A collection of resources that teach about the scientific aspects of climate change, including both life and earth sciences. Image credit United Nations
In this hands-on activity, students explore whether rooftop gardens are a viable …
In this hands-on activity, students explore whether rooftop gardens are a viable option for combating the urban heat island effect. The guiding question is: Can rooftop gardens reduce the temperature inside and outside of houses?
Students learn about five types of renewable energy that are part of …
Students learn about five types of renewable energy that are part of engineering solutions to help people in rural communities use less and cleaner energy for cooking and heating. Specifically, students learn about the pollution and health challenges facing families in rural China, and they are introduced to the concept of optimization. Through an energy game, students differentiate between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.
This video segment features subsistence fishing and harvesting in the Northwestern US. …
This video segment features subsistence fishing and harvesting in the Northwestern US. The segment was adapted from a student video produced at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, Washington.
These two visuals illustrate quantities of freshwater vs saltwater availability worldwide through …
These two visuals illustrate quantities of freshwater vs saltwater availability worldwide through graphs and charts. There are resources included that support conversations around the graphics. These graphics are part of a larger collection of resources titled "Climate Change Impacts and Solutions: Drought"
This video adapted from Bullfrog Films examines the effects of global warming …
This video adapted from Bullfrog Films examines the effects of global warming on the Pacific island of Samoa with testimonials from an expert in both western science knowledge and traditional ecological knowledge. Background essay and discussion questions are included.
This activity features video segments from a 2007 PBS program on solar …
This activity features video segments from a 2007 PBS program on solar energy. Students follow a seven-step invention process to design, build, and test a solar cooker that will pasteurize water. In addition, they are asked to describe how transmission, absorption, and reflection are used in a solar cooker to heat water and to evaluate what variables contribute to a successful cooker.
This NASA video explores the relationship between climate and agriculture. The video …
This NASA video explores the relationship between climate and agriculture. The video discusses the variability of climate impacts in different regions, as well as the effects of population growth and higher demands for food in areas that already struggle to supply food for the people. The video highlights the need for accurate, continuous, and accessible data and computer models from NASA satellites to track and predict the challenges farmers face as they adjust to a changing climate.
This video considers the current estimates of sea level rise as possibly …
This video considers the current estimates of sea level rise as possibly too conservative and discusses more recent data on ice melt rates coming from Antarctica and Greenland, showing rates of melt at up to 5 times as rapid. Scientists discuss what levels and rates of sea level rise have occurred in the past, including the Pliocene, which demonstrated 1m rise every 20 years.
This video is the first of a three-video series from the Sea …
This video is the first of a three-video series from the Sea Change project. It features the field work of scientists from the US and Australia looking for evidence of sea level rise during the Pliocene era when Earth was (on average) about 2 to 3 degrees Celsius hotter than it is today.
This very short video introduces the concept of sea level rise and …
This very short video introduces the concept of sea level rise and ties it back to global warming. The video is brief, basic, and clear. It can be used for a quick introduction, but nothing deeper than that.
This web mapping tool allows users to investigate impacts of sea level …
This web mapping tool allows users to investigate impacts of sea level rise. Data is included from across the United States at different scales. Various timelines and sea level rise projections can be explored.
This is an interactive map that illustrates the scale of potential flooding …
This is an interactive map that illustrates the scale of potential flooding in Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida due to projected sea level rise. It is a collaborative project of NOAA Sea Grant Consortium and the US Geological Survey. It is a pilot project, so there is some possibility that the resource may not be maintained over time.
An interactive simulation of Earth's seasonal dynamics that includes the axial tilt …
An interactive simulation of Earth's seasonal dynamics that includes the axial tilt and other aspects of Earth's annual cycle. This is part of a larger lab from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln: http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion1/motion1.html
This video illustrates how one community developed and implemented a sustainable solution …
This video illustrates how one community developed and implemented a sustainable solution to help keep stream water cool enough for healthy fish. Their solution has the added benefit of removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
This activity is a Google Slide playlist. Students will analyze data from …
This activity is a Google Slide playlist. Students will analyze data from sediments collected off the coast of Santa Barbara, California to determine whether this information can be used to study historical climate change. This playlist is suitable for use in remote, hybrid, or in-person instruction and can easily be added to a Learning Management System.
Provenance: Molly Ludwick, Kings Mountain Middle School Reuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.
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This learning activity is a climate change musical for K-12, youth groups …
This learning activity is a climate change musical for K-12, youth groups or faith organizations. Shine weaves together climate science and performance art into a fun and powerful story, which spans 300 million years of geological time to convey how humanity, energy, and climate are interrelated.
These 'warming stripe' graphics are visual representations of the change in temperature …
These 'warming stripe' graphics are visual representations of the change in temperature as measured in each country over the past 100+ years. Each stripe represents the temperature in that country averaged over a year.
This activity guides users through a series of steps for measuring land …
This activity guides users through a series of steps for measuring land use change in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in three different years. Using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images students calculate how much of the area is forested and how much is deforested in each year by processing and measuring the images using ImageJ, a public-domain image analysis program. The final product of this chapter is an image showing, in color, the oldest to most recently deforested areas.
This video features scientists in New Zealand's Southern Alps, examining samples from …
This video features scientists in New Zealand's Southern Alps, examining samples from the rocky landscape once dominated by glaciers. Their research, combined with other climate records, has revealed a link between glacial retreat and rising levels of carbon dioxide in the air.
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