Climate Change

We hear the words "climate change" and "global warming" all the time, but what do these terms actually mean?  Are these terms synonymous? No!  Global warming is NOT synonymous with climate change.  We started today off by discussing what you know about each of these topics and one of you admitted, "well they aren't what I thought they were...."

The Earth's climate is changing and "Global surface temperatures have increased about 0.74°C (plus or minus 0.18°C) since the late–19^thcentury (NOAA, 2012).  One of the causes of this an increase in greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide and methane.  To help us visualize greenhouse gasses, we watched the clip "None Like It Hot."  Part of being a good scientists is being able to distinguish facts from opinion, and from that clip you gleaned that greenhouse gasses trap "Mr. Sunbeam" that would otherwise radiate back into space.  You can see what actually happens to photons here. 

How much CO2 is in the atmosphere and how much able to be removed through photosynthesis?  Check out the climate change bathtub simulation below.

Click to get to the simulation

Why does this matter?  How will this affect what lives where and why?  Some turtles sex is determined by the temperature of its surroundings while it is in development.  For birds, an increase in temperature can change their migratory patterns. 

You examined a version of this data today.  What are these two graphs telling us about predator-prey relationships and the effect of climate change?

Homework: Complete all of the remaining questions in the Ecology questions packet.