Module VII

Week 7

Explain: 

     I enjoyed hearing about the positive aspects of the Greenhouse Effect in Global Warming:  The Physics of the Greenhouse Effect.  It just goes to show that too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing in the end….

     It was very nice to see in the Arctic Modeling Project the involvement of local communities and cultures (adults and students) combining traditional knowledge and modern science. 

     The percentages and breakdowns of incoming and outgoing energy to/from Earth noted in Earth’s Energy Budget were very enlightening.  Definitely worth looking into further… 


Source:  Wikipedia

     The question asked in See Who’s Really Responsible for Carbon --  “What would it look like if carbon emissions traveled with products and services as they moved from country to country?” has some interesting implications.  The map showing “arrows of guilt” is an eye-opener.

Source:  GOOD Magazine

Extend:

     Global Warming:  Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect is a very good visual for all ages of the heat absorption properties of carbon dioxide and its relationship to the Greenhouse Effect.  I could see using this in the classroom.

     Capturing Carbon is a good video for my middle school students.  Scientists are working to develop and improve upon an experiment developed by the 12 year old daughter of one of the scientists to draw carbon dioxide out of the air.   Good ideas and concepts can come from any age….

     The concept of Positive Feedback – that small disturbances are amplified so that big disturbances may result can apply to the environment as well as so many issues in life.  It is definitely worth discussing in the classroom with students in various contexts.

Evaluate:

     Many of the resources will be useful in my classroom, especially those noted above.  In Inuit Observations of Climate Change I was struck by the implications of indigenous people providing “more than local knowledge: they provide a different way of understanding relationships.”   It is all about relationship – from ancestral teachings (relationships with each other through the generations) as well as relationship with the land and its bounty.   Local expertise is definitely another way of understanding, and a concept that can be applied in all areas (both in and out of the classroom). 

     In the two videos La’ona DeWilde: Environmental Biologist and Alaska Native Teens Help Researchers, mention is made of the changes in permafrost.  Both videos also address training people in the village level rather than a “top down” approach.   “Home is not just a place for field studies.”    As a side note to the videos, as well as discussions of the Cryosphere (portions of the Earth’s surface where water is in solid form), I am not sure how many individuals are aware of the U.S. Army permafrost tunnel outside of Fairbanks.  Cheryl W. (a class participant) and I have been in the tunnel as part of the ALISON teacher trainings (through the UAF Geophysical Institute).  It is pretty amazing to be deep within the Earth and see the various layers of soil and ice laid down long ago, along with all the various items trapped in the layers.   Reaching up and touching the bottom of a long ago buried layer of ice is pretty amazing.  The tunnel is not open to the public… but if the opportunity to visit it arrives, I would recommend “going for it”.  I have copied some links to sites about the United States Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Permafrost Tunnel. 

      Link 1 Alaska Science Forum         

      Link 2 Univ of Alaska Fairbanks - CRREL Permafrost Tunnel        

      Link 3 360 degree interactive view inside the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel

Three Colleagues:

     Even though some of the material we are getting into is above my comprehension… there is much that can be enjoyed and understood by myself and my special needs students… just like Tyler O.’s third grade students.  I agree with Doug A. about the information about the toxins and haze accumulating at the Polar Regions being sobering.  My initial assumption would have matched the scientists… and I wish it was still so…  How wonderful that Marilyn B. is able to blend her early love of meteorology throughout her life’s path … and share it with those she comes in contact with.