The Science of Global Warming

Appendices

Research Questions

Climate:

1. What was the Earth like 4,500 million years ago through present time, according to the geological time scale? What are the similarities and differences between our climate today and one or two other eras?
2. How does the Gulf Stream affect temperature? How does the temperature affect the Stream? What happens if the Gulf Stream stops flowing?
3. What might it be like to live in an Ice Age? How can global warming create an Ice Age?
4. How does climate change affect humans, particularly in the Arctic?
5. How does climate change cause animal migration and extinction?
6. How does climate change affect plant life?
7. What causes sea levels to rise? What happens if they rise?

Atmosphere:

1. How does the atmosphere work? How does each level function?
2. What are greenhouse gases and how do they work? How do scientists measure greenhouse gases in our atmosphere?
3. Why isn't Earth like Venus, in spite of the similar origins?
4. How does a high albedo keep the planet from warming? What will happen to Earth if its albedo decreases?

Fossil Fuels:

1. What are fossil fuels? How do we use them? Why do fossil fuels contribute to global warming?
2. How does nature absorb CO ₂? What are the benefits and consequences of CO ₂ absorption?

Consequences:

1. What are the consequence of melting ice and thawing permafrost for animals and humans?
2. How does global warming increase storm activity and redistribution of rain? What are the possible consequences?
3. What if citizens wanted to sue the petroleum companies for flooding damage caused by global warming? Use the law to determine whether lawyers would have a case against the petroleum companies.

Controversy:

1. What is the Kyoto protocol, and why did our country choose not to ratify it? Which cities are ratifying the protocol in spite of the nation's decision, and why?
2. Why do some people think that global warming is a myth? How are their arguments flawed?
3. What are the uncertainties in scientific data, and how can someone who is not a scientist understand them?
4. What are climate models? What is their purpose? How can the non-science person understand them?

Mitigation:

1. How do renewable energy resources such as hydroelectric power, solar power and windmills work? What are the benefits and drawbacks?
2. What is the difference between gasoline, methane, diesel, bio-diesel and electric power? What are the benefits and consequences?
3. What can we do in our daily lives to avoid emitting greenhouse gases? How can the average person measure the amount of CO ₂ that he or she is contributing to the environment?

Centigrade and Fahrenheit Conversion

To convert centigrade to Fahrenheit:

1. Multiply the centigrade figure by 9.
2. Divide by 5.
3. Add 32 to get the Fahrenheit figure.

To convert Fahrenheit to centigrade:

1. Subtract 32.
2. Divide by 9.
3. Multiply by 5.

Glossary of Terms

Global Warming

Albedo: the reflection of radiation due to a white body such as ice, snow, or cloud cover

Anthropogenic: caused by humans

Argon: a gas that is formed with fluorine and hydrogen; argon is used in incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs

Black body: a body that absorbs radiation and reflects none

Carbon dioxide: a greenhouse gas that allows most of the sun's energy to reach the Earth while trapping heat and warming Earth; carbon dioxide is used in soda; when it is frozen, it becomes dry ice, and it is used to preserve food; it is a heavy gas, and can harm humans through asphyxiation

Chlorofluorocarbons: synthetic gases used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and cleaning solutions; these gases deplete the ozone layer

Fossil fuels: fuel such as coal, oil or natural gas; formed from the remains of animals and plants

Helium: a nonflammable colorless and odorless gas used in the place of hydrogen to keep blimps and balloons in the air; divers underwater breathe an "air" that is a mixture of oxygen and helium; it is also used in weather balloons to study the upper layers of the atmosphere

Hydrogen: a flammable gas that is lighter than air; once used to keep blimps and balloons in the air, but flammability caused problems; common compound of hydrogen is water; when hydrogen is added to a liquid vegetable oil, it makes margarine

Infrared radiation: heat; radiation of longer wavelength than the visible spectrum

Methane: a greenhouse gas created in part by livestock flatulence, rice paddies and coal mines

Neon: a gas that glows when it is energized by an electrical discharge; the neon atoms give off radiation in the form of an orange-red light, and can often be seen in storefront signs

Nitrogen: we breathe in large quantities of nitrogen when we inhale air; liquid nitrogen is used to freeze food; nitrogen is also used to store wine and fruit

Nitrous oxide: known as laughing gas, and is also used as a propellant in whipped-cream dispensers

Ozone: shields the surface of the Earth from the sun's radiation; it can also be destructive to rubber and fabrics, and it can be harmful to lung tissue

Radiation: energy in the form of waves or particles, particularly energy from the sun

Water vapor: a primary greenhouse gas

Literary

Anaphora: the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of each line

Caesura: a pause in the middle of a line of poetry

Characterization: the method used to reveal a character; a developed character has a direct presentation (the narrator or another character tells the reader information about the character) or an indirect presentation (information about the character is shown; stock characters include caricature, dynamic character (the character changes), static character (the character stays the same), protagonist, and antagonist

Colloquialism: informal expression that is not accepted as standard speech

Dialect: imitation of regional speech

Dialogue: a conversation between two or more characters

End-stopped line: the sentence in a poem reaches a conclusion at the end of the line

Enjambment: the sentence in a poem continues to the next line

Flashback: an interruption in the present to show a past event

Foreshadowing: a hint or clue about the future

Imagery: not only what we can imagine seeing in literature, but what we can imagine hearing, touching, smelling and tasting

Metaphor: a way of describing something by comparing it, sometimes very subtly, to something else

Mood: the atmosphere of a poem or story

Onomatopoeia: a word that imitates the sound it represents

Personification: the act of giving human qualities to an animal or object

Plot: the struggle or spine of fiction, including elements such as exposition, inciting incident, rising action (conflict, complications, dramatic climax, crisis), technical climax, falling action, and denouement

Point of view: the story is told by an omniscient narrator (third person speaker knows the thoughts of all characters), limited omniscient narrator (third person speaker knows the thoughts of one specific character), first person (using "I" to know the thoughts of one character), and objective (third person does not know the thoughts of any character)

Rhetorical appeals: the act of persuasion through ethos (character of speaker), pathos (quality that stimulates pity or sorrow in the reader), logos (the speaker's use of logic), or nomos (the identification with the audience)

Tone: the poet's attitude toward the subject of the poem or story