CLEAN: Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network
CLEAN: The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network supports educators in building climate literacy as outlined in the U.S. Climate Change Science Program framework, “Essential Principles of Climate Literacy” by providing a collection of educational resources that facilitate learning about climate issues. The CLEAN collection is a free online database of ~1,000 free, peer-reviewed, and ready-to-use educational resources for teaching elementary, middle, high school, and undergraduate students about climate and energy. The collection contains activities, demonstrations, experiments, visualizations, and videos—everything you need to create data-rich and authentic lessons on climate and energy. Climate and energy topics include the climate system, causes of climate change, measuring and modeling climate, impacts of climate change, human responses and solutions to climate change, energy use, mental health, environmental justice, and many more. Resources are rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and pedagogic relevancy, making the CLEAN collection of high enough quality to steward the NOAA Teaching Climate database.
In this activity, students work with climate data from the tropical Pacific …
In this activity, students work with climate data from the tropical Pacific Ocean to understand how sea-surface temperature and atmospheric pressure affect precipitation in the tropical Pacific in a case study format.
In this activity, students examine climate variability in the North Atlantic associated …
In this activity, students examine climate variability in the North Atlantic associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NOA) in a case study format.
This short, animated video describes what is meant by climate, its characteristics, …
This short, animated video describes what is meant by climate, its characteristics, and the range of impacts due to climate change. The difference between mitigation and adaptation is also discussed.
This short video addresses the effects of heat waves on human populations, …
This short video addresses the effects of heat waves on human populations, with Black residents of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the visual subjects. The narrative is done by a young spoken- word artist.
This video provides background information and teaching tips about the history and …
This video provides background information and teaching tips about the history and relevance of phenology and seasonal observations of plants and animals within the context of rural Wisconsin.
This is an interactive webtool that allows the user to choose a …
This is an interactive webtool that allows the user to choose a state or country and both assess how climate has changed over time and project what future changes are predicted to occur in a given area.
This video discusses the differences between climate and weather by defining and …
This video discusses the differences between climate and weather by defining and presenting examples of each. When presenting examples of weather, the video focuses on severe events and how meteorologists predict and study the weather using measurement, satellites, and radar. The climate focus is primarily on an overview of climate zones.
Students observe which types of clouds are visible, how much of the …
Students observe which types of clouds are visible, how much of the sky is covered by clouds, and the opacity of clouds. They also report on surface and sky conditions, to complement views from satellites.
Students analyze and interpret graphs to compare the flow of shortwave energy …
Students analyze and interpret graphs to compare the flow of shortwave energy from the Sun toward China over the course of a year on cloudy versus clear days.
This animated video describes the difference between weather and climate in a …
This animated video describes the difference between weather and climate in a fun and engaging way. It provides a brief overview of both topics and covers common misconceptions and logical fallacies about climate and weather differences.
This visualization shows the molecular interaction of infrared radiation with various gases …
This visualization shows the molecular interaction of infrared radiation with various gases in the atmosphere. Focus is on the interaction with C02 molecules and resultant warming of the troposphere.
This activity addresses climate change impacts that affect all states that are …
This activity addresses climate change impacts that affect all states that are part of the Colorado River Basin and are dependent on its water. Students examine available data, the possible consequences of changes to various user groups, and suggest solutions to adapt to these changes.
This video highlights a variety of climate change research initiatives from scientists …
This video highlights a variety of climate change research initiatives from scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder. It describes the changing dynamics of Antarctic ice sheets and the impacts of reduced Arctic sea ice. The video illustrates the excitement of this research through interviews and video clips of scientists in the field.
This video features CU Boulder Professor Jeff Mitton and his research team, …
This video features CU Boulder Professor Jeff Mitton and his research team, who study the effects of mountain pine beetle infestations on the forest ecology in the Rocky Mountains. They explain the pine beetle life cycle and how they attack trees. An outlook into the future is also provided.
An attractive concept/mind map that illustrates various human strategies for responding to …
An attractive concept/mind map that illustrates various human strategies for responding to climate change. It was developed by a psychologist and not by an educator or scientist but can be used to inspire discussion and artistic representations of the human dimension to climate and energy issues.
In this activity, students use climate data to develop a simple graph …
In this activity, students use climate data to develop a simple graph of how climate has changed over time and then present the result in a blog, emphasizing effective science communication.
This activity explores how the topic of climate change is represented in …
This activity explores how the topic of climate change is represented in various forms of writing, from scholarly articles to opinion pieces and works of fiction. While the content does not emphasize climate science itself, it instead allows students to focus on how the science is being portrayed.
In this activity, students collect data and analyze the cost of using …
In this activity, students collect data and analyze the cost of using energy in their homes and investigate one method of reducing energy use. This activity provides educators and students with the means to connect 'energy use consequences' and 'climate change causes.' Through examining home energy use and calculating both pollution caused by the generation of electricity and potential savings, students can internalize these issues and share information with their families.
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