Assignment: Climate Change: Examining the science
Objective:
- Students will be able to identify how energy is obtained by organisms (how it enters ecosystems).
- Students will be able to relate changes in CO2 to changing temperatures on earth and identify future research needed with regard to C02 and carbon footprints.
- Students will be able to form an opinion on whether or not they support the "global myth" documentary.
**Please note: The opinions of scientists on documentary are not necessarily shared by your instructor. I want you all to make YOUR decision on controversial issues. Your job is to not simply answer the questions, but question the answers!
Part I: Why do we care? (Literature search and background information)
Before watching the documentary, Search the internet to answer the following questions. Include your website after each question. State why you chose the source you did (is it trustworthy?) Please use bolded letters or another color for your responses for ease in grading.
1. We have discussed photosynthesis in lab and lecture. What is the purpose of photosynthesis?
2. What gas is necessary for plants to absorb in order for photosynthesis to take place? What gas does photosynthesis provide in order for respiration to take place?
3. How does the greenhouse effect work on Earth? What would Earth be like without the greenhouse effect?
4. How do scientists study Earth's past climate?
5. List the 4 major greenhouse gases.
6. Why do we care about climate change? (What are some possible consequences or impacts of global warming?)
7. What is current belief in media ( daily news) about climate change?
Part II Climate skeptics - Examining the science - Can we believe everything we hear? Can science always provide the answers? (40 points) each questions is worth one point unless otherwise noted.
View the following film: "The Great Global Warming Swindle"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52Mx0_8YEtg
Answer the following questions with a brief paragraph. Location for answers will be found in green. Point values will follow questions.
(1) "People have decided you have to convince other people:Since no scientists disagree, then you shouldn't disagree either" Professor Richard Lindzen, IPCC & MIT "The Great Global Warming Swindle"
How does this line of thinking compare to that of the scientific method? What are your thoughts?
(2) "This is a story about how a theory on climate turned into a political ideology..."The Great Global Warming Swindle
"I don't even like to call it an environmental movement anymore. What it really is, is a political activist movement"Patrick Moore: Co-founder of Greenpeacefrom "The Great Global Warming Swindle"
a) Why would Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, question that this is an environmental issue?
b) According to the video, when and who actually started this "political activist" movement?
(3) "It is a story of distortion of a whole area of science"The Great Global Warming Swindle
According to the video, what has been distorted?
(4) When did the "Little Ice Age" occur ? When did the Medieval warm period occur? What were temperatures like during the Holocene era?
(5) According to the hypothesis of man made global warming, industrialization should cause the temperature to rise.
a) What data does the video provide to support or reject this?
b) What happened to temperatures during the post War Economic Boom ?
(6) If Greenhouse gasses are causing the increase in temperature where should you find the highest temperature readings?
(7) There are two ways to take the temperature in the earth's atmosphere. What are they?
(8) What did John Christy's research show regarding temperature at the surface of the earth verses temperature in the troposphere? (16:50) Does his data support the current climate models?
(9) (18:32) Al Gore's argument of man-made Global warming rests on one all important piece of evidence taken from ice core surveys in which scientists drill deep into the ice to look back into the earth's climate history hundreds of thousands of years. What they found was a clear correlation between Carbon dioxide and temperature . What important information did Gore not mention?
(10) (23) The biggest source of CO2 output on earth comes from where?
(11) What happens when you heat the surface of the ocean? (what gas is emitted?) (24) What happens to this gas when the surface of the ocean cools?
(12) Why is there a lag of 100 years for the increase in CO2 after temperature increases? (24:20)
(13) Solar Physicist Piers Corbyn predicted climate changes based on what?
(14) In 1991 Senior scientists from the Danish meteorological institute decided to compare a record of sunspots in the 20th century to temperature what did they find? (28:55)
(15) According to Shaviv and Veltzer'sresearch,and Data collected independently from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admisistration, what is the relationship between Cosmic rays, the formation of clouds and temperature?
(16) In 1974, the BBC warned of impending disaster....What was the perceived threat at that time?
(17) Computer-based models all assume what hypothesis? Dr. Roy Spencer (NASA)(46:22)
(18) According to the video, there is a powerful bias within the media and the science community itself toward what type of results?
(19)(52:45) According to Professor Akasofu, what has been happening to glaciers throughout history?
(20) (54:24) What causes sea levels to change?
(21)According to the researech presented in the film, does an increase in global temperature increase the liklihood of malaria?
(22)"This is a story about westerners evoking the threat of climatic disaster to hinder vital industrial progress in the developing world"
What evidence (or examples) does the video provide regarding a threat to industrialization of developing countries? (1:04:40)
Part III: Meeting the scientists-
Visit the following website: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/03/20/4093680/john-r-christy-climate-science.html
Write a paragraph stating your reaction to Dr. Christi's comments in this blog. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Part IV:Refining your viewpoint - Digging deeper into the science - Defending your viewpoint
1. Search for scientific evidence ( a peer reviewed article or data from credible scientists 2012 or later) that might refute "Skepticism about Global Warming".
• Post the website and results of your search here.
• include the name of the scientists performing the research.
• Write your reaction to the research being conducted.
2. What is your final analysis on global Warming? Who will you believe? Can you do anything about it?