Monday, April 15, 2013

Showing "An Inconvenient Truth" to my students again


In I'm hosting an Earth Week event today, I promoted my hosting a showing of "An Inconvenient Truth" for Earth Week at my college.  It turns out that I would have been showing the movie to my students this week anyway, so it was a convenient coincidence.  I'll be showing the movie again Wednesday.  In the tradition of On Thanksgiving eve, I present "Food, Inc." and Showing my students "End of Suburbia" again tonight, I'm posting the worksheets my students in both Environmental Science and Geology use for the Al Gore movie.  Follow over the jump to see them.


AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

In this last lab session, you will watch the Academy Award winning documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which was made in 2006.  In it, former Vice President Al Gore presents his slide show about the evidence for global warming, the effects of climate change, the politics involved in climate change, and the possible solutions.  As you watch the movie, answer the following questions.  Your answers will be graded next week after the lab exam.

1.             What evidence first convinced Al Gore about the connection between carbon dioxide and global warming?


2.            How effective do you think the Futurama clip is in explaining global warming?


3.            Outline the relationship between carbon dioxide levels and global temperature from the Antarctic ice core data.



4.            Explain how the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons fit with predictions based on global warming.


5.            What is the predicted effect of global warming on floods and droughts?


6.            What is the likely effect of the melting of the Greenland ice cap on ocean circulation and global climate?


7.            What will happen to global sea levels if either the Greenland ice cap or the West Antarctic ice cap melts?


8.            List any other effects of global warming missed in the above questions.


9.            What can be done about global warming?


10.         What did you like best about the movie?  Least?


AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

11.         Evaluate the scientific evidence and reasoning in the movie based on what you have learned in this class, including material described in Chapter 21 of the textbook.  In your analysis, mention at least five of the following:

Use of Plate Tectonics as an example of changes in scientific thinking.

Use of the climate record as it reflects the history of glaciation and climate change during the Pleistocene and Holocene.

Correlation between carbon dioxide and temperature.

Effects of higher temperature on water supply and sea level.

How the use of energy and mineral resources affects climate change.

Other uses of geological knowledge that were used.

Any information that you may have learned about in another class.

What you liked best and least about the movie.

Write a one-page essay about the movie.  Essay may be neatly hand-written or word-processed.  Assignment is due no later than the last meeting before the final and is worth 10 points (extra credit).

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