Picture

PART One: the science of climate change

On this page you will explore the idea of climate change and global warming. The goal is to build a better understanding of the causes of climate change and the role humans have in climate change.

Go to the NASA website on climate change and click on the “Facts” link in the upper right and then click on the “Causes” tab. Answer each question using complete sentences. Your answer should be at least three sentences.
  1.  What do most scientists agree is the main cause of the current global warming trend? 
  2. What are the 5 main gases that contribute to increasing the greenhouse effect?
  3. What human activity has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2)? 
  4. 1300 independent scientific experts have concluded there is a 90% probability that human caused gases account for most of the increase in Earth’s temperature over the past 50 years. What are the 3 gases produced by humans are responsible for this increase?
  5. According to NASA, what are the three reasons that scientists discount increases in solar energy output as the main cause of the current global warming trend?
​Click the “Evidence” tab at the top of the page to answer the next set of questions
  1. Look at the chart comparing CO2 levels over the past 650 thousand years. Why do you think there is such a large increase in CO2 levels over the past 7,000 years? Besides the beginning of the modern climate era, what else began 7,000 years ago?
  2. How much have sea levels risen in the past 100 years due to the current global warming trend?
  3. Even though solar output declined during the last decade, what has increased?
  4. Where has most of this increased heat been absorbed?
  5. What are the four (4) places that have all seen a decrease in the amount of ice over the past decades?
Click the “NASA Science” tab on the upper right and then on the “Earth System Science” tab to answer the next set of questions. 
  1. What are climate forcings?
  2. What are climate feedbacks? 
  3. What is the ice-albedo feedback?
  4. How much of human produced carbon dioxide is removed from the environment every year? 
  5. According to the Ocean Circulation feedback, which part of the world could experience an ice age if the oceans circulation in the Atlantic Ocean changes?