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Students are challenged to write a script and record a voicemail that is left 50 years in the future, describing changes that have taken place in the local environment based upon scientifically-accurate information and projections. The exercise allows students to select an issue of personal interest and communicate in a creative format.

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How can we produce enough sustainable energy while avoiding unacceptable environmental consequences? To evaluate the various energy options, we must understand the science of each potential energy source and energy use technology. This book presents the science in an easy-to-understand way to enable readers to make informed decisions about what is possible and practical, and to choose lifestyle options to implement in their personal lives.

America and the world face daunting questions about how we produce energy and how we use it. Conservation and improved energy efficiency can help reduce energy requirements, but cannot halt the steady increase in energy consumption. An increasing world population and increasing energy appetites in emerging economies will create competition for energy resources for all nations.

The possibilities for future energy production include fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal, oil sands, and oil shale), biofuels, solar, wind, hydro-energy, geothermal, and nuclear (probably fission and possibly fusion). Each of these sources has relative advantages and disadvantages.

The problem is to produce enough sustainable energy while avoiding unacceptable environmental consequences, especially climate change. In order to evaluate the potential of the various energy options, one must understand the basic science that underlies each potential energy source and energy use technology. This knowledge will enable us to determine what is possible and practical and, maybe more importantly, what is impossible or impractical.

Fortunately most of the pertinent science is old, well established and, for the most part, quite simple. This science provides a framework into which one can insert real data and draw conclusions. Without such quantitative assessments, claims about capabilities of the various energy options must be viewed as unverified assumptions rather than hard facts. This book presents the essential science in an easy-to-understand, yet comprehensive way.

A big change in the ways that we produce and use energy is inevitable. Informed choices will help avoid waste, avoid unnecessary disruptions in our lives, and avoid undesirable environmental effects. The purpose of this book is to help the reader make informed decisions about which energy production technologies to support and which energy use technologies and lifestyle options to implement in his/her personal life.

In the Future of Electric Transportation Design Challenge - a soup-to-nuts curriculum toolkit from Construct - you'll ask young people to find new and novel ways to increase use & equitable access to electric vehicles.

This comprehensive toolkit is intended for classroom teachers and other educators interested in running a multi-week or full-term design challenge with students. The guide is written with 8th-9th graders as a target grade level, however this curriculum could easily be adapted for both older and younger students: 5th-12th grade.

An optional feature in this challenge experience is to have students submit their design briefs (anonymously from their teacher) for the opportunity to be recognized by Construct and Industry Leaders interested in their concepts!

A teacher running this Transportation Design Challenge could connect it to multiple standards at multiple grade-levels in multiple subject areas.

Construct has facilitated several cohort-based challenges for middle and high school students, using this toolkit, and we are excited to be able to provide this curriculum at no charge to any interested teachers.

We are happy to answer any questions - you can reach us at info@constructlearns.org. We also offer additional coaching support.

Please download this Challenge and share it with your colleagues! If you opt to run the Challenge in your classroom, we do hope you'll reach back and let us know how it worked for YOU! With your feedback, we'll keep iterating and improving and work to make this a user-friendly, joy-provoking, flexible, rigorous, effective, skills-building and FUN curriculum toolkit for you and your students.

In the Future of Electric Transportation Design Challenge - a soup-to-nuts curriculum toolkit from Construct - you'll ask young people to find new and novel ways to increase use & equitable access to electric vehicles. This comprehensive toolkit is intended for classroom teachers and other educators interested in running a multi-week or full-term design challenge with students.

The guide is written with 8th-9th graders as a target grade level, however this curriculum could easily be adapted for both older and younger students: 5th-12th grade. An optional feature in this challenge experience is to have students submit their design briefs (anonymously from their teacher) for the opportunity to be recognized by Construct and Industry Leaders interested in their concepts! A teacher running this Transportation Design Challenge could connect it to multiple standards at multiple grade-levels in multiple subject areas. Construct has facilitated several cohort-based challenges for middle and high school students, using this toolkit, and we are excited to be able to provide this curriculum at no charge to any interested teachers.

We are happy to answer any questions - you can reach us at info@constructlearns.org. We also offer additional coaching support. Please download this Challenge and share it with your colleagues! If you opt to run the Challenge in your classroom, we do hope you'll reach back and let us know how it worked for YOU! With your feedback, we'll keep iterating and improving and work to make this a user-friendly, joy-provoking, flexible, rigorous, effective, skills-building and FUN curriculum toolkit for you and your students.

This video shows the people of Bhutan working to prevent flooding from an outburst of a glacial lake in the country's Lunana region.

Course Description:GEO 212. Introduction to Meteorology (4 credit hour). Physical and chemical conditions that regulate global weather phenomena. Includes structure of the atmosphere, temperature, humidity, air pressure and winds, the development of weather systems, tornadoes and hurricanes, and the parameters that affect local and global climate. Laboratory includes image interpretation, field observation and prediction. This is formatted as an 8 week/module course.Learning Outcomes:1. Describe the origin and structure of the earth and its atmosphere. (1, 7)2. Use scientific reasoning to explain the relationship between the earth and sun and how solarand terrestrial radiation affects temperature, air pressure and wind patterns. (1, 2, 7, 8)3. Explain the role of heat, moisture and winds in generating clouds, precipitation and severeweather. (2-6, 8)4. Model major atmospheric circulation systems and oscillations. (1-8)5. Describe climatic regions and assess climate change predictions. (1-8)6. Interpret meteorological data to predict weather conditions. (1-8) 

This site provides a useful set of graphical representations of mean temperature change in different land/ocean surfaces over the past 120+ years.

