Week 12: Climate Change

What did you do in lab this week?


Climate Change:

What are the primary points in the video? 

  • Climate change is real and caused mainly by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

  • It is already affecting our planet through rising temperatures, melting ice, and extreme weather.

  • Politics plays a large role in climate change and the legislation surrounding it 

  • Solutions exist, such as renewable energy, protecting forests, reducing meat consumption, and creating carbon taxes.

What are the major issues? 

  • Rapid melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

  • Rising sea levels are causing flooding and threatening entire countries.

  • Massive deforestation, especially in Indonesia, releases large amounts of carbon.

  • Pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the meat and palm oil industries.

  • Political and economic systems that make it hard to take meaningful action.

  • Poorer countries suffer the most from climate change impacts.

What questions do you want us to teach you? 

  • What progress has been made since Before the Flood was released?

  • How long can we survive with climate change? What steps can I take to make changes to help better the Earth? 

  • Which countries are leading in renewable energy use?

  • What specific actions can individuals take to reduce their carbon footprint?

  • How can education and awareness encourage people to take action?

  • What new technologies are helping fight climate change?

You’re a teacher: how would you like us to teach you?

  • Visual and hands-on learning to show real examples of climate change.

  • Group discussions on the effects of climate change and changes we can make. 

  • Use real-world connections to show how our daily choices affect the environment.

 What was the big question? How is climate change affecting our Earth? 

What did you learn in Thursday's Discussion? 

Climate vs. Weather 

  • Weather = day-to-day conditions (rain, sun, snow, temperature).

  • Climate = long-term average of weather (usually measured over 30 years).

Why Do Regions Have Different Climates? (L.O.W.E.R. Near Water)

  • Latitude: Closer to the equator = hotter; closer to the poles = colder.

  • Ocean Currents: Warm/cold currents change air temperature.

  • Wind & Air Masses: Large bodies of air carry the climate of where they formed.

  • Elevation: Higher altitude = colder (air expands and cools).

  • Relief: Mountains force air up → cooling → precipitation.

  • Near Water:

  • Summer: water keeps the air cooler.

  • Winter: water keeps the air warmer.

  • Continental climate = far from water; Maritime climate = near water.

How do we know the Iowa Goldfinch is in danger?

  • More heavy rain events (50% increase in 4+ inch days) → flooding destroys food/nesting areas.

  • Rising temperatures → trees and plants may die, and food sources may change.

  • Changing climate → migration patterns disrupted.

  • Habitat may no longer meet species’ needs → risk of extinction or relocation.

 Phenology

  • Phenology = study of natural event timings (like bird migration, flowering).

  • Shifts in timing show climate change impacts on ecosystems.

Iowa Climate Change

  • National trend: More extreme single-day rain events (9 of the top 10 years since 1990).

  • Local trend: Iowa has more days with >1.25 inches of rain.

  • Impacts:

  • Crop delays and reduced quality.

  • Flooding damages land, water, and habitats.

  • Infrastructure at risk.

Online Chapter: 

1. What did you learn? Weather and climate are not the same thing. The weather is short-term, the climate is long-term. Latitude, ocean currents, wind and air mass, elevation, topography, and whether it is near water are all factors that determine whether a place has a hot or cold climate. Within Iowa, the main topics of climate change are precipitation and drought, warmer temperatures, the impact on agriculture (the biggest source of income in Iowa), and habitat changes. From this chapter, I learned more about how climate change is directly impacting me and the state I live in. 

2. What was most helpful? What was most helpful for me was the acronym for how climate is determined, because I honestly did not know what really played into the climate of an area, and also the information on how climate change is affecting Iowa, because I feel like we hear a lot about climate change, but not how it is directly affecting the state we live in. 

3. What questions do you have? Will the economy in Iowa take a bad fall if climate change continues to get worse?

4. What comments/concerns do you have? What are things I can do as a college student to help fight against climate change? 

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