Climate Forcings and Feedbacks

Which climate forcings and feedbacks are most prevalent in either your local area or in the United States as a whole and why might this be so?

According to the NASA (Earth's Observatory), there are slight natural forcings such as the Sun's 11 year irradiance cycle, however, it is the manmade forcings that are the primary contributors to global climate change feedbacks.  Of the many forcings affecting our planet, there are several that specifically affect the United States. According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), there are some specific forcings that are directly impacting North America.  This includes increases in winter flooding and heat waves.  Not only are there temperature and moisture effects, but also damage to forests.  Dryness leads to increased risk of forest fires reducing the carbon dioxide being pulled from the atmosphere.  Finally, even our economy is hurting from global climate change when you look at agriculture.  Some of the most important regions are not receiving the amounts of precipitation that they are used to compounded with increased water vaporization from increased atmospheric temperatures.  These, coincidentally, are the primary problems that we are facing here in Las Vegas.  Lake Mead has continually seen decreasing levels, and we have been facing increasingly high temperatures.  Some of the forcings to these feedbacks locally are increased release of carbon dioxide through burning of fossil fuels, smog, and other pollutants which in turn lead to less of the Sun's heat being released and more of it being absorbed.

What resources have you located to help you and your students understand climate forcings and feedbacks?

The NASA website provides several articles, graphs and simulations that provide a plethora of information and insight with quantitative scientific data that supports and reinforces the understandings of both the forcings and feedbacks involved with global climate change.  The University of Colorado at Boulder (http://phet.colorado.edu/) provides an excellent simulation showing the temperature increases corresponding with the increased carbon dioxide levels.  This visual representation gives the students an opportunity to make a direct connection between temperature increases with carbon dioxide release.  The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research also provides the forcings and feedbacks by region.  Global climate change is obviously occurring across the entire planet, however, there are certain forcings and feedbacks that are specific to each region.  Along with these resources, my students also watched the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" and went to a presentation on climate change by a representative from www.acespace.org/.

Web 2.0

As I am discovering, blogging is an obvious tool that can be used to promote communication between teacher and student.  Once I become more familiar with this site and its functions I do intend on implementing it as part of my classes.  I already use a similar website used to provide the students with any presentations they have missed, or as a means to contact me when they are stuck on information or have missed school due to being sick (click here to view).  I believe that opening up a link to my blog will promote not only discussion on questions given to my students, but allow the students to view each other's thoughts and feel comfortable in debating and discussing ideas.  Students commonly feel "stupid" if they ask something in class and other students may laugh or snicker, where on a technological medium such as a blog some students that normally would not participate in a class are more comfortable writing and may feel more confident in voicing their opinion free of teasing or ridicule from other students.

This medium also provides a beneficial means of reflection for some learners that tend to need more time to gather their thoughts than what a classroom may permit.  Some students may also be able to reflect better in private than in front of their peers.  This also reinforces the students to break out of their comfort zone to share their thoughts and ideas that they may not have had the opportunity to share, or weren't comfortable sharing in a large group.  The blog could also be used for students to ask their own questions to be asked and answered by other students, thus promoting thought in higher levels of bloom's taxonomy.

How do NASA, STEM and PBL prepare the 21st century learner?

To briefly review the topic of the 21^st century learner; they are someone that will need to be agile and able to adapt to an ever changing world, will need to be competent at using several forms of technology and social media, able to conduct online research to find information, and be a logical critical thinker that can creatively problem-solve. Considering this list, NASA, STEM, and PBL are all individually unique yet together contain commonality in their goal of preparing leaners for their encounters with the 21^st century.

PBL is a method of not only identifying a problem, but determining the best and most efficient way to find a solution; much like when a light fixture in your breaks and you are trying to fix it. STEM is a multi-discipline method of understanding through questioning and investigating; similar to figuring out how it is supposed to work, the measurements, tools needed, and procedure to fix it. NASA is a phenomenal organization for science/technology information; just like a hardware store is a great place to do find home improvement renovations tools and get advice on your project. When the light fixture breaks you come up with a plan to fix it, figure out what you need to do, the go to Lowe’s to get what you need to finish the job. I believe that these three entities work in somewhat of a similar fashion. They can all help to increase efficiency in problem solving using intellect, critical thinking and some creativity.

The problems that this year’s kindergarteners will face in 2067 will obviously be more complex than a simple light fixture in their home; however, the process is relatively similar. They will need to identify the causation of certain problems and be able to design ways to most efficiently solve them using the best tools at their disposal. It is our job as educators to make sure that they have these abilities so that once they are the ones making decisions and solving problems they will construct plans that moral, environmentally conscious, economical, and proficient.

First Official Blog

So this is my very first official blog, more to come.  I'm definitely stepping outside my comfort zone on this one...