Student Pages

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Teacher Pages

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Additional Resources

Option 1:

Quiz: Activity 5 — Are You a Bigfoot?

– After finishing the activity, have students complete this 6-question quiz to check their understanding. The quiz asks questions about what a carbon footprint is, how human activities can affect climate, and how a changing climate impacts people and the environment.

To grant students access, simply provide them with this abbreviated, case-sensitive link: http://bit.ly/AreYouABigfoot.  For troubleshooting tips, visit the Carbon & Climate Introduction or Technical Support page.

Option 2: Have students devise a plan to reduce the carbon footprint of their classroom. Divide the class into groups and, using the  Reducing Our Class’s Carbon Footprint student page, have each group identify possible classroom areas where the class can reduce its collective carbon footprint. The groups will present their plans to the entire class. After all the plans have been presented, help the class reach a consensus on the one they would like to follow. This may involve narrowing down the list by identifying which suggestions are duplicative, which could be combined, and which are most practical. Be sure to invite administrators and community people to listen to the presentations. Use a rubric, such as the Are You a Bigfoot? Evaluation Rubric teacher page, to assess the students’ presentations.

Option 1:  Find out what your city or community is doing to plan for or reduce potential changes in climate. Identify ways that students and other community members can participate locally.

Option 2:  Watch a film related to carbon emissions and climate (see the following list for possibilities). Have students research one of the claims presented in the film, and write a review that either supports or refutes that claim based on evidence.

Possible Films
• A Sea Change
• Carbon Nation
• Chasing Ice
• Climate Refugees
• Sun Come Up

Option 3: Lead students on a tour of your school’s recycling or compost areas to determine whether students could be doing something more to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

Option 4: Explore carbon offsets as a means to reduce overall carbon emissions. Explain how some organizations plant trees for individuals and businesses to offset the carbon emissions from various activities (examples include CarbonFund.org). Give students a scenario in which they are traveling on vacation with their family, and ask them to write a letter to their parents explaining the rationale behind planting trees to offset carbon emissions from their trip. Ask them to write why they would or would not suggest it for a vacation trip. Remind them that traveling by car, plane, or bus emits carbon.

Option 5: Discuss the differences between offsetting carbon emissions and limiting emissions in the first place. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each approach?

See Additional Resources for more ideas to enrich this activity.

Engage

1. Ask students in what ways the climate in your area is changing or expected to change. Have them think about what they have noticed themselves or heard from others about changes in precipitation, temperature, sea level, storms, or other factors. How might a changing climate affect forests? How might it affect students and their families?

2. Explain that students will read about the projections for different regions of the United States. Give students copies of the Regional Trends and Projections student page to read, focusing on the region for the forest type they examined in Activity 1. Direct them to use the information to complete Part 2 of their Forests and Climate student page from Activity 1.

3. Discuss:

• In what ways are forests throughout the United States expected to change?
• In what other ways do you think a changing climate would affect people and the environment? (See Background for some possibilities.)
• How do the actions we take in our daily lives affect climate change? What do you think people can do to reduce the impacts of a changing climate?

Explore

4. Ask students if they have ever heard the term carbon footprint. If they are not familiar with it, point out that it is a measure of how much carbon dioxide (CO₂) an organization, person, or product produces—directly or indirectly—in a certain amount of time (usually a year). Have students brainstorm ways that human activities produce CO₂, such as by heating or cooling homes, using electricity, driving cars, or using air transportation. Tell the students that they will be investigating their carbon footprints. They will be looking at the evidence of how much carbon they use and brainstorm ways to decrease it.

5. Share and review the Your Carbon Footprint student page with the class, directing them specifically to the homework portion. Ask students to take it home and try to complete it for their households, consulting with their family members for assistance. Alternatively, provide students with a sample energy bill and have them complete the student page in class. Explain that students will later use this information to estimate the amount of carbon they produce in one year.

6. Once they have completed the homework portion, have students use an online carbon footprint calculator to estimate the amount of carbon their individual activities (see carbon calculators under Additional Resources for this activity).
   

