Names______

______

______

Directions: Use the maps to answer the following questions in your group.

Global Population:

  1. Describe the regions of the globe that have the greatest population density, over 500 people per square mile.
  1. Describe the regions of the globe that have the lowest population density, less than 1 person per square mile.
  1. Compared to the rest of the world, would you categorize Minnesota’s and the Midwest areas population density as high, medium, low?

Prevailing Winds:

  1. Look at the map that shows the wind directions of the globe. The purple arrows show the most common wind directions in various regions of the world. Describe the pattern that the winds seem to take globally.
  1. Which direction do the prevailing winds move in Minnesota?

Acid Rain:

  1. Acid rain is a more “localized” problem than global warming in that emissions from a given area usually precipitate within several hundred miles of their source. Therefore, local prevailing winds are important. What regions of the world have a severe acid rain problem?
  1. Some areas of the globe are more sensitive to acid rain. That is because the soil does not have natural pH buffers to equalize the acidity. Pick 2 areas of the globe that have sensitive soil but no acid rain problems. That is because there are no significant sulfur emissions in that area. Study the prevailing winds and describe where the sulfur emissions would need to come from to cause acid rain problems in that area.

Energy Consumption:

  1. What percent of the world’s population lives in the United States?______
  2. What percent of the world’s energy consumption does the United States use? ___
  3. Is there any other region of the world that uses as much energy at the US?
  1. Why do you think there is such a difference between the percentages in question #8 and #9?
  1. Why do you think there is such a low energy consumption for the population in Africa?

Contributions to Global Warming:

  1. What region of the world contributes the most global warming emissions?______
  2. In general, do industrialized or developingareas contribute the most global warming emissions? ______
  3. Which two areas of the world have the biggest “carbon footprint” – carbon emissions per physical size of region(located in lower left corner of map)?

______

Mean Temperature Changes:

  1. Most of the world has experienced warming temperatures from 1995-2004. What areas of the world have experience lower mean temperatures in those 10 years?
  1. Has there been more warming in the northern or southern hemisphere during these 10 years?
  2. Describe two areas that have experienced significant warming(greater than +1 degree).

Climate Change(source: The Climate Trust)

Climate change is a significant shift in temperature and weather patterns around the world. While some changes are normal, the vast majority of scientists agree that our activities are causing dramatic changes to the Earth’s climate.

Over the last three hundred years we have radically increased our use of energy sources like oil, coal and natural gas. Burning these fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

A little bit of carbon dioxide is a good thing – it keeps the planet warm and habitable. Now, however, we are putting so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that the planet is getting too warm. This problem is also called the greenhouse effect.

Effects

The effects of climate change are already visible – melting glaciers, the migration of plant and animal species, and an increase in severe storms, to name a few.

What will happen next? No one can say for sure, but here are some possibilities:

  • Rising sea levels destroy coastal areas
  • Frequent and intense heat waves
  • More droughts and wildfires
  • Extinction of millions of species
  • Spreading of weather-sensitive disease

Our Carbon Footprint:

There are many areas you can reduce your carbon emissions in. For this section, we will focus on a few. Take a survey of your group members for each of the below “greenhouse gas reducing strategies”. Tally the number of yes and no responses in your group to each of these strategies:

Carbon Footprint: the sum of all emissions of greenhouse gases like CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame

Strategy / Yes, we do it / No, we don’t
Keep summer air conditioner off or set at 75º or higher
Keep winter thermostat at 65º or lower
We recycle regularly
All of our cars get greater than 20 mpg highway
I almost always turn the lights off when I leave a room
We have replaced most of our incandescent bulbs with energy saving compact fluorescent bulbs
We always turn TVs and computers off when not in use
  1. For each person in your group, name the area of the above table that needs the most work on reducing their personal carbon footprint.