Mitigation
Mitigating Global Climate Change: What will it take?
Micah Fish-Gertz, Susan E. Powers, Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University, Potsdam NY
August 2011
Details
Type: Project Module
Length: 5-6 45 minute class periods
Content Area/Course: Environmental Science, pre-engineering
Targeted Grade Level: Grades 11-12, Early College
Prerequisite Knowledge: basic understanding of climate change (importance, consequences), general climate change mitigation strategies (energy efficiency, low-and non-carbonenergy resources, reforestation, etc. ).
Prerequisite Skills: Basic Internet and MS Excel skills
Technology/web resources: Excel, internet access
Thinking skill development: Comprehension, synthesis, evaluation
NASA Resources Used: Modeling results compiled from Educational Global Climate Model (EdGCM) developed at the NASA Goddard Institute of Space Science
Description
Students will analyze and develop mitigation plans for global CO2 emissions necessary to forestall global climate change. Students will use the concept of “mitigation wedges” to determine what actions are required to reduce future CO2 emissions and concentrations in the atmosphere. The results from global climate models for different mitigation strategies will be reviewed to assess our possible future climate. Effects to reduce carbon emissions and several different scenarios will be compared to comprehend what is necessary to slow global climate change.
The essential question analyzed in this unit is:
"What would it take to reduce carbon dioxide emissions on a global scale such that atmospheric concentration reaches a stable level of 350 ppm and the global average temperature change stays below 2 degrees Celsius in 50 years?”
