Multimedia

This resource from MIT includes a 14-minute podcast on the relationship between agriculture and climate change from a NASA scientist, and additional activities that support an understanding of using maps and case-studies from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to understand agroecology concepts. Students learn about how farmers are changing land-use practices to have a less negative impact on climate change, and how climate change may alter the nutritional quality of crops.

In this activity, students will learn about and model the carbon cycle. Using data from Global Forest Watch, students investigate regional and global patterns of forest loss, gain, and carbon emissions to answer the questions: should we plant trees as a solution to climate change? Does location matter? How do we know?

This 3-minute video from PBS Wisconsin describes the socioeconomic vulnerability of elderly and impoverished populations during Wisconsin's heatwaves. A short summary provides more details about the dangers of heatwaves in urban settings and describes the projected increases in number of day over 90 degrees in Wisconsin. Students conduct a thoughtful discussion about climate-change related heatwaves and are tasked with creating poetry about their own experiences.

In this activity, students listen to a podcast about energy efficiency; read a brief history of energy efficiency in the United States; do a qualitative energy audit of their classroom, including lighting, heating/air conditioning, and appliances and electronics; interview someone knowledgeable about the physical building; and complete a quantitative energy audit of a portion of their school.

This comprehensive student and teacher guide from the MIT Climate Portal includes an introductory 10 minute podcast about water and climate change impacts, a water cycle class game, independent understanding of local solutions to climate change threats, and a wrap-up discussion. The focus of the materials is on changes to precipitation patterns and the downstream effects, such as how diseases like Malaria are influenced by rainfall and temperature.

This interactive visualization allows users to scroll on their device to view what types of characteristics and objects might be found at different points in the atmosphere. Using an indicator of miles (or kilometers) above sea level, the visualization shows what satellites might be present, or what scientific phenomenon (thermosphere, Kñrmñn Line, meteors, etc.) might be happening at different levels.

This short video introduces the concept of the urban heat island effect.

This video explains how scientists measure ice melt in Antarctica, the conditions of the ice sheet in Antarctica, and how that melting ice can contribute to sea level rise and affect communities all over the world.

This resource tells the story of how climate change is affecting ice cover on lakes in Wisconsin. Students will understand at the end of the lesson that shorter ice cover seasons are having a profound impact on the lakes in Madison, WI. The website provides an overview and context for the use of the data. The data presented show a record of ice cover days on two lakes near Madison, WI, since 1855. Although there is significant annual variation in the data, the overall trend established is evidence that climate change is happening now. Reduced ice cover has a significant ecological impact since it regulates lake temperature, dissolved organic (DO) levels, light penetration, and other factors responsible for the growth and reproduction of species present in and around the lakes.

This interactive graph shows an overview of US energy consumption provided by the US Energy Information Administration. It includes data on all energy sources consumed for the past 20 years up to the current year. The scale, time frame, and data focus can be modified to highlight specific data.