This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. It focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil aerosols) and on evidence for past and present climate change. During the course they discuss material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. This course also examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals.

This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. It focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil aerosols) and on evidence for past and present climate change. During the course they discuss material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. This course also examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals.

In this video segment adapted from Spanner Films, visit the Alaska Native village of Shishmaref, and learn how an entire town may be forced to relocate because of warmer temperatures, melting sea ice, and coastal erosion.

In this Webquest activity, students assume roles of scientist, business leader, or policy maker. The students then collaborate as part of a climate action team and learn how society and the environment might be impacted by global warming. They explore the decision making process regarding issues of climate change, energy use, and available policy options. Student teams investigate how and why climate is changing and how humans may have contributed to these changes. Upon completion of their individual tasks, student teams present their findings and make recommendations that address the situation.

Possible pre-course reading of the Introduction of:
"Smart Solutions to Climate Change: Comparing Costs and Benefits" Ed. BjÃrn Lomborg
Global Warming and You--handout (Microsoft Word 44kB Oct27 10)

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Field trip handout (Microsoft Word 52kB Oct27 10)

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In this classroom activity, students analyze visualizations and graphs that show the annual cycle of plant growth and decline. They explore patterns of annual change for the globe and several regions in each hemisphere that have different land cover and will match graphs that show annual green-up and green-down patterns with a specific land cover type.

This animation shows predicted changes in temperature across the globe, relative to pre-industrial levels, under two different emissions scenarios in the COP 17 climate model. The first is with emissions continuing to increase through the century. The second is with emissions declining through the century.

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:

"Known as the “Roof of Africa”, the highlands of Ethiopia are a lofty oasis. Though situated near the equator, the region enjoys cool temperatures year-round thanks to its high elevation—about 1200 meters above sea level. But a changing climate could change that over the next century. Researchers at MIT project that towards the end of the 21st century the Ethiopian highlands in East Africa will be at a significantly high risk for transmitting malaria, transforming this temperate haven into a breeding ground for disease. The work follows up on the team’s previous research on West Africa. There, the researchers acknowledged, malaria currently poses a big threat. A combination of high rainfall and warm temperatures create the ideal conditions for mosquitos to breed and spread disease..."

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

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:

"The future of renewable energy has never looked greener Amid a changing climate and dwindling fossil fuel resources renewable energy technology is quickly gaining traction But one big obstacle is the uncertainty in renewable energy production While rechargeable lithium-ion batteries could help cushion swings in wind and solar their metallic components tend to be expensive and time-consuming to produce and pose a big electronic waste problem For that reason, researchers are turning toward more eco-friendly materials for batteries So-called organic electrodes are highly stable, easy to process, and energy-dense Like their inorganic counterparts, they shuttle lithium ions into and out of their chemical structure to deliver power And because they are largely carbon-based, they’re naturally abundant and even recyclable Scaling up the production of these materials remains an issue But already they point to a much greener future for renewable energy Oubaha et al..."

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

A detailed Google Earth tour of glacier change over the last 50 years introduces this topic in an engaging way. Students are then asked to select from a group of glaciers and create their own Google Earth tour exploring key characteristics and visible changes in that glacier.

This applet is an ocean acidification grapher that allows user to plot changes in atmospheric C02 against ocean pH, from 1988 to 2009, in the central North Pacific.

Students use long term sea-level rise data set to create models and compare short-term trends to long-term trends. They then determine whether sea-level rise is occurring based on the data.

This video showcases eight green STEM careers by interviewing people working in different sectors helping to solve climate change issues.

Short Description:
Green infrastructure and related nature-based solutions are gaining widespread support as effective components of healthy city building as well as climate adaptation strategies. The course provides an overview of how GI systems work, the ecosystem services they can provide, and how they can be employed effectively.

Long Description:
This 30 hour (over twelve weeks) online course is for policy makers, professionals, and students seeking to understand green infrastructure (GI) and its potential for managing the impacts of urbanization and climate change. The aim of the course is to foster a network of professionals engaged with the challenges and opportunities of blending nature and infrastructure.

Green infrastructure and related nature-based solutions are gaining widespread support as effective components of healthy city building as well as climate adaptation strategies. The course provides an overview of how GI systems work, the ecosystem services they can provide, and how they can be employed effectively.

The course has four parts that together provide a substantive overview of the current green infrastructure policy, design, and practice and the associated challenges and opportunities.

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: 14871

(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 is a series of 10 short videos, hosted by the National Science Foundation, each featuring scientists, research, and green technologies. The overall goal of this series is to encourage people to ask questions and look beyond fossil fuels for innovative solutions to our ever-growing energy needs.

How do greenhouse gases affect the climate? Explore the atmosphere during the ice age and today. What happens when you add clouds? Change the greenhouse gas concentration and see how the temperature changes. Then compare to the effect of glass panes. Zoom in and see how light interacts with molecules. Do all atmospheric gases contribute to the greenhouse effect?

This resource provides a basic introduction to the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. It is aimed roughly at undergrad classrooms (which is where I have taught), but it's also suitable for high school teachers, lifelong learners, climate change outreach, etc., and can be used for 'just in time' professional development by everyone.

In this short video, atmospheric scientist Scott Denning gives a candid and entertaining explanation of how greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere warm our planet.

In this activity, students, working in small groups, respond to a series of questions asking them to analyze a diagram of the long-term, global average energy budgets for the atmosphere and the earth's surface (below). They then are asked to explain how the greenhouse effect works in terms of several basic physical principles applied to their analysis. Finally, they are asked to apply the same principles to the predict changes in global average atmospheric and surface temperatures as a result of adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.