Sunday, March 21, 2010

global warming activity

This week my graduate class did an iceberg melting experiment which gave evidence to the concerns of global warming. Below is the conclusion that I made about the polar caps melting and other questions that I have about global warming.

Since the polar ice caps reflect sunlight, their melting will effect the amount of sunlight that is reflected. If there is less sunlight reflected then that means more is absorbed which will increase the amount of energy that is allowed into the atmosphere. The more energy in the atmosphere, the warmer the atmosphere will be. The increased warmth will melt more ice which will continue as an endless cycle until all of the ice is melted.

How can I make global warming a real concern to teenagers living in Missouri? My students either seem to feel that it won't affect them because of where they live or they think it is a problem not for them but for the future generations.

Are other countries taking global warming more seriously than the United States? What efforts are they making and can we tell if their efforts have paid off?

1 comment:

  1. Aloha fellow group three student, I found it interesting how your students were not as concerned with the melting of the ice caps as mine were. My First graders do hear of the effects of global warming quite often. We live on the island of Kauai and we have witnessed much beach erosion and the sea level is rising greatly. Our beaches just keep getting smaller and smaller. I do believe the global flooding will effect the food supply, so everyone will be effected. (However, I am no expert, I am just reflecting on T.V. shows and articles that I read.) I think the best efforts recently to decrease global warming have been the increase in Hybrid cars and the awareness promotions to go green! I loved the special Al Gore hosted and think we should be having more of them.

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