Global Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere which acts as a blanket, trapping the heat and warming the planet.

Globally increasing temperatures are likely to have impacts on terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems that are difficult to manage. Quantifying impacts worldwide and systematically as a function of global warming is fundamental to substantiating the discussion on climate mitigation targets and adaptation planning. Here we present a macro-scale analysis of climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems based on newly developed sets of climate scenarios featuring a step-wise sampling of global mean temperature increase between 1.5 and 5 K by 2100. These are processed by a biogeochemical model (LPJmL) to derive an aggregated metric of simultaneous biogeochemical and structural shifts in land surface properties which we interpret as a proxy for the risk of shifts and possibly disruptions in ecosystems.

Our results show a substantial risk of climate change to transform terrestrial ecosystems profoundly. Nearly no area of the world is free from such risk, unless strong mitigation limits global warming to around 2 degrees above preindustrial level. Even then, our simulations for most climate models agree that up to one-fifth of the land surface may experience at least moderate ecosystem change, primarily at high latitudes and high altitudes. If countries fulfil their current emissions reduction pledges, resulting in roughly 3.5 K of warming, this area expands to cover half the land surface, including the majority of tropical forests and savannas and the boreal zone. Due to differences in regional patterns of climate change, the area potentially at risk of major ecosystem change considering all climate models is up to 2.5 times as large as for a single model.

The GLOBE Cave Protocol Field Guide utilizes existing GLOBE protocols to explore an extreme environment. Caves provide an opportunity to utilize GLOBE protocols to investigate underground environments and compare them to surface environments. Outside the cave, students record elevation, MUC, latitude and longitude, air temperature, relative humidity and air pressure. Inside the cave, students record air temperature, relative humidity and air pressure as well as observe and describe cave features in each room. Students also note evidence of biological activity and human impact. If water is present inside the cave, students record water temperature and pH. Follow up questions are included in the Field Guide.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students explore the role of video games in bringing awareness to climate change and explore the tensions and purposes of video games as they relate to climate change.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson challenges students to think about how video games can be utilized to teach others about climate change. Students walk through this lesson by first critically thinking about what makes video games fun and entertaining, followed by reading an article and discussion centered around how gaming can educate people on climate change, and finally options at the end to create their own game about climate change. The lesson includes an op-ed article written by an author who writes about many things including sustainability. This is a great lesson for teaching alternative methods to educating the public about climate change.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used in computer science, environmental science, physics, and engineering classes.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students connect to an activity many already engage in to rediscover new purposes.
-Teachers have several differentiated options depending on skill, interest, and experience.
-This can be self-directed or teacher-guided and can be drawn out or built upon as the starting point of a larger unit on game design or elements of computer-based game design.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should have a basic understanding of climate change and its different effects.
-Students should have an awareness of basic game design categories.
-Teachers should be clear on which computer programs and platforms the school has access to for coding and game design.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Depending on various coding or computer skill levels, teachers can adjust for different degrees of difficulty and ability. For an introduction class or for students who have little experience with computers or coding, the Inspire activity can be completed and mapped out on paper.
-Teachers can adjust the Inspire section to target specific computer science or coding skills or to focus on aspects such as design, evaluation, music, visuals, decisions, and rewards.
-Students can work independently or in small groups with varied purposes. For example, the whole class can design a game and together come up with the goal and purpose. Smaller groups can be formed to design different elements of the game.
-Teachers can decide to offer one or both options in the Inspire section. Teachers can also choose to focus only on evaluating current climate change video or mobile games, dividing the class into groups where each group evaluates 2-3 existing games.
-Students can use different programs or learning platforms depending on what different schools have.
-Students can present their findings or games to different audiences.

In this interactive simulation, students can explore global CO2 emissions displayed by different continents/countries and plotted based on the GDP. A map view is also accessible.

The lesson plan describes activities focusing on the big question, does eating locally grown food help reduce your carbon footprint? Many elements are interconnected and function together to create the natural and productive living system that is your garden. At the end of the activity guide there are additional lesson plans, activity guides, and videos that can help you bring together soil, water, habitat, food, and community to explore your dynamic garden ecosystems.

Many elements are interconnected and function together to create the natural and productive living system that is your garden. The purpose of this activity guide is to teach students the ecological functions found in any natural system and model how these functions are performed by a natural area like a garden.

NASA produced white-board animation video explains key concepts about the role and source of carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.

This is an activity that uses basic algebra to assess the costs and savings of electric vehicles. It uses math to measure the trade-offs of buying electric versus gas-powered car models.

This course examines the definition of gender in scientific, societal, and historical contexts. It explores how gender influences state formation and the work of the state, what role gender plays in imperialism and in the welfare state, the ever-present relationship between gender and war, and different states' regulation of the body in gendered ways at different times. It also investigates new directions in the study of gender as historians, anthropologists and others have taken on this fascinating set of problems. Students taking the graduate version complete additional assignments.

A board game which engages students as they grapple with the complexities of society's challenges. It encourages students to cultivate a deep and layered understanding of these challenges and current societal options for producing energy.

This course introduces the parallel evolution of life and the environment. Life processes are influenced by chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and the solid earth. In turn, life can influence chemical and physical processes on our planet. This course explores the concept of life as a geological agent and examines the interaction between biology and the earth system during the roughly 4 billion years since life first appeared.