2. We could adapt this hook style into our own case study by creating a fictional narrative that includes the necessary facts we want to convey.
3. Activity 2: What is the difference between global warming and climate change?
Learning objectives: Distinguish between global warming and climate change; Evaluate data presented in a table to explain why a certain region can get colder even as the globe as a whole becomes warmer.
Global Warming: The increase in overall surface temperature of the earth and atmosphere (IPCC 2007).
Climate Change: Climate is the average of daily weather, thus a changing climate will be an effect of changing weather (Gutro 2005).
Sentence containing climate, weather, climate variability, global climate change, global cooling, and global warming:
Climate is a direct result of the weather. The weather is a daily, or short term phenomenon, while climate is long term. Since the weather is highly variable on a short term basis, this means that there is climate variability as well. The result of the variability of the climate can be understood as global climate change, which include both global cooling and global warming (Carnell and Price, figure 2.1, pg. 10).
Activity 3: A Tropical Future?
Learning objectives: Summarize some of the methods paleoclimatologists use to reconstruct ancient climates; Describe the global climate of the Eocene; Practice finding, graphing, and interpreting scientific data.
Some of the methods paleoclimatologists use to reconstruct ancient climates are: taking sediment core samples from the ocean floor, radiometrically date them, and observe the levels of gasses trapped in the material; also, they look at fossils to see what plants and animals were in the area (Carnell and Price, 11).
The global climate during the Eocene was hot and humid, and very tropical. The planet was full of vast forests and plant life (Carnell and Price, 11).
1. The trend in CO2 I just graphed is definitely going up.
2. This graph compared to figure 2.3 in the IPCC Report (IPCC 2007) is much more compact, so it doesn't seem nearly as bad as the IPCC graph.
3. In 1850, the industrial revolution was beginning to gain steam.
4. Despite a steady upward trend since 1850, CO2 levels predicted for 2100 are nowhere near Eocene levels. Still, this graph is essential to scientists' argument that we urgently need to reduce CO2 emissions now because the rate of change is happening at unprecedented speed, and if we don't change, then in as short as 140 years, the amount of CO2 and other greenhouses gasses emitted in the atmosphere as a result of human activity could quadruple (Carnell and Price, 11).
4. This case study is a model for the one we are writing because it is a good example of how a creative story can very effectively get the message across. I'd emulate the creative parts, basically having fun with the narrative, which makes the learning process more enjoyable. I'd probably make it a bit shorter, though.
