Lesson Plan about Global Warming

Lesson Plan (Guide) “GLOBAL WARMING” I. Objectives: 1. The terms ―Greenhouse Effect‖, ―Climate Change‖, and ―Global Warming‖ are often used interchangeably, yet they really refer to three separate and distinct processes. In this presentation we will show how the world is getting warmer. 2. Gases responsible for greenhouse effect that leads to global warming. 3. Causes, effects and possible solutions of global warming. II. Activity (Motivation): True or False Game The class will be grouped according to their respective groups. Each group will be given two colored shapes, 1 red and 1 green. The red shape represents the answer as FALSE and the green shape represents the answer as TRUE. Each question is worth 4 points. There is a time limit of 10 seconds in answering each question. Each group will raise their chosen shape as their answer when time’s up. After the game, the group will total their scores and their scores will have an interpretation. III. Presentation: a. Introduction First, let us look at how the earth’s atmosphere is heated. The energy that heats the atmosphere comes from the Sun, which is the source of huge energy. The sun sends its solar radiation out into space and the earth intercepts only a small portion of it, about one part in two billion which is a tremendous amount. One-half of that energy reaches the earth’s atmosphere is reflected back out into space and about one-half reaches the surface. Once the sun’s energy reaches the earth’s surface, it is absorbed and the temperature of the earth’s surface increases. b. Greenhouse Effect To a certain degree, the earth acts like a greenhouse. Energy from the Sun penetrates the glass of a greenhouse and warms the air and objects within the greenhouse. The same glass slows the heat from escaping, resulting in much higher temperatures within the greenhouse than outside it. Thus, greenhouse effect is referred to as the heat-trapping property in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases are responsible for the trapping of heat. Water vapor and carbon dioxide are the main greenhouse gases. CFCs and methane also add to the greenhouse effect. The influence of men in greenhouse gases: • Carbon Dioxide from Fossil fuel Combustion: (82%) Carbon Dioxide emitted from Cars, Trains. • Methane: (9%) methane, comes form landfills, coils, oil and gas operations and agriculture • Nitrous Oxide: (5%) Emitted from burning fossils fuels and through the use of certain fertilizers and industrial processes • Human Made gases: (2%) Released as byproducts of industrial processes and through leakage. c. Climate Change Somehow, the term climate change is used interchangeably with global warming but they are not the same. The relationship between climate change and global warming is that Global warming (as well as global cooling) refers specifically to any change in the global average surface temperature. Global warming is often misunderstood to imply that the world will warm uniformly. In fact, an increase in average global temperature will also cause the circulation of the atmosphere to change,

resulting in some areas of the world warming more, others less. Some areas can even cool. Thus climate change happens. ―Climate change‖ is less frightening than ―global warming‖. While global warming has catastrophic connotations attached to it, climate change suggests a more controllable and less emotional challenge. d. Global Warming Now that we know how the earth’s atmosphere is heated up, let us talk about global warming which is an undying issue for decades. But first, what is global warming? Slowly, the ability of the earth’s atmosphere to absorb heat from the surface has increased and, with it, the temperature of the atmosphere. This is known as global warming. It refers to a rise of a temperature of the surface of the earth. The discovery of global warming was largely credited to an American scientist by the name of Wallace Smith Broecker. He was born on November 29th, 1931 in Chicago. He has 6 children and his wife of 53 years passed away in 2007. On August 8th, 1975, he published a paper in the Science magazine. The paper was titled ―Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming?‖, where he first used the term ―global warming‖. Before that, the term was generally described as ―inadvertent climate modification‖ by other scientists. Wallace Broecker believed that the term, ―modification‖, was incorrect because the concept of modification bears the possibility of change in either direction, meaning it could get warmer or colder. e. Causes of Global Warming 1. Increased carbon dioxide is the primary driver of global warming CO2 absorbs heat reflected from the Earth’s surface — heat that would otherwise pass freely into space. The CO2 then releases that heat, warming the Earth’s atmosphere. As CO2 levels increase, the pace of warming accelerates. Satellite measurements confirm that less heat is escaping the atmosphere today than 40 years ago. Though other heat-trapping gases also play a role, CO2 is the primary contributor to global warming. The climate has changed many times in the geologic past due to natural causes — including volcanic activity, changes in the sun’s intensity, fluctuations in Earth's orbit, and other factors — but none of these can account for the current rise in global temperatures. 2. We are the primary cause of global warming. Scientists can conclusively identify that human activity is responsible for the observed increase in CO2. How? The carbon dioxide emitted by burning coal, natural gas, and oil has a unique chemical ―fingerprint" — and the additional CO2 in the atmosphere bears that signature. f. Effects of Global Warming 1. Accelerating sea level rise and increased coastal flooding Average global sea level has increased eight inches since 1880, but is rising much faster on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Global warming is now accelerating the rate of sea level rise, increasing flooding risks to low-lying communities and high-risk coastal properties whose development has been encouraged by today's flood insurance system. 2. Longer and more damaging wildfire seasons Wildfires are increasing and wildfire season is getting longer in the Western U.S. as temperatures rise. Higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier spring snow-melt result in

