Download Teachers notes to accompany the WWW Assembly

Notes to accompany the WWW assembly on Climate Change,
the Arctic and Explorers
The notes below add more detailed information about the topics
covered in the assembly, signpost where more information can be
found, and suggest some further activities that could be done in the
classroom or at home.
Livestock sector’s contribution to climate change
Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation.
http://www.fao.org/agriculture/lead/themes0/climate/en/
The passing wind of livestock accounts for around
35% of the world’s ENTIRE man-made methane
emissions.
Livestock contribute both directly and
indirectly to climate change through the
emissions of greenhouse gases such as
carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
Globally, the sector contributes 18 percent (7.1 billion tonnes CO2 equivalent) of global greenhouse
gas emissions. Although it accounts for only nine percent of global CO2, it generates 65 percent of
human-related nitrous oxide (N2O) and 35 percent of methane (CH4), which have 296 times and 23
times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2 respectively.
Methane emissions mostly occur as part of the natural digestive process of animals (enteric
fermentation) and manure management in livestock operations. Methane emissions from livestock
are estimated at about 2.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, accounting for about 80% of
agricultural CH4 and 35% of the total anthropogenic methane emissions.
Nitrous oxide emissions are associated with manure management and the application and
deposition of manure. Indirect N2O emissions from livestock production include emissions from
fertilizer use for feed production, emissions from leguminous feedcrops and emissions from aquatic
sources following fertilizer application. The livestock sector contributes about 75 percent of the
agricultural N2O emissions (2.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent).
Carbon dioxide emissions from the livestock sector are related to fossil fuel burning during
production of fertilizer for feed production, the livestock production process, processing and
transportation of refrigerated products. Furthermore, livestock are a major driver of the global
trends in land-use and land-use change including deforestation (conversion of forest to pasture and
cropland), desertification, as well as the release of carbon from cultivated soils. The overall
contribution of CO2 emissions from the livestock sector are estimated at 2.7 billion tonnes of CO2.
BIG FACT: Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. To reduce levels
of greenhouse gases, it would be better to get rid of cows than get rid of cars… But
who wants to get rid of cows!!
Narwhals
Narwhal’s can live up to 50 years. The current population of Narwhals is about 75,000 and they are
classified at ‘Near Threatened’ under the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are
often killed by suffocation when sea ice freezes over, and another main cause is starvation,
especially in young whales.
Visit the WWW website for more details on
Animals of the Arctic
Explorers
ACTIVITY
Why do explorers risk their lives? Why do David and Ben think this journey is
important? Put yourselves in the shoes of someone else (an intrepid
explorer)
Suggested activities:
- What do explorers have in common? What makes an explorer? Brainstorm… e.g.
perseverance; conquering fear/courageous/brave, adventurous, curious, working as a team
(could do a team building exercise); what should a polar explorer take with them? Cold
poles (why are they cold), Arctic as habitat, What clothing do you think would be good for a
polar explorer? Share ideas
- Something with maps – e.g. can you plot the 4 legs of the POC route on a map? Sequencing
events
- If you were an explorer for a day where would you go, what would you pack, who or what
do you think you may meet along the way? And what do you think you would miss from
your life at home? – Links into Summer competition (see website for details, closing date 30
September 2016)
One of the really exciting opportunities of working with WWW is being able to link up directly with
the POC crew members. Can you think about any questions that you would like to ask the team?
These can be submitted individually online or please feel free for teachers to send them into
[email protected]
Polar Ocean Challenge – A record-breaking voyage
Over recent years Arctic sea ice has been retreating. In 2008, for the
first time in human history, the Northeast and Northwest passages
opened up at the same time, making it possible for boats to pass
through.
In 2010 a Norwegian team (Led by Børge Ousland) became the first people to ever sail around the
Arctic, without being stopped by ice. Closely followed by a Russian team.
http://www.ousland.no/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Northern-Passage-2010.pdf
http://www.ousland.no/category/northern-passage-2010/
The Polar Ocean Challenge journey, circumnavigating the North Pole anticlockwise in one summer
season has never been completed by a British yacht before, nor has the journey been made before
in the anticlockwise direction. Børge Ousland and his team were David’s inspiration:
“During the winter of 1995/1996 I met the Norwegian explorer Børge Ousland in Punta Arenas. I
was attempting to become the first Briton to reach the South Pole, solo and unsupported; he was
also striving towards a unique record. Our friendship started from then. Amongst other things, Børge
wanted one day to circumnavigate the North Pole in a small trimaran. He invited me to join him. I
was already undertaking other adventures and therefore declined. Years later whilst visiting
Murmansk with my daughter Alicia, I happened to meet him on his yacht. He was excited, although
naturally apprehensive prior to starting his voyage. It was a big mistake on my part, as I should have
joined him. He was successful and it was a brilliantly executed expedition.”
