This activity focuses on the role of photosynthesis in a sustainable future. Students explore the effect of photosynthesis and respiration in a 'closed systems' containing plankton, marine plants, and fish. By calculating carbon dioxide uptake and production in these systems, they predict a plant: animal ratio sufficient to maintain a system in carbon dioxide 'balance' for one hour.

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This activity leads students through a sequence of learning steps that highlight the embedded energy that is necessary to produce various types of food. Students start by thinking through the components of a basic meal and are later asked to review the necessary energy to produce different types of protein.

This short video, is the fifth in the National Academies Climate Change, Lines of Evidence series. It focuses on greenhouse gases, climate forcing (natural and human-caused), and global energy balance.

In this activity, students use Google Earth and team up with fictional students in Chersky, Russia to investigate possible causes of thawing permafrost in Siberia and other Arctic regions. Students explore the nature of permafrost and what the effects of thawing permafrost mean both locally and globally. Next, students use a spreadsheet to explore soil temperature data from permafrost boreholes and surface air temperature datasets from in and around the Chersky region for a 50-year time span.

SYNOPSIS: This lesson plan connects intergenerational justice with the federal budget.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson asks students to analyze how the U.S. federal government splits its budget amongst all of the federal agencies. The website used to track the spending is routinely updated. This lesson has passed the scientist quality assessment.

POSITIVES:
-This is a powerful lesson connecting past, present, and future.
-Students can have agency as to which group they'd like to represent: the present or the future.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-The top 40 of 102 agencies by spending are included in the spreadsheet. The total (estimated) spending by all 40 of these agencies is $2,960,050,000,000.
-The numbers presented at usaspending.gov are pretty messy. The attached spreadsheet rounds to cleaner numbers.
-The numbers in red are rounded to the nearest billion.
-The numbers in orange are rounded to the nearest hundred million.
-The numbers in blue are rounded to the nearest fifty million.
-Students may be missing some background knowledge. Be prepared to answer questions and/or do some research along with them.
-For example, some students might not know the function of the Department of the Interior.
-Feel free to use this site to look up the function of the major federal agencies. These are one-sentence explanations.
-Feel free to also use this site from the White House where the major agencies (e.g., Agriculture, Defense) are outlined in one large paragraph.
-Note that one “agency” is simply called “unreported data.” That data is not made public. Students can simply leave that $8 billion alone.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Students will most likely not finish. This is not really a “finishable” activity. The main goal of this activity is for students to figure out the best way to allocate money to the major federal agencies.
-It is not really worth it to discuss the really small expenditures like the Administrative Conference of the U.S.
-Students can wear armbands or robes to show that they are representing the future. Some physical representation of their role is a very powerful reminder of who they represent.

This video segment adapted from KET's Where the River Bends demonstrates how climate change and glacier movement during the Ice Ages destroyed the old Teays River and created the Ohio River, Kentucky's northern border.

Our warming planet isn’t just a threat to future generations; it’s a threat to us right now. If we don’t mitigate it, the continued rise in global temperature will have ripple effects throughout ecosystems and communities. In this episode of Crash Course Climate and Energy, we’ll look at how climate change has already affected our planet, and what the future might hold.

Chapters:
Introduction: Climate Change
Global Warming
Extreme Weather Events
Climate Models
Climate Change's Ripple Effects
Feedback Loops
The Future of Climate Change
Review & Credits
Credits

As the Atlantic Ocean warms, many marine species—including commercially important fish stocks—are moving further north along the Northeast United States. As a consequence, fishing boats based in traditional ports need to travel further to catch the same fish, or change their strategy to pursue different species of fish. In turn, businesses that serve fishing communities may need to purchase new equipment, develop new practices, or encourage workers to gain new skills. In order for fisheries and the businesses that depend on them to prepare for such changes, fisheries managers need tools to identify which fishery resources may be most vulnerable to our changing climate.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn about food insecurity and analyze potential solutions for their own community.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson introduces students to what food insecurity and food deserts entail, how it adversely impacts vulnerable populations, low-income communities, and the world at large. It offers them the opportunity to brainstorm on ideas to address food insecurity in their communities and across different geographies. All materials in the lesson have been reviewed, and there is a high confidence in using this lesson in the classroom.

POSITIVES:
-Students learn about difficult issues like food insecurity and food deserts but in the context of solution-based thinking.
-Students think about and analyze their community and think of ways they can make a tangible difference.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-This is lesson 5 of 6 in our 6th-8th grade Climate Change, Food Production, and Food Security unit.
-Students should understand food insecurity isn’t just about hunger, but also malnutrition.
-Students should understand that food insecurity is an issue for many people for a variety of different reasons, but there are potential solutions.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Teachers can assign the teacher slideshow on Google Classroom and students can submit their work independently.
-Teachers can group students and assign them level-appropriate resources.
-Teachers can eliminate options in the guided research section if the options are overwhelming.
-Teachers can review the teacher slideshow as a class and answer the questions as a whole group assignment.

In this 2-part inquiry-based lesson, students conduct a literature search to determine the characteristics of the atmospheres of different planets (Venus, Mercury, Mars and Earth). After collecting and analyzing data, student teams design and conduct a controlled physical experiment using a lab apparatus to learn about the interaction of becomes CO², air, and temperature. The resource includes student worksheets, a design proposal, and student questions. Connections to contemporary climate change are addressed. This lesson is the first of four in Topic 4, "How do Atmospheres Affect Planetary Temperatures?" within the resource, Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate?