   Student traces foot
   Photo Credit: Ann Smart

7.  Instruct students to complete the Calculating Your Carbon Footprint portion of the student page. Then ask them to experiment with the calculator to see what factors have the greatest effect on the final result (for example, how many miles their family car is driven per week).

Explain

8. Give each student a blank sheet of paper and instruct them to trace their own footprint. Have them divide the footprint in half by drawing a line lengthwise through it. Next tell students to write their carbon footprint number on one half. (They will add something to the other half later.)

9. As a class, discuss the following questions:

• What factors most affected our carbon footprints?
• What actions can individuals take to reduce their carbon footprints?
• What actions could your family take to reduce its carbon footprint?
• What actions could our school take to reduce its carbon footprint?

Elaborate

10. Give students copies of the Saving a Ton of CO₂ student page, and discuss actions they might take to reduce their carbon footprint.

11. Have students take their footprint cutout from above and write on the second half some things they will do to reduce their carbon footprints.

12. Encourage them to take it home and display it someplace like the refrigerator to
    

    “Carbon “footprints” help students understand the impact of their activities.
    Photo credit: Lindsey Steblen

    remind them of things they can do to decrease their carbon footprint. Discuss:

• If everyone in the United States were to reduce their carbon footprint by 20%, what effect do you think this would have on our global climate?
• Why do you think it is difficult to get people to reduce their carbon footprint?
• Which countries currently emit the most carbon? What will happen if or when other countries catch up to that level of emissions?
• What do you think the United States should do to lead by example?

The changing global climate is already affecting—and will continue to affect—people and the environment in many ways. Following is a summary of some of the projected effects.

Agriculture

The crops that we grow for food need specific conditions to thrive, including the right temperature and enough water. A changing climate could have both positive and negative effects on crops. For example, the northern parts of the United States have generally cool temperatures, so warmer weather could help certain crops grow. In southern areas where temperatures are already hot, even more heat could hurt crop growth.

Energy

Global temperature changes will affect how much energy we need and when we need it. As temperatures rise, more people will need to keep cool by using air conditioning, which uses a lot of electricity. However, some people might need less energy to heat buildings in the winter because it may not get as cold as it used to be. Climate change could also make it harder to produce certain types of electricity, such as hydropower, because a drier climate will result in lower water levels in rivers and reduce the rivers’ ability to generate electricity.

Health

Heat waves, severe storms, air pollution, and diseases linked to climate already threaten people’s health in many areas of the world. A changing climate will increase these threats. Some people will be particularly at risk, including those who are poor, very young or elderly, or disabled, or those who live in coastal areas or big cities.

The changing climate might also allow some infectious diseases to spread. As winter temperatures increase, ticks and mosquitoes that carry diseases will be able to survive longer throughout the year and expand their ranges, putting more people at risk. One big concern is malaria, a deadly disease spread by mosquitoes in many hot, humid parts of the world.

Water Supplies

Climate change is affecting where, when, and how much water is available for people to use. Many parts of the world already have very little water, and this problem may worsen. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing droughts will affect the amount of water in lakes, rivers, and streams, as well as the amount of water that seeps into the ground to replenish groundwater.

Plants, Animals, and Ecosystems

Most plants and animals live in areas with very specific climate conditions, such as temperature and rainfall patterns, that enable them to thrive. Any change in the climate of an area can affect the plants and animals living there, as well as the makeup of the entire ecosystem. Some species are already responding to a warmer climate by moving to cooler locations. For example, some North American animals and plants are moving farther north or to higher elevations to find suitable places to live. Climate change also alters the life cycles of plants and animals. For example, as temperatures get warmer, many plants are starting to grow and bloom earlier in the spring and survive longer into the fall. Some animals are also waking from hibernation sooner or migrating at different times.