Route details
Leg 1: Bristol (19 June) – Murmansk, Russia (12 July)
Leg 2: Murmansk, Russia (13 July) – Point Barrow, Alaska (20 August). Northeast Passage
Leg 3: Point Barrow, Alaska (22 August) – Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Canada (12 September).
Northwest Passage
Leg 4: Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, Canada (16 September) – Bristol (approx. 17 October)
Polar Ocean Challenge visit: polarocean.co.uk
Pictures, videos and blogs from the expedition: wickedweatherwatch.org.uk
What is Climate Change?
Source: www.metoffice.gov.uk. The UK Met Office provides a great explanation of climate change
with further reading and resources on it’s website on climate change and related topics.
One of the first things to understand is the difference between climate and weather.
What is the difference between climate and weather?
• Weather is the daily condition of the atmosphere (the Earth’s natural layer of gas and air), it
is local and over a short time. For example, the
weather in Bath is sunny today.
See the jargon buster our
• Climate refers to the weather pattern of a large
website for more definitions
area over a long time. For example, the climate in
the UK is much warmer this year.
Climate change is a large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns or average
temperatures. Earth has had tropical climates and ice ages many times in its 4.5 billion years. So
what's happening now?
Since the last ice age, which ended about 11,000 years ago, Earth's climate has been relatively
stable at about 14 °C. However, in recent years, the average temperature has been increasing.
The information below details the seven main sources of evidence for climate change. You can find
out more about the difference between weather and climate, what drives our climate and how our
climate is changing in our climate infographic or scroll to the foot of this page for our video - What
is climate change?
1. Higher temperatures
Scientific research shows that the climate - that is, the average temperature of the planet's surface
- has risen by 0.89 °C from 1901 to 2012. Compared with climate change patterns throughout
Earth's history, the rate of temperature rise since the Industrial Revolution is extremely high.
2. Changing rainfall
There have been observed changes in precipitation, but not all areas have data over long periods.
Rainfall has increased in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere since the beginning of the
20th century. There are also changes between seasons in different regions. For example, the UK's
summer rainfall is decreasing on average, while winter rainfall is increasing. There is also evidence
that heavy rainfall events have become more intensive, especially over North America.
3. Changes in nature
Changes in the seasons (such as the UK spring starting earlier, autumn starting later) are bringing
changes in the behaviour of species, for example, butterflies appearing earlier in the year and birds
shifting their migration patterns.
4. Sea level rises
Since 1900, sea levels have risen by about 10 cm around the UK and about 19 cm globally, on
average. The rate of sea-level rise has increased in recent decades.
5. Retreating glaciers
Glaciers all over the world - in the Alps, Rockies, Andes, Himalayas, Africa and Alaska - are melting
and the rate of shrinkage has increased in recent decades.
6. Sea ice
Arctic sea-ice has been declining since the late 1970s, reducing by about 4%, or 0.6 million square
kilometres (an area about the size of Madagascar) per decade. At the same time Antarctic sea-ice
has increased, but at a slower rate of about 1.5% per decade.
7. Ice sheets
The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, which between them store the majority of the world's
fresh water, are both shrinking at an accelerating rate.
Download WWW’s Fascinating
Facts about climate change
Causes of Climate change
There are some things that happen naturally to contribute to climate change like volcanic eruption,
but many people think that we, humans, are contributing to climate change, what do you think we
are doing to make it happen?
 Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil
 Running machines like cars and computers
 Deforestation – clearing the Earth’s forests on a massive scale
Climate change effects
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One of the main impacts of climate change on Earth is a gradual increase in temperature –
this is known as global warming
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Burning energy causes certain gases to be released into the air, we call this pollution, and
pollution causes something called the greenhouse effect - A greenhouse is made of glass,
sun shines in and keeps it warm. The earth has something called an atmosphere around it
which is a layer of gas and air, the atmosphere acts like a greenhouse – the gases, such as
carbon dioxide, do what a greenhouse roof does, they trap the heat and keep the earth
warm.
Extreme weather e.g. floods and droughts, and therefore changes in habitats or the places
where animals and people live.