In this kinesthetic activity, the concept of energy budget is strengthened as students conduct three simulations using play money as units of energy, and students serve as parts of a planetary radiation balance model. Students will determine the energy budget of a planet by manipulating gas concentrations, energy inputs and outputs in the system in this lesson that supports the study of climate on Mars, Mercury, Venus and Earth. The lesson supports understanding of the real-world problem of contemporary climate change. The resource includes a teacher's guide and several student worksheets. This is the second of four activities in the lesson, How do Atmospheres affect planetary temperatures?, within Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The resource aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

Effects of climate change on biodiversity. Video by California Academy of Sciences. Created by California Academy of Sciences.

In this activity, students use the GLOBE Student Data Archive and visualizations to explore changes in regional and seasonal temperature patterns.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students discuss what they know about air quality, play a game to facilitate understanding of air quality, and create an action plan to inspire solutions in their community.

SCIENTIST NOTES: In this lesson, students will learn about air quality and air pollution and its impacts on the human body. They will also discuss some of the causes of air pollution and think about ways they can make changes in their life to reduce the air pollution footprint. The resources on air quality all cite where they are getting their data from. Videos and links have been reviewed for accuracy. This resource is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson utilizes student choice, active listening, and active participation.
-The How’s Your Atmosphere game is engaging, and the Game Cards give specific examples of everyday actions that can have a positive or negative impact on air quality.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Teachers should know how to use the resources Padlet or Jamboard.
-Teachers should know how to facilitate a Socratic seminar style discussion.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Movement is encouraged but not required for this game.
-Students in class who need support can be paired or grouped with others who can assist and give guidance.

There is no denying the effect that our environment has on us. Things like water and air pollution are detrimental to our health. In this episode of Crash Course Public Health, we’ll take a look at some of the ways our environment impacts us, why marginalized and low-income populations are disproportionately exposed to environmental pollution, and what we can do about it.

Chapters:
Introduction: The Environment and Your Health
Defining our Environment
Air Pollution
Water Pollution
The Neighborhood Factor
Environmental Justice
Climate Change
Review & Credits
Credits

This short video reviews how nations and individuals can work together to reduce the emission of CO2. It discusses strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (energy conservation, renewable energies, change in energy use) and the role that government can play in this process.

To achieve food security in a changing climate, the global community must operate within three limits: the quantity of food that can be produced under a given climate; the quantity needed by a growing and changing population; and the effect of food production on the climate. At present the planet operates outside that safe space, as witnessed by the enormous number of people who are undernourished. If current trends in population growth, diets, crop yields and climate change continue, the world will still be outside this ̢ĺŰĺ÷safe operating space̢ĺŰĺŞ in 2050. Humanity must urgently work to enlarge the safe space and also move the planet into the safe space (film credit: Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, an initiative of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security, in collaboration with University of Minnesota Global Landscapes Initiative).

In this lesson, students explore how human activities will continue to impact Antarctic ice, discuss human contributions to climate change, and investigate what we can do to stop/reverse these negative effects.

Short Description:
This first and only university textbook of human security, intended as an introductory text from senior undergraduate level up, and includes chapters by 24 authors that encompass the full spectrum of disciplines contributing to the human security field. It is based on the four-pillar model of socio-political security, economic security, environmental security and health security. The chapters include learning outcomes, extension activities, and suggested readings; a comprehensive glossary lists key terms used throughout the book. This textbook can be used in courses on international studies and relations, political studies, history, human geography, anthropology and human ecology, futures studies, applied social studies, public health, and more.

Long Description:
This first and only university textbook of human security is intended as an introductory text from senior undergraduate level up, to be used in courses on international studies and relations, political studies, history, human geography, anthropology and human ecology, futures studies, applied social studies, public health, and other fields.

Its second, thoroughly revised and updated edition will represent again in a coherent fashion the field of human security and will set it apart from more traditional models of security. Its approach is again deliberately multidisciplinary and transcultural. In addition to a thorough overview of the human security concept, the chapters address problems and opportunities in international law, politics, international relations, human ecology, ethics, law enforcement, development aid, human rights, and public health. The reader is also introduced to specific human security regimes that address human rights violations, peace building and conflict resolution, as well as global environmental governance.

The book encourages a vision of the future that acknowledges the certainty of change, extrapolates significant current trends, and questions the values, beliefs and ideals that tend to inform some dominant notions of development. Because of its transdisciplinary approach, the book will appeal to a very wide range of interests at the post-secondary/tertiary level. It will be of particular interest to undergraduate and graduate students and researchers, and also to educators from various disciplines in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

Word Count: 304560

ISBN: 978-1-77420-077-3

(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.)

Geography 430 is an active, creative learning community focused around understanding the changing relationships between people and their environments, the causes and consequences of environmental degradation, strategies for building a more sustainable world, and the methods and approaches that scholars have used to understand human-environment interactions. The primary course objectives are to help geographers, earth scientists, and other professionals to deepen their appreciation for the complexity of human-environment systems and to develop skills that allow them to interpret, analyze, and communicate effectively regarding human-environment interactions in their lives as students, professionals, and citizens.