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The Arctic boasts a diverse array of landscapes, ranging from pack and drift ice to rugged shorelines, flat coastal plains, rolling hills, tundra, and mountains. The region also contains abundant lakes and several of the world’s mightiest rivers. The largest mountain ranges in the Arctic include those in northeastern Asia, the Byrranga Mountains on the Taimyr Peninsula, and the northern tip of the Urals. Mount Gunnbjorn in eastern Greenland, at 3,700 meters above sea level, ranks as the highest mountain.

This is a jigsaw activity and is primarily designed for students to become familiar with the Arctic weather data, reading and interpreting graphs before moving on to Activity 3.

Students practice calculating albedo as a simple ratio of incoming to outgoing short-wave radiation.

This lesson explores the district’s solid waste plan and discuss how our school can save or decrease emissions by reducing solid waste at our school.

This lesson explores our school food system and identifies the ways in which greenhouse gases result from food waste in our school system. We then need to develop an investigation about food waste at our school in order to know what should change.

This lesson explores how to design and carry out an investigation to audit our school’s food waste system.

This lesson explores the data that is collected and proposes solutions to mitigate food waste in our school.

This lesson explores generated criteria and provides guidance in creating a presentation for the plans that were developed in the previous lesson. Participants will then practice and refine their presentations before presenting them to the school’s administration.

Introduction: What is Climate Literacy and why does it matter?

Module A: How Scientists Know About Climate

Our understanding of the climate system is improved through observations, theoretical studies, and modeling.

The parts and processes of the climate system follow the same physical laws of the universe. Scientists have gained a solid understanding of the climate system and our knowledge improves as advamces in climate science research and modeling continue. The current climate change projections are reliable enough to help humans evaluate potential decisions and actions in response to climate change.

Module B: Earth's Energy Balance

Module C: Complex Interactions of Climate

Climate is regulated by complex interactions among components of the Earth system.

Earth's climate is influenced by intricate interactions between the Sun, clouds, ice, life, and especially the ocean and atmosphere. Climate varies by region as a result of local differences in these interactions. Changes in any one of the climate system components can affect the balance of the whole Earth system. Closely observing and understanding existing climate conditions in a region is important in order to help identify impacts that may be happening now or in the future.

Module E: Climate Variability

Climate varies over space and time through both natural and man-made processes.

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere and it occurs on short time scales--over minutes, hours, and days. Climate processes vary over longer time scales, ranging from seasonal variations to millennia. Climate can vary from local scales, such as the microclimate around a building or geographic feature, to broad regions, continents, and ultimately the planet itself.

Module D: Local & Ecosystem Climate Impacts

Life on Earth depends on, is shaped by, and affects climate.

Species survive within specific environmental conditions of temperature, precipitation, humidity, and sunlight. Changes in climate conditions can affect the health and function of ecosystems. Organisms exposed to climate change must adapt or migrate, or they will perish and may become extinct. 

Module F: Human Impacts on Climate

Human activities are impacting climate system.

For more than a century, scientists have predicted that human activities could amplify the natural greenhouse effect, causing the Earth's atmosphere to warm above its normal range.  Now it is clear from multiple lines of evidence that the observed recent climate change is human-induced. The primary cause for the observed increase in the average global temperature is the burning of fossil fuels by humans.

Module G: Responses to Climate Change

Bringing Science to the table - Stories, tips, and lessons-learned from working with communities

The Engaged Scientist Series kicked off on October 20, 2016 with a public lecture presented in the CIRES Auditorium and a workshop for graduate students and postdocs hosted in the CIRES Fellows Room on the CU Boulder main campus.

Public lecture: Dr. Rajul Pandya, Director of Thriving Earth Exchange (American Geophysical Union) presented case studies and stories to explore the elements of successful partnerships. There are lots of places where scientists, community leaders, and community members are working together to use science – including Earth and environmental science -  to build a better future. Whether it is to improving vaccination strategies in Ghana, building a flood-resistant town-hall in Georgia, or looking for dangerous chemicals leaking into Denver basements, we’ve seen lots of examples of community science partnerships that encourage resilience and support environmental justice. The best of these partnerships advance community priorities, connect research to on-the-ground impact, introduce new ideas and people to science, and introduce scientists to new questions and new ways of thinking.  In short – the best partnerships help science become more included and inclusive.