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forests that are hotter and drier for longer periods of time, priming conditions for wildfires to ignite and spread. More frequent and intense heat waves Dangerously hot weather is already occurring more frequently than it did 60 years ago—and scientists expect heat waves to become more frequent and severe as global warming intensifies. This increase in heat waves creates serious health risks, and can lead to heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and aggravate existing medical conditions. Costly and growing health impacts Climate change has significant implications for our health. Rising temperatures will likely lead to increased air pollution, a longer and more intense allergy season, the spread of insectborne diseases, more frequent and dangerous heat waves, and heavier rainstorms and flooding. All of these changes pose serious, and costly, risks to public health. An increase in extreme weather events Strong scientific evidence shows that global warming is increasing certain types of extreme weather events, including heat waves, coastal flooding, extreme precipitation events, and more severe droughts. Global warming also creates conditions that can lead to more powerful hurricanes. Heavier precipitation and flooding As temperatures increase, more rain falls during the heaviest downpours, increasing the risk of flooding events. Very heavy precipitation events, defined as the heaviest one percent of storms, now drop 67 percent more precipitation in the Northeast, 31 percent more in the Midwest and 15 percent more in the Great Plains than they did 50 years ago. More severe droughts in some areas Climate change affects a variety of factors associated with drought and is likely to increase drought risk in certain regions. As temperatures have warmed, the prevalence and duration of drought has increased in the western U.S. and climate models unanimously project increased drought in the American Southwest. Melting ice Temperatures are rising in the planet's polar regions, especially in the Arctic, and the vast majority of the world's glaciers are melting faster than new snow and ice can replenish them. Scientists expect the rate of melting to accelerate, with serious implications for future sea level rise. Disruptions to food supplies Rising temperatures and the accompanying impacts of global warming — including more frequent heat waves, heavier precipitation in some regions, and more severe droughts in others — has significant implications for crop and meat production. Global warming has the potential to seriously disrupt our food supply, drive costs upward, and affect everything from coffee to cattle, from staple food crops to the garden in your backyard. Destruction of coral reefs As global temperatures rise, so too do average sea surface temperatures. These elevated temperatures cause long-term damage to coral reefs. Scientists have documented that sustained water temperatures of as little as one degree Celsius above normal summer maxima can cause irreversible damage. Plant and animal range shifts

A changing climate affects the range of plants and animals, changing their behavior and causing disruptions up and down the food chain. The range of some warm-weather species will expand, while those that depend on cooler environments will face shrinking habitats and potential extinction. g. Solutions of Global Warming 1. Reduce consumption of fossil fuels 2. Reduce waste 3. Use solar power energy 4. Use clean coal and oil 5. Drive low emission and fuel efficiency vehicle 6. Plant more trees IV. Evaluation: Identification: Select the best answer in the box that best completes the statement or answers the question. Write the answers on the line provided before the number. efficiency climate change sun water vapor cools down W.S. Broecker 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 11. 12. 13. 14.

greenhouse effect primary Johann Elert Bode heats up polar regions general shifts

emission moon carbon dioxide James L. Elliot global warming

(Global warming) refers to an increase in the average temperature near the Earth’s surface. (Greenhouse effect) is referred to as the heat-trapping property in the atmosphere. (Climate change) refers to the broader set of changes that go along with global warming, including changes in weather patterns, the oceans, ice and snow, and ecosystems. Increased (carbon dioxide) is the primary driver of global warming. We are the (primary) cause of global warming. The energy that heats the atmosphere comes from the (Sun) . The earth (heats up) if the amount of solar energy is greater than the amount radiated. The earth (cools down) if the amount of solar energy is less than the amount radiated. – 10. (water vapor) and (carbon dioxide) are the main greenhouse gases. Climate change refers to (general shifts) in climate including temperature, precipitation, winds, and other factors. The discovery of global warming was largely credited to an American scientist by the name (Wallace Smith Broecker) . Temperatures are rising in the planet’s (polar regions) , especially in the Arctic. – 15. One solution of global warming is to drive low (emission) and fuel (efficiency) vehicle.