In this activity, students investigate how scientists monitor changes in Earth's glaciers, ice caps, and ice sheets. The activity is linked to 2009 PBS Nova program entitled Extreme Ice.

This video explores what scientists know about how changes in global climate and increasing temperatures affect different extreme weather events.

This video documents the scope of changes in the Arctic, focusing on the impacts of warming and climate change on the indigenous Inuit population.

This is the first of three short videos showcasing the dramatic changes in Alaska's marine ecosystems. This introduction to the impacts of climate change in Alaska includes interviews with Alaska Natives, commentary by scientists, and footage from Alaska's Arctic.

This video is the second of three short videos showcasing the dramatic changes in Alaska's marine ecosystems. The video highlights the marine mammals and birds and how they depend on Arctic sea ice, as well as questions about how these animals will cope in the face of climate change.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn about how climate change is affecting flood risk in New Jersey.

SCIENTIST NOTES: In this lesson, students will learn about the common causes of flooding, how towns and cities can mitigate the effects of flooding, and how climate change is partially impacting flooding. As a note, another way climate change will impact flooding is by increasing the rates of prolonged drought and heavy rainfall. The videos and articles included in this lesson are accurate. The final article touches a lot more on emotions and a teenager’s perspective but includes key facts with references on the side. This resource is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson creates a collaborative learning environment for students as they build model houses and test their flood mitigation tactics.
-Students will develop a strong connection to self and community through viewing the impact of increased flooding in New Jersey.
-This lesson allows for creativity, design, engineering, and free thinking.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Prior to the lesson, the teacher must have:
-Cardboard
-Scissors
-Tape/glue
-Modeling clay
-Sand
-Cement
-Sponges
-Plastic wrap
-Plastic tubs
-Pitchers of water
-These materials can be recycled or donated. Possible substitutions include Play-Doh instead of modeling clay, buckets/cups instead of pitchers, tinfoil instead of plastic wrap, etc. Materials are not set in stone and can be substituted with similar materials as needed.
-You can explain more about the causes of sea level rise prior to the lesson. This video may be helpful to show before teaching this lesson.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Groups of students with mixed abilities can collaborate on their section of the flood management article.
-Groups of students with mixed abilities can collaborate on their section of the flood management experiment.
-The flood management experiment could be done as a demonstration in front of the whole class if time, ability, or materials are limited. You can use different materials and flood the tub multiple times.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson encourages students to think critically about facts and opinions and how they relate to climate change.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson enables students to differentiate credible and non-credible opinions, identify a fact or an opinion in a video, and identify what they believe are the best solutions to addressing climate change. They would also be able to inform others about climate change using facts and opinions they gather for their projects. All materials in the lesson have been rigorously reviewed, and this lesson has passed our credibility review.

POSITIVES:
-Students think critically about facts and opinions before developing their opinions on climate change solutions.
-Students create a project that educates and inspires others using opinions supported by facts.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Teachers and students should understand that facts can be proven to be true, but often it depends on the context.
-Teachers and students should understand that not all opinions are credible. Respecting people’s opinions is important, but it is necessary for students to understand how to differentiate between credible and non-credible sources.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-This related SubjectToClimate lesson can support students in developing their opinion on the best solution to climate change.
-Teachers can modify the Climate Change Fact or Opinion Activity in the Inquire section by adding or removing statements.
-Students can come up with their own statements and have the rest of the class determine if they are facts or opinions.
-Teachers can opt for a more active Climate Change Fact or Opinion Activity by having students walk to one side of the room to identify a fact and another side to identify an opinion. Another option is to use one gesture for fact and another gesture for opinion.
-Projects can be completed individually, in groups, or as a whole class.
-Teachers may want to divide the lesson into three days, teaching the Inquire, Investigate, and Inspire sections each on separate days.

In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, scientists in western Greenland explain how a glacier there is shrinking and moving faster due to increased melting.

This video from a 2005 NOVA program features scientists who study the Jakobshavn Isbrae glacier in western Greenland. The glacier is shrinking and moving faster due to increased melting in recent years. The video includes footage of scientists in the field explaining methods and animation of ice sheet dynamics leading to faster glacier movement.

In this video, several scientists identify and describe examples of increasing health problems that they believe are related to climate change.

In this activity, students learn about the urban heat island effect by investigating which areas of their schoolyard have higher temperatures - trees, grass, asphalt, and other materials. Based on their results, they hypothesize how concentrations of surfaces that absorb heat might affect the temperature in cities - the urban heat island effect. Then they analyze data about the history of Los Angeles heat waves and look for patterns in the Los Angeles climate data and explore patterns.

This video on phenology of plants and bees discusses the MODIS satellite finding that springtime greening is happening one half-day earlier each year and correlates this to bee pollination field studies.

