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Teaching Resources for Climate Change
Classroom Activities
Introduction to Global Warming
To begin this minds-on analysis and discussion activity, students learn about the correlated increases in global temperatures and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Next, students evaluate an example that illustrates that correlation does not necessarily imply causation.
Then, students analyze several types of evidence to test the hypothesis that increased CO2 in the atmosphere has been a major cause of the increase in global temperatures. This activity concludes with a very brief discussion of how global warming has contributed to harmful effects (e.g., increased flooding) and possible student actions to reduce these harmful effects.
Food and Climate Change – How can we feed a growing world population without increasing global warming?
In this analysis and discussion activity, students learn how food production results in the release of three greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4). Students analyze carbon and nitrogen cycles to understand how agriculture results in increased CO2 and N2O in the atmosphere.
Students interpret data concerning the very different amounts of greenhouse gases released during the production of various types of food; they apply concepts related to trophic pyramids and they learn about CH4 release by ruminants.
Finally, students propose, research, and evaluate strategies to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that will be released during future production of food for the world’s growing population.
Global Warming News from the New York Times
- What Are You Supposed to Do With Climate Numbers Like These?
- Alaska Lawsuit Aims to Block Trump’s Offshore Drilling Plans
- Trump Administration Moves to Fast-Track Hundreds of Fossil Fuel Projects
- Map: Where Landslides in California Quicken Their Pace
- Dickson Despommier, Who Championed Farming in Skyscrapers, Dies at 84
- Trump’s Cuts Could Make Parks and Forests More Dangerous, Employees Say
- USAID Climate Programs Fighting Extremism and Unrest Are Closing Down
Climate Change News from The Guardian
- Climate advocacy groups file two lawsuits against Trump administration
- Outrage as Trump cites ‘emergency’ to fast-track fossil fuel projects
- Melting glaciers caused almost 2cm of sea level rise this century, study reveals
- EU overhaul of farming strategy ignores vital green proposals, campaigners warn
- Developing world urges rich nations to defy Trump’s ‘climate nihilism’
- HSBC net zero goal delayed 20 years, as CEO offered 600% bonus
- Clean energy contributed 10% to China’s GDP in 2024, analysis shows
Climate Change Posts from Nature
- Don’t overlook the mental-health costs of California’s wildfires
- Atmospheric circulation to constrain subtropical precipitation projections
- Drivers of marine heatwaves in coral bleaching regions of the Red Sea
- Warming triggers snowfall fraction loss Thresholds in High-Mountain Asia
- Polar bears and expanding sea ice in the Mid Holocene Aleutian Islands, Alaska
- More autumn tropical cyclone genesis in the South China Sea during El Niño to La Niña transition
- Optimizing afforestation pathways through economic cost mitigates China’s financial challenge of carbon neutrality
Climate Solutions from Union of Concerned Scientists
- The Endangerment Finding Is in Danger. Will EPA’s Zeldin Uphold Climate Science?
- A Day Without NOAA, a Day Without the National Weather Service?
- The Science Behind Sea Level Rise: How Past Emissions Will Shape Our Future
- As Extreme Weather Intensifies, FEMA Needs Competent Leadership and Funding
- Recovery to Resilience: Making the Most of Long-Awaited Disaster Funds
- The Perils of Ignoring Racial Equity in Disaster Relief and Recovery Are Costly
- Here Comes the Fossil Fuel Agenda
Resources for Teaching and Learning about Climate Change
This annotated list includes resources that can help your students to develop a scientifically accurate understanding of the causes and consequences of global warming and climate change. This list also includes resources for learning about how to reduce greenhouse gases and how to cope with the harmful effects of climate change. When learning about climate change, it is important for students to engage with proposals to mitigate and adapt to climate change, so they can feel energized, instead of powerless. Given the nature of the topic, the approach is interdisciplinary. These resources are appropriate for middle school, high school and/or college students.