The effects of climate change depend where you are in the world - in the UK we don’t notice
climate change that much, but it is something that is happening now and all across the world in
different ways for different people. In the UK we may see lots of rain and flooding through the
winter or in the summer we may have hosepipe bans because there is not much rain and water
supply is low.
Further Resources:
The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment captures the likely impacts of climate change on the
Arctic and the rest of the world. The summary is very useful, as is – Impacts of a Warming
Arctic: Highlights (of the ACIA).
WWW has produced two summaries for children from the report to help them understand
climate change:
 ACIA Key Findings for Kids
 Arctic Climate Trends for Kids
Greenhouse Gases: Good or Bad?
The rise in the Earth’s temperature is caused mainly by something called ‘Greenhouse Gases’.
A lot of people blame greenhouse gasses for the bad effects of climate change, BUT they are not all
bad - In general, the greenhouse effect is a GOOD thing.
Without greenhouse gases, the temperature on Earth would be too cold to support life. With too
much though it would heat up beyond survivable levels. The problem is not the gases themselves,
but there are TOO MANY of them making the Earth heat up too much.
Remember the cows? Well, there are a lot of other things that release these gases into the air such
as cars, and we need to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that we release onto the
atmosphere.
We can all play our part in fighting climate change. We need to work together - If we
each take small steps it will make VERY big differences to our world.
ACTIVITY
Why not find out more about what actions we can take to reduce our impact
on the planet… What can we do? How can we save energy? Bring your ideas
back to school and talk about it in a lesson!
What do you think are some of the simple things we could do around the school to help the planet?
 Turn off lights, change your lightbulbs at home to energy saving bulbs if not already
 Recycle, reduce, re-use
 Save paper
 Walk/cycle or scoot to school rather than drive
 Take train or bus rather than plane or car
 Turn off TV/computer at the wall
 Protect and plant trees – good because they remove some of the harmful gases from the air
 Wear a jumper instead of turning up the heating
WWW website navigation in class
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Blogs – written composition idea – develop a news piece based on one of the blogs
Find out where the POC team are now
Arctic animals exercise
Research/biography task
Suggested further reading
Poems
 Polar Bear, Arctic Hare: Poems of the Frozen North by Eileen Spinelli
EYFS/KS1/KS2 picture books
 The Rainbow Bear by Michael Morpurgo
 The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale by Lydia Dabcovich
 The Journey Home by Frann Preston-Gannon
 Arctic White by Danna Smith
 Why Are the Ice Caps Melting?: The Dangers of Global Warming (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out
Science, Stage 2) by Anne F. Rockwell
 The Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge (The Magic School Bus #12) by Joanna Cole
 When Santa Turned Green by Victoria Perla
 The Polar Bears' Home: A Story about Global Warming (Little Green Books) Paperback by
Lara Bergen
 The Carbon Monster by Katherine Wheatley
 Snowy White World to Save by Stephanie Lisa Tara
 Dinosaurs and all that rubbish by Michael Foreman
 George Saves the World by lunch time by Jo Readman
 Look after you planet, Charlie and Lola by Lauren Child
 Penguin problems by Jory John, Lane Smith
 The north pole is sinking by Ethan Matsuda and Michael Matsuda
Younger readers (non-fiction)
 How the Weather Works: A Hands-On Guide to our Changing Climate by Christiane Dorion
 10 things I can do to help my world by Melanie Walsh
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101 Ways to save your planet by David Bellamy
Yes I can! Help save our planet by Emma Brownjohn
Small Steps by Glenn Murphy
Your planet needs you by Dave Reay
You can save the planet: 50 ways you can make a difference by Jacquie Wines
Older readers
 Not Your Typical Book About the Environment by Elin Kelsey
 FUNNY WEATHER: Everything You Don't Want to Know About Climate Change But Should
Probably Find Out by Kate Evans
 Will Jellyfish Rule the World?: A Book About Climate Change by Leo Hickman
 Climate Change (DK Eyewitness)
 Understanding Global Warming with Max Axiom, Super Scientist (Graphic Science) by
Agnieszka Biskup
 The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World (New York Times) by
Andrew Revkin
 This Is My Planet: The Kids' Guide to Global Warming by Jan Thornhill
 How many lightbulbs does it take to change a planet? By Tony Juniper
 Under the weather: Stories about Climate Change by Tony Bradman
 The Carbon Diaries by Saci Lloyd
 Our Choice: How we can solve the climate crisis by Al Gore
 An inconvenient truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do
About It by Al Gore
Lesson plans to follow in term 2