Climate Change and Carbon Footprint Links

Series of 7 short videos building up the evidence for human-caused global warming and climate change:

National Academy of Sciences Climate Change Video Link

Resource for calculating your personal carbon footprint, including spaces to enter all kinds of relevant information:

EPA Carbon Footprint Calculation Link

Thanksgiving-specific Carbon Footprint

Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change Handout—PDF document

“Global Climate Change” Worksheet

1.  Referring to the graph on page 13, for at least how long in the past was the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere between 170 and 300 parts per million (ppm)?  What is the CO2  concentration now, and where is it headed by 2100?


2. What is the “greenhouse effect” and how does it work?


3. What is “the principal factor causing [global] warming over the past 50 years”?


4. Referring to the graph on page 14, what pattern do you see among the concentrations of the 3 gases (CO2, CH4, and N2O) over the last 2000 years? About when did the concentrations start to change, and why?


5. What are the six main heat-trapping gases listed in the article?

    a. Which one is the most important and abundant?
    b. Which one is produced by cow farts and decomposing garbage?
    c. Which one also protects life from UV radiation from the sun?
    d. Which one increases with deforestation?
    e. Which one comes from refrigeration chemicals and damages ozone?

6. For how long do carbon dioxide and methane gases remain in atmosphere?


7. What are two important natural factors that influence Earth’s climate? Could they be responsible for the warming that’s occurred in recent decades?


8. According to the chart on page 16, what has the greatest warming and what has the greatest cooling influence? Does ozone contribute more to cooling or warming?


9. How much of the carbon emitted by human activities over the last 50 years is still in the atmosphere, and how much has been absorbed by the ocean or stored in plants?


10. When the ocean absorbs more CO2, a chemical reaction takes place with water, making carbonic acid (H2CO3). Why is ocean acidification a problem?


11. Looking at the figure on page 17, what is the relationship between CO2 concentration and global temperature? Do they match exactly?


12. What are the two principal ways that global warming causes sea levels to rise?



13. According to the top figure on page 18, do the observed changes in global temperature seem to match up better with predicted temperature values based on “human affects” or “natural forces only”?


14. Referring to the bottom figure on page 18, is there a strong correlation (relationship) between changes in the sun’s energy and the global surface temperature? Thus, would it make sense to argue that changes in the sun’s energy are responsible for global warming?


15. The term “feedback loop” was used several times in the article (pages 15, 16, and 17), and it’s an important concept in biology and climate science. What does the term “feedback loop” mean?

Leaf Photosynthesis & Respiration Lab Notes

Leaf Photosynthesis/Respiration Lab

Part 1:  Chamber covered in aluminum foil

1) Obtain leaves and put in Vernier BioChamber 250 with forceps
2) Obtain a piece of aluminum foil and wrap entirely around BioChamber 250 to block out light
3) Orient chamber like the image above (on its side)
4) Poke out hole for O2 sensor, which goes on top; CO2 probe goes on the side
5) Set up Lab Quest and sensor probes; Fit sensor probes into chamber
6) Calibrate according to directions below, if necessary.
7) Change units for both probes to “ppt” and change the “length” of recording to 900 seconds (15 minutes)
8) Press play to collect data; record starting and ending values and sketch graphs for both probes

Part 2:  Chamber exposed to bright light

1) Remove aluminum foil from container and PUT ON GOGGLES for safety purposes
2) Turn on lamp, then move BioChamber about 1 foot from the lamp
3) Fill 600ml beaker with tap water and place between lamp and BioChamber to block heat (but not light) from the leaves
4) Lamp should be on leaves for 5 minutes before beginning data collection
5) Set length of recording to 900 seconds again, press play, and collect data

Calibration steps:

1) CO2 should be around 350-400ppm; if not, use stylus to depress “CAL” button on probe until red light blinks and sensor       reads proper value
2) O2 should be around 20.5-21.0%; if not, calibrate by the following steps:
    a) Tap O2 box on Lab Quest and click “calibrate”; on next screen, click “Calibrate Now” in upper-left corner
    b) While another lab member depresses the “CAL” button on the O2 probe, enter “0” in first box and click “keep”
    c) Release O2 probe “CAL” button, then enter “20.9” in the right box and click “keep” and then “OK”

Fermentation Lab Notes

Steps to Yeast Fermentation Lab (more detailed than you need to write up for Methods)

1. Prepare yeast mixture
-Bring bottom part of Vernier BioChamber 2000 over to the water bath
-Use the beaker to scoop out 300ml of warm water and add to BioChamber
-Using measuring spoons, add 1 scoop (1/4 tsp) of yeast and 2 scoops (1/2 tsp) of sugar to the BioChamber
-Mix well with plastic spoon, take back to your station, and secure the lid on

2. Prepare the Lab Quest for data collection
-Plug in charger to wall and to Lab Quest and press the power button to turn on
-Attach the O2 and CO2 probes to the plugs in the back of the Lab Quest
-Let them sit for a minute or two to warm up
-If the O2  probe is not registering around 20.9% or the CO2 is not between 300-400ppm, then call Mr H over for help calibrating the sensor probe
-Change the units for data collection by using the stylus to tap on the boxes for O2 and CO2, and clicking on “change units” and scrolling to “ppt”
-Next, click on the box marked “Length” and use the keypad to enter in a new time of 1500 sec (25 min).
-Now, gently but snugly fit the probes into the 2 holes at the top of the BioChamber.
-On the Lab Quest, scroll to the graph screen and press the play button on the lower left corner of the screen. Write down the starting values of each gas on the data chart you’ll construct.
-The instruments will collect data for 25 minutes, so you have this time to observe the experiment and work on filling out parts of your lab.

3. Data collection and clean-up
-Sketch both graphs on your lab handout in area for “Results,” including units and titles
-When finished, turn off Lab Quest and click on “Discard data,” unplug probes and return them to their boxes (O2 upright), dump out yeast mixture in sink and rinse out the container, and return to set-up