Introduction
INTRODUCTION
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS IMAGE:
This is The New York city which is sunken under water.
Is it science or fiction?
Nowadays we are attending an authentical climate change. In global scale it means there are some modifications
occouring in temperature, rainfall and intensity of extreme events (hurricanes and floods).
Throughout the Earth's history has happened a wide variety of climate changes, sometimes it has been almost finished
with the life of every living beings. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount
of solar energy our planet receives. But there is something different in our climate change due to climate warming... We are the solely responsibles!
So depend on us to solve this problem in order to stop the consequences which are happening now, and to avoid the serious future events.
What do you know about the climate change?
What would you like knowing about it?
How does the current change climate work?
Which are the causes that cause it?
Which are the consequences about the change climate nowadays and in the future?
Can we stop it? How could we stop it?
Task
TASK
1. You will work in groups, each grup will be formed by three people.
2. You have imagine that you work for The New York Times like a journalists and your boss want you
make an investigative report about climate change.
3. For this reason, you will write a journalistic research article which has contains pictures, graphics and specifis data.
Furthermore, this article have to be a summary about the problem in global.
The most interesting article will be published in the high school review.
4. Your article needs to approach these points:
- The complex climate variations
- The climate change (causes, consequences and the attitude toward it)
- The solutions that we have seen and anothers that you propose
2. Each team member will be assigned one of the aspects of the Climate Change to analyze.
3. Each team member will explore websites to research key details of their subject, why it is important overall
to the climate change,and important individuals related to the topic.
5. Click on "Credits" to access links to information and resources!
In PROCESS label you can follow step by step the topic.
Process
PROCESS
Are you ready?
We are goning the theme in three points. We are talking about different topics that
you should reflect on your articles.
1. CLIMATE VARIATIONS
The weather is affected by the troposphere properties (temperature, humidity, clouds, wind, rainfall and so on) in a specific place and time.
In constrast, the climate in a specific zone could defined with the weather average in this space in the last 30 years, including season variations and
extrem phenomenons (hurricanes, torrential rains, periods of drought etc.)
The Climate System is formed by: And It is defined by:
- Atmosphere - Air and water propierties
- Ground floor - Solar radiation which arrived to the Earth
- Ice and Snow - Different warming in the Earth's surfaces
- Oceans - Tilt of Earth axis
- Sweet water (l) - Rotation of the Earth
- Vegetation
A3. Why the Earth's temparute average is constant around 15 ºC?
A4. Why are we worried if apparently the greenhouse effect is good?
A5. We can see that the Earth's temperature is constant due to the equilibrium
between the radiation which comes into the Earthe and the radiation which leave it. How can we
disturb it?
- Varying the solar radiation. Variation in the Axis' Earth, changes in its orbit...
- Modifying the solar radiation reflected.
- Varying the greenhouse gases concentration
A6. Look for a graphic which compare the temperature increase with CO2 gases. Could you explain it?
One of the major responsible of global warming is the CO2 gas. As you can see at the graphic, the higher
levels is our fault. But... pay close attention, it is not the same the emission which we produce and
the emission which our atmosphere has... Could you know why?
2. THE CLIMATE CHANGE
The climate change is due largely to global warming. As we have seen we are de major responsible about it. There are
a lot of causes to increase it.
A7. Do you know which actions cause the climate change? Why?
2.1 Causes
The greenhouse gases are the most important answerable of the global warming.
A8. What directly or indirectly actions produced by humans make these gases concentration increase?
A9. Why the CO2 concentration results are higher in winter than in summer?
A10. The following graphic shows us the world emission of CO2 gas due to consumption. Calculate the approximate
value in 2050 if there are not any consensu and we continue living in the same way.
A10. If the water vapor is the most abundant gas, why not is it the major responsible about the global warming?
Furthermore these gases and the astronomic changes exist another factors which affect the climate change too.
A11. Do you know any of its? The following pictures can help you.
The continental ice free and the aerosols are another cause about the global warming.
2.2 Consequences
If the greenhouse effect continues increasing, the Earth's average temperature will continue going up.
In Spain the temperature has increased around 1.2 and 1.5 Celsius degrees. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts
forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.
What's the big deal? The summer is likely to be longer...
