Students conduct a simple experiment to model and explore the harmful effects …
Students conduct a simple experiment to model and explore the harmful effects of acid rain (vinegar) on living (green leaf and eggshell) and non-living (paper clip) objects.
This short video is an excerpt from the longer video Acid Test: …
This short video is an excerpt from the longer video Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification, produced by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This short version summarizes the science of ocean acidification as well as the social implications.
This assignment is a 10-hour, out-of-class project where each student designs and …
This assignment is a 10-hour, out-of-class project where each student designs and carries out an action plan to enhance sustainability. Students select from a large suite of alternative actions, most of which can be quantified for reductions in CO2 and energy consumption, as well as in dollar savings.
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This article describes covert and overt active engagement strategies for use with …
This article describes covert and overt active engagement strategies for use with elementary students. Find the Question templates are included for use with informational text.
During Activity 2.2, students download, organize, and analyze geoscience data sets of …
During Activity 2.2, students download, organize, and analyze geoscience data sets of sea level trends, terrestrial ice sheet trends, and intensity of tropical cyclones as well as forecast models of atmospheric CO2 and temperature trends and sea level rise. Students utilize the methods of geoscience such as systems thinking and using multiple lines of evidence to determine possible relationships and feedbacks among the data sets. Students use this data to construct their argument from evidence for a position paper in Activity 2.3.
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This 20-minute video, produced by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, …
This 20-minute video, produced by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, describes adaptation strategies undertaken by several groups and nations in response to rising sea level and other aspects of climate change.
In this activity, students assess individual and national opinions on climate change …
In this activity, students assess individual and national opinions on climate change and explore strategies that communities are employing to adapt to aspects of climate change already affecting them in addition to those likely to affect them in the future.
As emissions of heat-trapping bases accumulate in our atmosphere, Earth's polar regions …
As emissions of heat-trapping bases accumulate in our atmosphere, Earth's polar regions are warming more quickly than at lower latitudes. The rapid environmental changes that result from this warming can have a significant impact on the physical and mental health of rural Alaskans: unpredictable weather and changes in the seasons have made harvesting food more difficult, hazardous, and stressful. The risk of physical injury has also increased, as poor ice, extreme weather, and coastal erosion bring new travel hazards. Increasingly difficult harvest conditions for fish, shellfish, berries, caribou, and sea mammals have also increased concerns about food security. Additionally, declines in snow pack, the threat of drought, changes in lake and river conditions, and damage and disruptions to community water systems have prompted concerns of water security. The climate-related challenge faced by Alaskas tribal health system is to recognize new health stressors and community vulnerabilities, and then find healthy adaptation strategies in an increasingly uncertain future.
Hear about how respect for Earth can help us attain a more …
Hear about how respect for Earth can help us attain a more sustainable lifestyle in the face of climate change in this video segment adapted from United Tribes Technical College.
Designed to familiarize students with theories and analytical tools useful for studying …
Designed to familiarize students with theories and analytical tools useful for studying research literature, this course is a survey of fluid mechanical problems in the water environment. Because of the inherent nonlinearities in the governing equations, we shall emphasize the art of making analytical approximations not only for facilitating calculations but also for gaining deeper physical insight. The importance of scales will be discussed throughout the course in lectures and homeworks. Mathematical techniques beyond the usual preparation of first-year graduate students will be introduced as a part of the course. Topics vary from year to year.
Theoretical topics of fluid dynamics relevant to natural phenomena or man-made hazards …
Theoretical topics of fluid dynamics relevant to natural phenomena or man-made hazards in water and atmosphere. Basic law of fluid motion. Scaling and approximations. Slow flows, with applications to drag on a particle and mud flow on a slope. Boundary layers: jets and plumes in pure fluids or in porous media. Thermal and buoyancy effects, selective withdrawal and internal waves. Transient boundary layers in impulsive flows or waves. Induced streaming and mass transport. Dispersion in steady flows or in waves. Effects of earth rotation on coastal flows. Wind induced flow in shallow seas. Stratified seas and coastal upwelling.
This course will explore the mutual influences of ideas of nature, theories …
This course will explore the mutual influences of ideas of nature, theories of city design and planning, and practices of urban design, construction, and management. We will investigate how natural processes shape urban landscapes (from the scale of street corner to region) and how to intervene strategically in those processes in order to achieve certain goals. We will examine cases of cities that adapted successfully to natural processes and those that did not. Students will then have the opportunity to research a case of their choice and to present their findings for discussion. The subject may be historical or an an example of contemporary theory and practice. Additional information is also available at Professor Spirn’s class website.
This class is developed around the concept of disobedient interference within the …
This class is developed around the concept of disobedient interference within the existing models of production of space and knowledge. Modeling is the main modus operandi of the class as students will be required to make critical diagrammatic cuts through processes of production in different thematic registers – from chemistry, law and economy to art, architecture and urbanism – in order to investigate the sense of social responsibility and control over the complex agendas embedded in models that supports production of everyday objects and surroundings. Students will be encouraged to explore relations between material or immaterial aspects and agencies of production, whether they emerged as a consequence of connection of mind, body and space, or the infrastructural, geographical and ecological complexities of the Anthropocene. These production environments will be taken as modeling settings.
North American ecosystems have fundamentally changed over the late Pleistocene and Holocene; …
North American ecosystems have fundamentally changed over the late Pleistocene and Holocene; from a system dominated by mammoths, to bison, to domestic livestock. Given the very different body size and herd formation of these 'ecosystem engineers', it is likely that animals influence soil structure, water tables, vegetation and other animals in the ecosystems. What has been the ecological influence of the continued 'downsizing' of the largest animals in the ecosystem?
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This activity is an indoor/outdoor activity that incorporates both literacy and scientific …
This activity is an indoor/outdoor activity that incorporates both literacy and scientific observation to make an ABC book based on Antler, Bear, Canoe by Betsy Bowen. Family participation is encouraged.
This activity is an indoor/outdoor activity that incorporates both literacy and scientific …
This activity is an indoor/outdoor activity that incorporates both literacy and scientific observation to make an ABC book based on Antler, Bear, Canoe by Betsy Bowen.
This contemplative practice inquires into the complex web of interdependencies linking global …
This contemplative practice inquires into the complex web of interdependencies linking global climate change, the War on Terror, Afghan poppy production, opiate addiction, and food security through the lens of systems theory. The exercise challenges students to consider these linkages not only conceptually but also somatically and emotionally.
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