Climate Literacy Catalog
This collection of web sites was developed in the Fall of 2008 by Mark S. McCaffrey of CIRES Education and Outreach as a "next step" toward a reviewed and annotated collection of "cream of the crop" high quality digital resources that support the Essential Principles of Climate Literacy. Building on experience gained through the development of the Climate Change Collection, the goal of this phase of the effort is to begin to assemble a catalog of online resources that in the near future will be reviewed i) for scientific accuracy and currency by science experts, ii) for ease of use and appropriateness in educational settings and iii) annotated with any suggestions, concerns or ideas for enrichment and extensions to the resource.
Climate Literacy Principles
- Life and Climate Are Linked 26 matches 1. Life on Earth has been shaped by, depends on, and affects climate
- The Nature of Science 38 matches 2. We increase our understanding of the climate system through observation and modeling
- Sun Drives Earth System 62 matches 3. The Sun is the primary source of energy for the climate system
- Complex Interactions 61 matches 4. Earth's weather and climate systems are the result of complex interactions
- Natural Variability and Change 27 matches 5. Earth's weather and climate vary over time and space
- Human Activities and Change 34 matches 6. Evidence indicates human activities are impacting the climate system
- Making Decisions 24 matches 7. Earth's climate system is influenced by complex human decisions involving economic costs and social values
Results 21 - 40 of 120 matches
Water Vapor Protocol part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The purpose of this activity is to measure the total precipitable water vapor (column water vapor) in the atmosphere above an observer's site. Students point a GLOBE/GIFTS water vapor instrument at ...
Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change: Human Health - Beyond the Bite: Mosquitoes and Malaria part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This activity explores one potential impact of climate variability and change on our health by studying the increased spread of malaria. Designed to teach through scientific inquiry, the activities ...
On the Shoulders of Giants - Milutin Milankovitch part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Milutin Milankovitch formulated a comprehensive mathematical model that calculated latitudinal differences in solar radiation upon the Earth's surface and the corresponding surface temperatures for ...
NSIPP: North America Water Vapor and Soil Moisture part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This site provides an animation of atmospheric water vapor and soil moisture from December 1999 through June 2000 for North America from the NSIPP global climate model.
True Color MODIS Albedo image improves Climate Modeling part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The MODIS instrument, flying aboard NASAs Terra and Aqua satellites, measures how much solar radiation is reflected by the Earths surface almost every day over the entire planet. Zooming in on ...
Carbon Cycle in the Lab: Carbon Products and the Processes That Link Them part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This lab teaches students about the nature of carbon, the different types of compounds it exists in (e.g. charcoal, glucose, carbon dioxide), the biochemical reactions it takes part in ...
What's Up With the Weather: Your Carbon Diet part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this energy use simulation students are asked to click on the various household items to see what is draining energy and learn how to make their home more energy efficient. This simulation is not ...
Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2: A Record of Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students learn about efforts to study Earth's climatic history for the last 250,000 years by drilling into the Greenland Ice Sheet and examining ice cores. They will answer ...
Spaceplace: See the Infrared Photo Album! part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Younger students will enjoy viewing these images of ordinary objects rendered in the infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum. They can access a virtual "camera" and see pictures of animals, ...
Global Warming Materials for Educators part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Materials available at this site include a set of educational toolkits about ecosystems, a global warming map, a renewable energy teaching guide, and two reports. Each of the toolkits focuses on a ...
The Climate Time Machine Activity: Using Fossil Pollen to Study Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students use real data on fossil pollen from a lake in Washington State to study climate change. Working in teams, they separate simulated pollen grains from 'sediment samples,' ...
Recognizing Forests' Role in Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This article explains the importance of forests in the carbon cycle and why they must be preserved. Topics include carbon sequestration in forests and strategies for forest-based mitigation of global ...
"Carbo" the Carbon Atom part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Students can learn about the carbon cycle by following a carbon atom through its "travels". They can interact with the story by choosing which of several paths the atom may take through various ...
Vital Climate Graphics part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This collection of graphic images, prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, provides visual information on climate change issues that makes it possible to ...
Analyzing Greenhouse Gases and Global Temperature Data Over Time part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students plot data on the concentrations of various greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere and look for trends. They will learn that greenhouse gases allow the Sun's light to pass ...
Planet Under Pressure part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Planet Under Pressure is a six-part British Broadcasting Company (BBC) News Online series looking at some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the human race today. The series takes a ...
The Earth's Orbit part of SERC Web Resource Collection
These eleven activities relate to the results of the motion and position of the Earth in its orbit, investigating both the causes and the effects of changing seasons. It starts simply by trying to ...
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) is concerned with Earth science-related education, communication and outreach, and coordinating international Earth observation policy. IGES ...
Modeling Your Water Balance part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This activity sheet (PDF download) allows students to create a physical model illustrating the soil water balance using glasses to represent the soil column. They use data from the GLOBE Data Server ...
Interpreting Infrared Imagery part of SERC Web Resource Collection
Interpreting Infrared (IR) Imagery explains how radiometers are used in satellite meteorology including such topics as the types of radiometers, and how they capture and present images. An ...