Workshop: After the lecture, a workshop for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers on developing strong scientist/community partnerships was co-led by Dr. Pandya, Susan Sullivan, former director of CIRES Education Outreach, and Ben Kirshner, Director of CU Engage. Workshop leaders and participants talked, frankly, about some of the risks and costs of partnership - for both scientists and communities – and explored some strategies to mitigate those risks and minimize those costs while building the capacity and inspiration for this imporant work.

The Engaged Scientist series is coordinated by CU's new Albert A. Bartlett Center for Science Communication, CIRES Education and Outreach, INSTAAR, and Learn More About Climate at the Office for Outreach and Engagement.

Uses and Practices of Community Dialogue in Geosciences and Environmental Sciences

The second event in the Engaged Scientist series was held on January 19, 2017 in the Sustainability Innovation Lab at Colorado (SILC) at the Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Complex on the CU Boulder east campus.

Public lecture: Fostering community dialogue presented by Boulder Talks director Phaedra Pezzullo and co-director Leah Sprain of the Department of Communication at the Univesity of Colorado Boulder 

Workshop: Drs. Pezzullo and Sprain co-led the associated workshop for graduate students and postdocs after the lecture.

During this workshop participants:

• Discussed the possibilities and limitations around science, communication and democracy
• Analyzed real world transcripts of scientists communicating during community dialogues
• Practiced framing your research with feedback to help you move towards your goals

The Engaged Scientist series is coordinated by CU's new Albert A. Bartlett Center for Science Communication, CIRES Education and Outreach, INSTAAR, and Learn More About Climate at the Office for Outreach and Engagement.

Science is Culture:  Understanding Power and Privilege in Community-Based Research

The third event in the Engaged Scientist Series was held on April 6, 2017. The public lecture was presented in the CIRES Auditorium and the workshop for graduate students and postdocs was hosted in the CIRES Fellows Room on the CU Boulder main campus.

Public lecture: ​Michelle Gabrieloff-Parish, Energy & Climate Justice Program Manager at the CU Boulder Environmental Center, and Heidi McCann, Associate Scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center gave a presentaion that focused on how scientists often work in and with communities whether working on research, promoting findings especially in the fields of resiliency, environment and sustainability.

Workshop: The workshop examined the scientific worldview lens and explores best practices for working with communities, including developing inter-cultural awareness, conducting research so that communities benefit, and understanding the value of local communities (including disenfranchised communities) and “informal” knowledge.  Dr. Gabrieloff-Parish and Ms. McCann co-led the workshop following the public lecture.

During this workshop particiapnts:

• Looked at relevant, mini case-studies 
• Looked at cultural communication and behavior patterns
• Worked through equity and justice dilemmas for community-engaged research 
• Discussed how to initiate and strengthen community partnerships

This lesson explores a video about the increase in summer temperatures and learn that this is happening in Colorado.

This lesson explores climate data at the local, national, and worldwide levels to determine that temperatures are changing all over the world, and that there are certain locations (like cities and other places in the world) where temperatures are warming faster than the global average.

This lesson explores how albedo is a contributing factor to why the temperature in some places like cities are increasing at a faster rate; albedo is not the only factor.

This lesson explores a computer simulation to understand the Greenhouse Effect and then develop a model for how this works.

This lesson explores historical data to determine if the changes in global climate are normal for Earth or unusual.

This lesson explores case studies to learn about the ways climate change is currently impacting people and other living things around the world.

This lesson explores why certain cities in Colorado are getting hotter.

This lesson explores reasons why temperatures in particular Colorado cities are rising.

This lesson explores what changes in land use are happening and how changes in surface color affects temperatures in cities.

This lesson explores whether other parts of the world are also changing and getting hotter.

This lesson explores what the world’s temperature trend was in the past and whether temperatures have changed recently.

This lesson explores whether human activities release greenhouse gases, like CO2, and whether they can cause temperatures on Earth to increase.

This lesson explores how fossil fuel burning in cars contributes CO2 to the atmosphere.

This lesson explores how more CO2 in the atmosphere causes global warming.