Week 12- Climate Change

 

  1. What did you do in lab today? This week in lab we discussed our findings from the Before the Flood video. My group talked about how climate change is not just a problem for our future, but it is a problem that is currently happening. Another primary point was the negative impact that fossil fuels have on our earth. A major issue with the amount of fossil fuels we are using is that it is impacting our ice and sea levels- the ice is melting at such a rapid pace that by 2040, the ice in the North Pole will be melted. Something that stuck out to me in this video that I would make a point to teach my students is the amount of damage Americans are responsible for in regard to climate change. Something that stuck out to me in the video was that the average American electricity use is equivalent to 34 citizens of India. ​
  2. What was the big question? "What is the difference between weather and climate?" and "If you could know the truth about the threat of climate change-- would you want to know?"
  3. What did you learn in Thursday’s discussion? In Thursday's discussion, we talked about the difference between weather and climate. Climate is a 30 year average of weather. Weather is what we experience day to day. An example that Ted used was "Climate helps you determine what kind of clothes to buy and weather helps you decide what clothes to wear". We also spent time talking about the 6 variables that determine climate- Latitude, Ocean currents, Wind, Elevation, Relief, and Near water. ​
  4. Read the online textbook chapter:                                                                                  What did you learn?​ Something that I learned from reading the textbook was the flood that happened in Iowa City in 2008. I didn't know there was a flood that caused extreme damage to our campus, so much that we are still rebuilding today. Likewise, I learned that this flood was due to high precipitation and already saturated ground, meaning that the ground couldn't absorb anymore water so the Iowa River overflowed.                                What was most helpful?​  I found all of the graphs to be the most helpful in this chapter. I find that graphs and charts help me visualize better, and with these, it was easy to see how much our precipitation has been increasing. The graphs explaining the heat in Iowa was also very helpful, because it allowed me to see future predictions on how our heat levels will continue to rise and impact us.                                                                                           What do you need more information on?​ Air masses are still a little confusing to me and I think having more information would be beneficial for me. 
  5. What questions, concerns, and/or comments do you have? A comment I have after reading the chapter and participating in lecture and lab, is that it astonishes me that people still believe that climate change is not real. There are loads of evidence and research that back up every claim that scientists make, which is why it is so hard for me to understand why people are calling climate change fake.

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