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CLIMATE ­ GROUP 4 Paloma Gaspar­De­Alba, Andres Domit, Nathalie Danten and Shivalika Tandon Our group has decided to research and teach the following four topics related to our main topic CLIMATE. Each of us will individually concentrate on any one topic. ● Air pollution ● Climate change ● Carbon emissions ● Atmosphere The activity that we have collectively decided to conduct for our presentation is a game. This game that we have created has taken inspiration from the following games: Game of Life, a Trivia Maze and Snakes and Ladders. We will draw a life sized maze on the floor in the classroom and the rest of the class will be divided into small groups to participate. To start, a video will be shown on one of the topics and then the first set of questions will be based on it. After the video, a giant dice will be rolled and then depending on the number rolled will the team move forward and be asked a question. Only if the team answers the question correctly can they move forward, or they will have to stay on the spot they currently are placed on. The team to cross a section first will be awarded with another chance right after the next video is shown to the entire class. Similarly these next set of questions will be pertaining to the previous video. Like this there are 4 different sections and on completing the four sections is the finish spot (winning). All of us have been assigned equal roles for this project to be successful. Each person is assigned one topic, and for that topic they have to research it in depth, create a questionnaire and make a script for the video. All of us will be participating in each of the videos. Below are some of the questions that we will use for our game and a template what we plan to make our game board look like. Atmosphere Q: What is the Atmosphere? A: It is a layer of gases that surrounds the planet Earth and is retained by its gravity. It protects life on earth by the greenhouse effect, and by reducing the diurnal temperature variation. Q: What is the greenhouse effect? A: An effect that occurs when the Earth’s atmosphere entraps infrared radiations, and makes the planet warmer. Q: What is the diurnal temperature variation? A: It is a meteorological term explaining that there is a variation in temperature occurring from the highs and lows during the day. The atmosphere protects this from being extreme. Q: What are the different layers of the atmosphere, from innermost to outermost?? A: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Ozone Layer, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere. Q: What is the ozone layer? A: It is a layer of the atmosphere, which contains high concentrations of ozone. This layer absorbs 97­98% of the Sun’s ultraviolet B radiation, which is damaging to life forms on Earth. Q: What are the chemicals that harm the ozone layer, and where are they found? A: Chlorine and Bromine. They are found in CFCs Q: What are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)? A: Chemicals mainly found in sprays and aerosols, used by industrialized nations for the past 50 years. Q: How many atoms of chlorine are needed to destroy more that a hundred thousand of ozone molecules? A: 1 Q: When were CFC’s banned in northern countries? A: 1996 Air Pollution Q: Any substance that people introduce into the atmosphere that has damaging effects on living things and the environment is considered what? A. Air pollution Q: What gas is the main pollutant that is warming earth? A: carbon dioxide Q: Which of the following are NOT considered greenhouse gases? A. Methane B. Chlorofluorocarbons C. Propane Q: Which of the following gases is a component of smog? A. Carbon dioxide B. Methane C. Sulfur dioxide Q: What used to be the highest emitter of sulfur dioxide before humans? A. Volcanoes Q: What is the term that describes the amount of carbon dioxide a person is responsible for putting into the atmosphere? A. Carbon footprint Q: What is the name of the international treaty, which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) man­made CO2 emissions have caused it. A. Kyoto Protocol Q:Name a negative consequence of air pollution. Carbon Emissions Global warming is caused only by natural factors. True False Which country currently emits the most greenhouse gasses? A. India B. China C. United Kingdom D. United States of America Which of the following light bulb types uses the least energy, and therefore resulting in fewer greenhouse gas emissions? A. Compact fluorescent B. Halogen C. Incandescent How long does it take for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to disperse? 1 year 10 years 50 years 100 years During what time of the day does air travel have the least damaging effect on the environment? A. Daytime B. Night time C. Equally damaging Which of the following industries could be negatively affected by global warming? A. Insurance B. Commercial fishing C. Winemaking D. All of the above Which of the following gases do not trap heat? A. Carbon dioxide B. Nitrogen C. Water vapour D. Methane Where have some of the strongest and earliest impacts of global warming occurred? A. In the tropics B. In the northern latitudes C. Impacts of global Compared to other greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is the most effective at trapping heat near the surface of the earth. True False Some kinds of pollution in the atmosphere can act to cool the planet by reducing the amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth’s surface. True False If you took away the atmosphere's natural greenhouse effect, and everything else stayed the same, Earth’s temperature would be A. 10 to 20 degrees warmer B. 30 to 40 degrees warmer C. 10 to 20 degrees cooler D. 50 to 60 degrees cooler Fires release the carbon stored in plants, so measuring the extent and severity of forest fires around the globe is an important ingredient in understanding the carbon cycle. True False Plants use carbon dioxide and water to make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. When they are doing a lot of photosynthesis, plants reflect light strongly in which of the following wavelengths? A. Visible B. Ultraviolet C. Near­infrared D. All of the above What role do the oceans play in the carbon cycle? A. They are major source of carbon dioxide B. They are a major absorber (sink) of carbon dioxide C. Both a and b D. Neither a nor b Why do levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere fall during the summer in the Northern Hemisphere? A. More people live at high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere and they burn less fossil fuel and wood for heating in the summer. B. The Northern Hemisphere is covered by a significant amount of vegetation. During the summer this vegetation takes up more carbon dioxide, and during the winter, when it decays, it releases more carbon dioxide C. People in the Northern Hemisphere drive more in the summer, thus releasing more carbon dioxide into the air. People have been concerned about the rise in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, the result of human activity, since what period of time? A. 18th Century B. 19th Century C. 20th Century D. 21st Century Carbon dioxide is not the only carbon­containing compound in the atmosphere researchers are studying. What else are scientists looking at? A. Carbon monoxide B. Methane C. Black carbon (soot) D. All of the above Which one of these increases the level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere? A. Driving a car B. Travelling by plane C. Cutting down trees D. All of the above Plants on land have taken in approximately half of the carbon dioxide that humans have put into the atmosphere over the last several decades. True False In the 10,000 years before the Industrial Revolution in 1751, carbon dioxide levels rose less than 1 percent. Since then, they’ve risen by: A. 11% B. 37% C. 54% D. 62% Burning fossil fuels is the major source of human­produced carbon dioxide. But what is the second leading source? A. Deforestation B. Volcanic activity C. Cow flatulence We produce more than 30 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. Where does the majority of it end up? A. It is inhaled by trees for photosynthesis. B. It enters our oceans. C. It lingers in the atmosphere. Compared to other greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is the most effective at trapping heat near the surface of the Earth. True False Climate scientists predict that increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will result in: A. More acidic oceans B. Decreased soil moisture in many regions C. Stronger hurricanes D. All of the above Which of the following would have the biggest impact on reducing carbon emissions? A. Growing our own vegetables B. Stopping deforestation C. Taking all fossil fuel­burning vehicles off the road D. Shutting down all fossil fuel power plants If humans stopped emitting carbon dioxide tomorrow, what would happen to global temperatures? A. They would immediately begin to drop B. They would continue to rise. C. They would stop rising, flatten out and then drop. Climate Change How many human deaths per year does the World Health Organisation attribute to climate change A. 1,500 years B. 10,500 years C. 150,000 years D. 1,500,000 years A rise in global temperature is expected to increase instances of malaria? True False As average global temperature rises, A. Average precipitation increases B. Average precipitation decreases C. Average precipitation is unchanged No place on earth is colder today than it was 100 years ago. True False The six hottest years on record occurred during the last A. 100 years B. 50 years C. 10 years