Unit 3: Simple Climate Models part of Modeling Earth Systems
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Students will explore Earth's radiation budget using several versions of a simple climate model often referred to as a "layer model." Earth receives energy from the sun, some of which is reflected ...

Unit 5: Growth and Decay of Ice Sheets part of Modeling Earth Systems
David Bice, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Large continental ice sheets, such as the Laurentide Ice Sheet from the last glaciation, as well as Antarctica and Greenland of today, are some of the most important features of the global climate system — they ...

Unit 4: Daisyworld part of Modeling Earth Systems
Louisa Bradtmiller, Macalester College
Students explore Daisyworld, a model of a self-regulating system incorporating positive and negative feedbacks. Daisyworld is a planet on which black and white daisies are the only things growing. The model ...

Mock United Nations Climate Negotiations Exercise part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Shangrila Wynn, The Evergreen State College
This is a version of the UN climate mock negotiations exercise developed by Shangrila Joshi Wynn.

Justice, Power, and Activism: What the Goldman Environmental Prize Winners Teach Us About Resilience and Democracy part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Jason Lambacher, University of Washington-Tacoma Campus
This activity is a set of student-centered exercises that enable students to learn about the individual stories of Goldman environmental prize winners, the activism and organizing that grounds their work, and the underlying political and social contexts from which their struggles emerge. The lesson inspires critical reflection about justice, power, and democracy in green politics, and encourages ways to make personal connections to activism and environmental work.

Unit 2: Application of Concepts to Case Studies part of Major Storms and Community Resilience
Patricia Stapleton, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lisa Doner, Plymouth State University; Lorraine Motola, Metropolitan College of New York
In Unit 2, students apply and evaluate foundational concepts about storm hazards and risk in the context of two cases studies: Superstorm Sandy (2012) and the Storm of the Century (1993). Through different ...

Climate Change Mind Map part of Curriculum for the Bioregion:Activities
Woody Moses, Highline Community College

Unit 4: Towards Climate Change Policy in the U.S. part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Curt Gervich, SUNY College at Plattsburgh; Pinar Batur, Vassar College
This unit examines the social cost of carbon (introduced in Unit 3) within the legal doctrine of "common but differentiated responsibility" (CBDR). CBDR acknowledges global climate change as a common ...

Unit 5: Abating Carbon Emissions part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Robyn Smyth, Bard College; Gautam Sethi, Bard College; Curt Gervich, SUNY College at Plattsburgh
Students evaluate the EPA's Clean Power Plan in the context of Common but Differentiated Responsibility. This unit also introduces students to the idea that there are costs and benefits associated with the ...

Unit 3: Dynamic Integrated Climate Economy (DICE) Modeling part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Sandra Penny, Russell Sage College; Gautam Sethi, Bard College; Robyn Smyth, Bard College
After an opening discussion of systems thinking and models, student use webDICE , an online Dynamic Integrated Climate Economy model developed by Center for Robust Decision Making on Climate and Energy Policy at ...