
Lesson Introductory Video Text Version (click to reveal)
[Dr. Mathews is wrapped in a thick coat and sweater while wearing a wool snow hat.] Dr. Mathews: It is a beautiful day in Happy Valley. It's early February, the sky is blue (Tyndall Effect), the sun is shining brightly, and I haven't had to shovel snow yet. [Dr. Mathews takes off his hat, jacket, and sweater as he continues talking.] In fact it is so warm I haven't to need my hat, I don't need my jacket, and it is even warm enough that I don't need my wonderful hand knitted sweater; made with loving care by Ellen Jane Mathews my Grandmother. It's sixty degrees out. Students are walking around in their shorts, it's beautiful weather. It's a great day to be alive. Why is it this warm? Is it something to do with the carbon dioxide that we have been emitting since the industrial revolution into the atmosphere? Is it the greenhouse effect gone wild? Is it global warming, is it climate change? What are all of these things and what are we doing to combat these things? You are going to find out later in this lecture. [Video ends]
Overview
There is a connection between energy use and the environment. The climate we experience locally is not merely the results of our local behaviors and weather patterns, but is also linked to the regional and global patterns. As this realization grows, so too does the need for governments to address the serious climate issues of our time.
The purpose of this and the next lesson, is to provide you with an opportunity to increase your awareness of the energy and climate-related issues and challenges facing the world today.
Lesson Objectives
You'll be successful in lessons 11 and 12 once you have demonstrated that you can do all of the following:
- Define greenhouse gases, the greenhouse effect, and climate change.
- Provide clear evidence of climate change.
- Discuss technologies for gas separation and sequestration of CO2.
- Articulate US & foreign positions on climate change.
- Articulate and rank options to mitigate climate change.
Wake Up Your Brain
Question: So are you concerned with the impacts of climate change?
Click for some additional information.
The IPCC (2014) has issued the strongest language to date on climate change: Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased. The question now becomes how we deal with this issue: technology, conservation, adaptation, making energy more expensive?