The Great Climate Debate
Explores the origins of global climate change

CO₂ & Mass
Investigate the mass of CO₂

Eating Up Energy
Demonstrates disparity in emission production globally

Stakeholder Grid
Introduces stakeholders & their thoughts on causes & remediation techniques or actions

Day 3 - Quick View
On the third day, students continue their debating activity from the previous day, with a strong understanding of different viewpoints on climate change.  Students then look at terrestrial uptake of carbon and begin to examine the carbon cycle. Students then conduct a series of activities that demonstrate the relationship between consumption, population, and emissions. Students discover different standards of living around the world, and explore how energy demands are expected to grow as consumption increases.

The Great Debate - Students will use a debate format to understand the reasons for the controversy over climate change and reach their own conclusions about whether it is caused by human action or natural causes.  Students learn to develop persuasive arguments, practice public speaking skills, and read and analyze technical information.  They also develop a rationale for their beliefs about the cause of climate change.

CO₂ and Mass - Students will determine if Carbon Dioxide has mass.  Many students have the belief that gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) do not have mass.  In this activity, students will use baking soda and vinegar to produce CO2 and trap it in a bag. After puncturing the bag, students will notice that mass has been lost.

Eating Up Energy - In this activity, students compare and contrast the amount of energy consumption, and related CO2 emissions, among ten different countries to understand the global interrelationships of CO₂ emissions.  Using a simulation, students identify the amount of energy consumed by each country, the emissions from each country.  Countries with more emissions than available air space must negotiate with other lesser emitting countries to use the available air space of those countries.

Stakeholder Grid - A Stakeholder Grid is a worksheet and tool used to better define and understand the variety of people and opinions are involved when trying to understand complex issues. Students meet with key stakeholders (i.e., a utility plant manager, the mayor, an environmentalist, a car dealer, etc.) who express their opinions about what is causing high CO₂ emissions in town.  The worksheet is progressively completed and discussed as each of the stakeholders expresses their beliefs about the issue. Through a Stakeholder Grid, students analyze the position, interest, belief and value of each stakeholder. Interviews with stakeholders are guided by the teacher and incorporate possible causes for climate change and introduce remediation possibilities.

Community Game - As an extension activity, students can play a board game to learn more about the various elements in the Decision Grid. The board game establishes a competition between two communities to find out which is community is run with the most success. Students work in groups of three or four, resulting in six or eight at each game board, making management decisions about the town's: economic stability, environmental quality and social equity. Success is defined as a balanced management of these three factors.

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