Preparing for tomorrow's test

Preparing for the test on Hurricane Katrina, Global Climates, and Global Warming

Part of the test will cover the video The Storm That Drowned a City: Hurricane Katrina (which can be viewed again here). You should refer to the notes you took while you watched. You may also refer to the accompanying website.

You are also responsible for the material on Global Climates found on p. 53 – 55 in your text. Be familiar with the five processes that influence our global climate.

There will be questions on the test about Global Warming that refer to p. 56 – 61 in your text. Be able to identify causes of Global Warming, and be able to identify the greenhouse gases and their sources. Based on this material, and our class discussions, you should also be able to tell the difference between a true statement, a false statement, and a statement of opinion.

This test will be taken on paper, so remember to bring a pen. Questions will be fill in the blank, multiple choice, and short answer, plus you will write a brief essay. You may refer to your notes, blogs and websites while taking the test. You may not refer to your textbook.

The test is worth 100 points. Study hard and good things will happen!

take a stand!

Global warming, climate change - whatever you call it, it's one of the most important and most discussed issues of our time. In this assignment, you will take a stand on global warming, and defend your position with facts and evidence. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but a well-informed opinion is always based on knowledge and information.

Each of your small groups has spent class time working on a PowerPoint presentation, in which you will attempt to convince the class of your position. It's up to you how many slides you need to make an effective argument. Please make sure the first slide has your section number and the full names of everyone in the group, and the last slide should have the websites and other sources where you found your evidence. We'll let you take the first mod of the next class to polish up your PPt, but most of the work should be done tonight.

Remember, if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything!

weekend homework

Now we move on to The Changing Global Environment. What better way to begin than by studying the greatest natural disaster to hit America in your lifetime. Hurricane Katrina: The Storm That Drowned a City, goes into great detail about what happened in New Orleans just a few short years ago. (The website to accompany the video is here.) As we watch, we'll be having a (graded) virtual discussion via TodaysMeet.

Environment, climate, weather, the greenhouse effect, global warming - these are all pretty complicated terms. On p. 53-55 of our text, you can read a pretty thorough explanation of these concepts. Starting with GLOBAL CLIMATES: An Uncertain Forecast (p. 53), read up to the end of Global Wind Patterns, halfway through p. 55. This should help you understand how climate works.

I would also like you to find at least one website related to global warming. See if you can identify one or two of the issues that people are debating, and identify who is on each side of the debate. Post this information before our next class.

Thanks for a great week, you guys! Enjoy the weekend!