Forests

Forests provide homes for many kinds of plants and animals. They also protect water quality, offer opportunities for recreation, and provide people with wood. Forests are sensitive to many effects of climate change, including shifting weather patterns, drought, wildfires, and the spread of pests like the mountain pine beetle. Unlike some animals, trees can’t move when the temperature gets too hot or other conditions change. (For information about projected changes in specific forest regions, see the Regional Trends and Projections student page.)

What People Are Doing

Scientists, industry, citizens, and government officials do not always agree on what should be done regarding levels of greenhouse gases and global climate change. For example, some believe we should do everything we can to curtail CO₂ emissions, while others believe that approach could have serious economic consequences.

However, many countries, organizations, and individuals around the world have already taken steps to reduce their emissions of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases in ways that support their economies. Methods to reduce CO₂ emissions include increasing the efficiency of various appliances and using different sources of energy that add few or no emissions to the atmosphere (including solar, hydropower, wind, and geothermal energy). Since each energy source has its own drawbacks and limitations, some industries propose to use a “mix” of energy types, including some fossil fuels and some renewable energy sources.

Meanwhile, we can examine our individual energy use and make efforts to reduce our own contributions to greenhouse gas emissions by being conscious of our energy use at home, at school, and on the road. A carbon footprint is a measurement of how much CO₂ one organization, person, or product produces—directly or indirectly—over a defined period of time (usually one year). The measure is an indication of the effect on CO₂ levels of that organization, person, or product.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the projected positive and negative effects of climate change on agriculture? On energy? On human health? On water supplies?

2. How are forest trees different from other plants and animals in their ability to respond to climate changes?

3. What things can people do to reduce CO₂ emissions?

After examining projections for different forest regions in the United States, students use a carbon footprint calculator to analyze their personal contribution to carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere and design a solution for reducing their carbon footprint.

Learner Objectives

• Students will identify specific ways that the changing climate is affecting forest ecosystems.
• Students will discuss the concept of carbon footprint as a measure of one’s contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• Students will calculate their own carbon footprint.
• Students will design a solution to reduce their individual carbon emissions and thereby their carbon footprint.

Materials

• Copies of Forests and Climate student page, one per student (with Part 1 already completed by students in Activity 1: What Is Climate?)
• Copies of Regional Trends and Projections student page, one per student (or online access to it)
• Copies of Your Carbon Footprint student page, one per student
• Copies of Saving a Ton of CO₂ student page, one per group
• Access to the Internet

Time Considerations

• Getting Ready: 45 minutes
• Doing the Activity:  two or more 50-minute periods
• Evaluate: Varies, depending on option selected

Getting Ready

• If students haven’t already done so, have them complete Part 1 of the Forests and Climate student page (see Activity 1: What Is Climate?). They will complete Part 2 as part of this activity.
• Make copies of the other student pages.
• Decide whether students will choose their own carbon footprint calculator or whether you will assign the same calculator for the whole class to use (see suggested carbon footprint calculators in the Additional Resources).
• For the carbon footprint calculator, students will need access to the Internet. Depending on your situation, arrange time in the computer lab or library, or plan to have students explore the carbon footprint calculator at home.
• (Optional) As an alternative to students using their family’s utility bill information for the carbon footprint calculator, you may provide a sample utility bill for them to estimate usage. Many utility companies have sample bills online to illustrate how to read a bill (such as this sample bill from Pepco in Maryland). Check your local company’s website for a sample bill, or search online for one in your state or region.
• See Additional Resources to find other supports for teaching this activity.

PLT Conceptual Framework

• 3.9. In many societies, citizens have a voice in shaping resource and environmental management policies. Individuals and societies share in the responsibility of sustaining resources and behaving in an environmentally responsible manner.
• 4.2. The structure and scale of ecosystems are influenced by environmental factors such as soil type, climate, availability of water, and human activities.
• 5.10. Increased public knowledge of environmental issues and the need for sustainable resource management has resulted in lifestyle and community changes in many cultures.

Standards

See Standards Connections in the Appendices for a list of standards addressed in this activity.