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 61 - 80 of 120 matches
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 ...
Climate Change Calculator part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This calculator allows users to calculate their ecological footprint in terms of trees required to sequester the carbon from carbon dioxide emissions produced by household use and transportation. ...
Abrupt Climate Change part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This clearinghouse provides links to information about abrupt climate change, a phenomenon which recent evidence indicates is not unusual. Users can choose from a variety of links that lead to ...
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 ...
Ice Cores Teacher's Guide part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students will learn how and why scientists drill ice cores in Greenland. They will use this knowledge to create an ice core that demonstrates how natural and human factors affect ...
Teacher's Domain: Understanding the Greenhouse Effect part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this lesson, students learn about ways in which scientists study past climate change. These studies involve investigations of ice cores taken from the vast ice sheet that covers Greenland and ...
Global Climate Animations part of SERC Web Resource Collection
The Global Climate Animations site contains animations of the Earth's climate system for educational and research purposes. The animations show the climatology of the seasonal cycle for selected ...
The Essence of Ecology part of SERC Web Resource Collection
This tutorial provides an introduction to basic concepts of ecology such as species extinction, generalist and specialist adaptation strategies, and the relation between extinction of one species and ...
Diurnal Temperature Changes and Water Vapor Content part of SERC Web Resource Collection
In this activity, students will examine data for air temperature and dewpoint temperature for two different days at the same station to understand how moisture in the air affects the diurnal ...
