health risks from extreme heat events caused by increasing global temperatures.