Well, I have no doubt that the flooding caused by global warming and the melting of icebergs will have a negative impact on many species of animals and plants. I think a lot of these effects will be seen for many years after as well. This would be a great time to talk with students about food chains and the "circle of life". I think many students will think it only affects polar bears and seals, when really such an event will affect everyone and everything, even if it is indirectly.
Regarding the inquiry lesson, I might want to explain to the students that the investigation is not exactly what will happen in the real world. It would be interesting to find out what percentage of the oceans are frozen, and try to replicate that percentage in the investigation. I know that the ice-to-water ratio I used when I performed this activity was no where near accurate.
Question - why is it that many people don't "believe in" global warming?
There is an activity that I do in class to demonstrate the ratio of freshwater, ocean water, frozen etc... it is an excellent visual to help students understand our limited amount of fresh water actually available.
ReplyDeleteAs far as why many people don't believe in global warming is that they are not informed. I think that too many rely on their information second hand. Also, hollywood has made global warming a quick 2 hour movie. Global warmiing is taking over a longer period of time. Do you think that maybe we don't want to know that our actions are responsible for damaging the planet?
My thoughts exactly.Many people are unaware and misinformed. I'm really not sure how many people in my educational/personal community that even talkink about the issue. I'm sure that we should be talking more about global warming but how? and when. One thing that I would love to see change in our school system is the jack of all and master of non mantality. We are expecting so much rote memorization and instant information that there is little to no tme to address issues that will have an impact on us later.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the experiment is a more accurate representation of glaciers (ice on land) or icebergs (ice in water)?
As for why some people don't believe in global warming, I think that there are a number of different reasons. There is an interesting article that looks at the case against global warming at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703819904574551303527570212.html
Amy
Reference:
Totty, Michael. The Case Against Global Warming - And How Believers Respond - WSJ.com. (2009). Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703819904574551303527570212.html
Amy
I agree with all of your comments on the fact that I really don't think that people stop and think of the impacts of their actions. I also think that Hollywood plays to the extremes in good and bad ways. The message of global warming and its effect on our planet need to be expressed more to the general public. There are so many things that people can do to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is released. Maybe there needs to be more billboards and commercials. That seems to be how the anti-smoking message is getting out with the "Truth" campaign. Something needs to change so that we can protect our planet for future generations.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the experiment, it was based on icebergs that are in the water. When water is frozen, it expands. The interesting fact is that it displaces exactly the amount of water that it would have as a liquid. That means that as the solid water (ice) melts, it doesn't take up any more space. In our experiment, the glass of water did not overflow, which means it was more like icebergs. It would be interesting to do a similar experiment with glaciers. Does anyone know of a lesson that you could do in conjunction with the melting icebergs to focus on glaciers?
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteJust making the prescribed blog rounds! Nice to be able to go around and make this techno-connection. Stop by and say hi.
Nice Blog, Joyce