This video describes how field research -- in this case, making water measurements in rugged mountain locations -- helps us to understand the complex relationships among changing climate, populations, and water usage.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Left unchecked, excessive CO₂ emissions have the potential to significantly warm the planet in the coming decades. One way to curb this trend is to develop more efficient power electronics, which can channel electricity from clean energy sources to the global grid, with minimal energy losses. A new study reports one device that could help make this clean future a reality. Losses in traditional power electronics can be traced to the relatively sluggish movement of the charge carriers that carry current through them. That translates to slow switching speeds and overall inefficient device performance. This new device takes advantage of a phenomenon called bulk conduction, where charge carriers are generated (in this case, with light) and controlled nearly simultaneously throughout the device. Results showed that the device, made from silicon carbide, could perform 6 times faster than existing solid-state devices. That speed improvement alone could help reduce global CO₂ emissions by more than 10%..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students use what they have learned about renewable energy to create their own plan to implement green energy in their community.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson stretches students' capability to compute and determine the type of renewable energy plan that is suitable for their community. The lesson would provide them with insights on how renewable energy access is important. They will be able to analyze the land size and energy output required to design specific renewable energy projects that would efficiently power the energy needs in their community. The lesson has passed our science credibility, and there is a high confidence in using it for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-The lesson connects to students’ own communities.
-Students are able to think critically about the viability of renewable energy.
-Students engage with their community to find possible solutions and places for renewable energy.
-Students are introduced to ideas of urban planning and community building.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 5 of 5 in our 6th-8th grade Renewable Energy Algebra unit.
-Students will need access to a device to view Google Maps.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students can work in groups instead of individually.
-Teachers can walk the class through creating the map of the community using Google Maps if technology access is an issue or to provide additional support to students if necessary.
-Students can present their projects in small groups instead of doing the gallery walk.
-The final activity where students create something to educate their community can be completed as homework.
-Interdisciplinary connections can be made with Earth science, physical science, and engineering design.

In this lesson, students use what they have learned about renewable energy to create their own plan to implement green energy in their community.

Step 1 - Inquire: Students watch the short video Can 100% Renewable Energy Power the World? and discuss their opinions regarding the viability of renewable energy completely powering their community.

Step 2 - Investigate: Students draw a map of their community, create a renewable energy plan, and complete calculations to maximize the production of solar, wind, and biomass energy.

Step 3 - Inspire: Students share their plans with the class through a gallery walk and have a final discussion about the viability of using renewable energy to fully power their community.

Short Description:
This open online course introduces participants to the financial risks and impacts associated with climate change.

Long Description:
This four-week course introduces participants to the financial risks and impacts associated with climate change. Participants will explore a range of risk pathways that link climate and economic systems, including:

• physical risks related to direct exposure to climate hazards in the value chain; • transition risks arising from abrupt transitions to a low-carbon economy; • systemic risks transmitted throughout the economy; • extreme risks arising from the complex dynamic nature of climate-economy systems.

Topics will be explored through the use of case study examples, group-based analysis and problem solving. The learning is supported by readings, videos and live, interactive online sessions. Participants are encouraged to share their own knowledge and expertise in group-based discussion forums. Upon completion of the course, participants will have a foundational understanding of the relationship between climate change and the economy. Participants will develop their ability to identify climate-related financial risks within their own organizations—critical groundwork for effective planning and decision-making for mitigation and adaptation.

As an introductory course, this course is suited to those with limited previous experience in climate-related finance or economics. However, a basic understanding of climate science is presumed.

This course is part of the Adaptation Learning Network led by the Resilience by Design Lab at Royal Roads University. The project is supported by the Climate Action Secretariat of the BC Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy and Natural Resources Canada through its Building Regional Adaptation Capacity and Expertise (BRACE) program. The BRACE program works with Canadian provinces to support training activities that help build skills and expertise on climate adaptation and resilience.

Word Count: 9867

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

This activity involves plotting and comparing monthly data on atmospheric C02 concentrations over two years, as recorded in Mauna Loa and the South Pole, and postulating reasons for differences in their seasonal patterns. Longer-term data is then examined for both sites to see if seasonal variations from one site to the other carry over into longer term trends.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn the five climate zones in New Jersey and interpret facts into a poetic voice from the point of view of nature.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson plan gives students an overview of the five climate zones in New Jersey and relates them to tones or poetry. As a note these are not the traditionally Köppen climate zones but rather zones specific to New Jersey. The link provided is accurate and up to date. Additionally, that website has more information if desired. This lesson helps students think about different climates from a more descriptive and imaginative perspective than just statistics, which can help provide a deeper understanding of the different climates. This resource is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in any English class.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students learn to manipulate voice to achieve different outcomes.
-Students will use descriptive and poetic language.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-It may be best to confirm that all five climate zones have been selected by at least one student. Poems may become repetitive if all climate zones are not selected.
-You can read background information and analysis on “There Will Come Soft Rains” on this website.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students’ communication and vocabulary can be as simple or as thorough as you desire.
-Students may use the poem outline at the bottom of the Student Handout if necessary.
-This lesson is easily adaptable to Advanced Placement or Honors level classes through incorporating specific literary and language elements.
-You can require students to add domain-specific vocabulary from the Rutgers website to their poems.

Students learn how scientists assess wildfires using remote sensing, then use some of the same techniques to solve grade-level appropriate math problems.