Students research electricity, its sources, how energy grids function, how to make grids most efficient, and how to bring different types of energy generation together to diversify grids. Students debate the costs and benefits of moving to a modernized Smart Grid.

This video illustrates the Keeling curve as evidence to establish man's role in global climate change.

This 10 minute video builds connections between topics that are important in climate science such as: the impact of variations in Earth's orbit and wobble on it's axis on climate; how the cores being sampled fit into the bigger climate picture; connecting greenhouse gases to melting ice and sea level changes; the sensitivity of the ice melt / sea level rise relationship; and computer model simulations showing connections between ice sheets and sea level.
The companion website provides resources, an extensive list of activities, teacher guides, posters, and more.

This NASA animation on land cover change zooms into Rondonia, Brazil. It starts with a Landsat satellite image taken in 1975 and dissolves into a second image of the same region taken in 2009 that illustrates a significant amount of land use change.

The overarching goal of this exercise is for students to explore the early anthropogenic hypothesis, which claims that early agriculture had a substantial impact on greenhouse gases and global climate thousands of years ago (Ruddiman, 2003). Students compare changes in greenhouse gas concentrations that occurred thousands of years ago to more recent changes that occurred over hundreds of years. Students also relate changes in greenhouse gas concentrations to warming. The exercise is completed over a 1.5- to 2-week period as the class covers a chapter on climate change.

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This activity illustrates the carbon cycle using an age-appropriate hook, and it includes thorough discussion and hands-on experimentation. Students learn about the geological (ancient) carbon cycle; they investigate the role of dinosaurs in the carbon cycle, and the eventual storage of carbon in the form of chalk. Students discover how the carbon cycle has been occurring for millions of years and is necessary for life on Earth. Finally, they may extend their knowledge to the concept of global warming and how engineers are working to understand the carbon cycle and reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions.

Using real data, this animated video provides numerous facts comparing human behaviors and Earth characteristics related to climate change through time - from the first Earth Day in 1970, to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020.

DATA: Student-collected GPS data and site characterizations TOOLS: MyWorld GIS, spreadsheet program SUMMARY: Follow a study of Urban Heat Islands as an example of map-based science research projects.

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This video illustrates how atmospheric particles, or aerosols (such as black carbon, sulfates, dust, fog), can affect the energy balance of Earth regionally, and the implications for surface temperature warming and cooling.

Through learning activities, students learn how weather over a long period of time describes climate, explore how sea level rise can affect coastal communities and environments, and describe how humans are contributing to climate change and how we can take action to solve this problem.

In this video scientists discuss possible rates of sea level rise, storms and resulting damage, rising temperatures and melting ice, and their collective effects on ecosystems.

Students evaluate the energy sources used to generate electricity in their state, then consider ways in which their energy infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather and rising sea level. Students then consider ways that their local energy grid can be made more resilient.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.