One degree may sound like a small amount, but it's an unusual event in our planet's recent history.
But small changes in temperature correspond to enormous changes in the environment. For example, at the end of the last ice age, when the Northeast United
States was covered by more than 3,000 feet of ice, average temperatures were only 5 to 9 degrees cooler than today.
A12. What is the importance of our temperature rise up?
How does it afect to our planet?
Experts believe we shoudn't exceed 2ºC of the Earth's average because is likely to provoke catastophic weather disturbances and irreversibles,
not only for ecosystems but also human societies.
A13. What will happen if we exceed the limit temperature? Which will be the consequences?
1. Artic likely to become ice-free
A14. Why the ice fussion of the ice floating (as Arctic or Antarctica ice)
isn't produce any effect in the sea level?
A15. If the ice fussion which will be the consequences in our planet?
2. Increasing acidification of the oceans
As we have studied in the reaction unit, the acif affect to the bases compounds. So...
A16. What bodies will be been affected if the sea acidification occurs?
3. Changes in precipitation and increased weather fenomena
A17. Do you know why the hurrican could be stronger and more intense due to the global warming?
4. Alteration of vital rhythms and biodiversity loss
A18. How can the global warming contribute in biodiversity loss?
A19. Propose many self-reinforcing cycles which started and finished increasing the temperature.
A20. How does the conveyor belt of the oceans work? How would it affect if the global warming continue?
A21. In the las class we talk abou the latest Ice Age and it happened because the world axis rotation had changed and suposed
an enormous climate change.
What is the difference between our climate change to others?
3. Solutions
Firstly we should analyse the problem's causes and understand that the climate change dosen't work alone, in contrast it is linked to other problems.
Our task is finding out the best strategy to combat the climate change.
A22. Remember the causes about we have talk in class and add anothers which are related with the society.
Put three instances of each.
- hyperconsumption
- Population growth
- Overpopulation
Nowadays we know which are the problems and consequences. Furtheremore we have learnt the enough knowledge
to combat them. We need to take the right decisions in order to apply the measure (scientific and technological, educatives and policies)
which make us advanced in the solution
thereof. Overcoming the short-sightedness of the benefit of others in short time at any cost.
A23. Make a table which contains the different kind of measure, the example and the explanation how it contribute to
sustainable development.
- Scientific and technological measures
- Educative measures
- Policy measures
A24. Make an scheme including all aspects whichwe have worked in class
Evaluation
Before starting the activities please read this table carefully so
you should know how you will be assessed.
| TASK | Wrong | Needs improvement | Right | Good | Really good | Behavior | Scores | |
| Activities | Questions | Not submitted | Missing data or there are sifnigicant mistakes. | General content right without deeping. | Content right and each headland has been maximum develop. Furthermore the data provided and the analyses are correct. | The job is good and the student has a critical vision to the topic. | (0.5 points to presentation 0.5 points to puctuality) | 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 |
| Content | Not submitted | Missing data or there are sifnigicant mistakes. | General content right and good job summarizing the information we have worked. | Furthermore that every topics which we have worked appears, you have add more interesting information. | The job is good and the student has a critical vision to the topic. | (0.5 points to presentation 0.5 points to puctuality) | 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 | |
| Article | Text (writing expresion, spelling and vocabulary) | Not submitted | Deficient expression with spelling mistakes. Poor vocabulary | Right expression. Some spelling mistakes. Very few vocabulary. | Good expression. Very few spelling mistakes and good vocabulary. | Good espression. Without spelling mistakes and a wide variety of vocabulary. Atractive structure. | (0.5 points to presentation 0.5 points to puctuality) | 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 |
| Work in groups | Your group has worked bad. There are individualistic attitudes. | Inequality distributing tasks | Equality distributing tasks. Lack of understanding by somebodies. | Right communication skills. Equality distributing tasks and working in groups. | Furthermore to work in your group you explain correctly the others and contribute in the other explanaitions. | (0.5 points to presentation 0.5 points to puctuality) | 0 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 |
Conclusion
A24. You have to create your own conclusion.
Firstly you should listen carefully and understand the next song which talks about climate change.
Although the song summarizes quite good our theme I hope that you will be able to improve this summary and add or correct
some information.