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National Chemistry Week: Resources

October 19–25, 2003

Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond!

Global Warming and Climate Change: Electronic Resources

This is a collection of electronic resources (websites, software, etc.) covering Global Warming and Climate Change. A separate collection of Print Resources is also available.

Key: E = Elementary (K–5), I = Intermediate (6–8), HS = High School (9–12), C = College, G = General Public

Ask Doctor Global Change. from US Global Change Research Information Office (HS, C, G)

“Dr. Global Change” is a Reference Service that assists researchers, students, educators, resource managers, decision-makers, and the general public in finding information and data relevant to global environmental change. This site features a searchable database of previously asked questions, and allows users to submit original queries. Help is available in the areas of climate variability and change, atmospheric composition, global carbon cycle, global water cycle, changes in ecosystems, and human dimensions of global change. This site also contains links to some of the best web sites on global change data and information.

Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN). (HS, C, G)

A center within the Earth Institute at Columbia University, CIESIN works at the intersection of the social, natural, and information sciences, and specializes in on-line data and information management, spatial data integration and training, and interdisciplinary research related to human interactions in the environment. Educational resources are available for K–12 plus college age students.

Chemistry and the Environment: Curriculum Materials on Environmental Chemistry. (PDF) from Royal Society of Chemistry. (HS)

Contains topical and interesting group of 26 activities that emphasize the importance of chemistry to our environment. Divided into three main themes: air quality, water quality and radon, the book includes information on experiments, data interpretation exercises and stimulus material that can support both field and laboratory work. Each activity can be used as a stand-alone resource or linked in with others in the same area. The activities provide extra material for teachers on topics of fundamental importance to environmental issues.

Climate Change Portal. from United Nations Environment Programme. (HS, C, G)

This portal is a central source for substantive work and information resources regarding climate change. Use the navigation on the left to find information based on the key issues within climate change or select a specific type of resource.

Climate Diagnostics Center. from U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. (I, HS, C)

The mission of the Climate Diagnostics Center is to identify the nature and causes for climate variations on time scales ranging from a month to centuries. US Climate Data in the Climate & Weather section allows you to create maps of monthly US temperature and precipitation from 1895 to the present.
URL: http://www.cdc.noaa.gov/

Curriculum Guide to Confronting Climate Change in California. (PDF) (HS)

The guide is designed to complement the report and to make its findings accessible to younger residents of the state. The guide consists of multiple activities, which are closely tied to and build upon the report. To make these student-centered activities most useful to teachers, each activity is tied to the content and skills standards required for grades 9–12 according to the California Board of Education Standards for Science, and History and Social Science. Although teaching materials are geared towards students and teachers in grades 9–12, individual exercises are adaptable to other grade levels.

Destination Earth: The Globe Program. (E, I, HS)

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) is a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists working together to study and understand the global environment. Students and teachers from over 6,500 schools in more than 80 countries are working with research scientists to learn more about our planet. GLOBE is a worldwide hands-on, primary and secondary school-based education and science program.

• For Students, GLOBE provides the opportunity to learn by: taking scientifically-valid measurements in the fields of atmosphere, hydrology, soils, and land cover/phenology; reporting their data through the Internet; creating maps and graphs on the free interactive web site to analyze data sets; and collaborating with scientists and other GLOBE students around the world.
• For Teachers, GLOBE provides assistance through: training at professional development workshops; Teacher’s guides, “how-to” videos, and other materials; continuing support from a Help Desk, scientists and partners; and contact with other teachers, students and scientists worldwide.

Destination Earth: The Official Website for NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (G)

Improving life here on planet Earth is foremost in NASA’s vision, and the larger purpose of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. Using the vantage point of space, we gain an understanding of our home planet that we could never achieve were we bound to the Earth’s surface. From that perspective the Earth appears both complex and fragile; a complex, ever changing island that is the only known harbor of life in the solar system. We want to know how the Earth system is changing, and what are the consequences of life on Earth. Planet Earth is a dynamic system of continents, oceans, atmosphere, ice and life. Global-scale changes require global-scale observations and models, and many regional and local changes are only truly understood when seen in their global context. Programs of the Earth Science Enterprise use NASA’s research and technology to advance the interdisciplinary field of Earth System Science to help fulfill NASA’s mission to understand and protect our home planet.

Educational Sites for All Ages: Top Sites on the Web. from U.S. Department of Energy. Biology and Environmental Research Program. (E, I, HS)

This web page contains a list of top educational sites for all age groups on these topics: biology, chemistry, genome, global change, and weather. Also includes a section for Kids and another for teachers.

EduGreen: Making Environmental Learning Fun for the Young. (I)

Explore the environment around you through Life on earth, Forestry, Energy, Water, Air pollution, Climate change, Biotechnology and Solid waste. Enrich your knowledge through quiz, story time, maps, a time line, environment laws, multimedia resources, and an environment calendar.

Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment. (HS, C, G)

This encyclopedia is a one-stop source of information on a range of atmospheric issues, including air quality, acid rain, global warming and ozone depletion.

EPA: Environmental Explorers Club. (E)

Kids can explore their environment and learn about neat things to protect it. There are games, pictures, stories, and other fun things. Subjects on this web site include: air, water, garbage and recycling, plants & animals, you & your environment, art room, game room, science room, trophy case, and ask EPA.

EPA: Student Center. (I, HS)

Here students in middle and high school can explore a wide range of environmental issues. Need help with your homework? Need an idea for an environmental club project? You’ve come to the right place! Learn about your environment and how you can help protect it for the future.

EPA: Teachers.

This web site contains basic environmental education concepts and teaching aids. It has background information, curriculum resources & activities, community service projects, workshops & conferences, student jobs & scholarships, grants, awards, contacts, and other links.

Global Change Master Directory. from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (HS, C)

This directory provides descriptions of Earth science data sets and services relevant to global change research. The GCMD database includes descriptions of data sets covering agriculture, the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and oceans, snow and ice, geology and geophysics, paleoclimatology, and human dimensions of global change.

Global Climate Change > Research Explorer. from The Exploratorium Museum. (I, HS, C)

At this Web site, you can explore scientific data relating to the atmosphere, the oceans, the areas covered by ice and snow, and the living organisms in all these domains. You’ll also get a sense of how scientists study natural phenomena.

Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE). (E, I, HS)

GLOBE is a worldwide network of students, teachers, and scientists working together to study and understand the global environment. Students and teachers from over 13,587 schools in more than 70 countries are working with research scientists to learn more about our planet.

Global Warming Project. from The Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS). (I, HS)

In this project, students play the role of scientific advisors to the heads of state. During the course of the activity students must be able to explain the specific causes and proposed effects of global warming and engage in debate to establish a mitigation plan. The program requires the use of computers and WorldWatcher software (download PC and Mac versions from web site). Recommended for 7th–10th grades.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (HS, C, G)

World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation, established the IPCC.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). from U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (E, I, HS, C)

Managed by the California Institute of Technology, JPL is NASA’s lead center for robotic exploration of the solar system. JPL cameras and sensors are aboard satellites circling Earth to study the ozone, oceans and other Earth sciences. The section on the Earth contains images, multimedia, and missions plus information about air & ozone, solid Earth, oceans, natural hazards, and weather & climate. Younger viewers should check out the Kids section.

NASA Earth Observatory. (I, HS, C, G)

The purpose of NASA’s Earth Observatory is to provide web access so that the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth’s climate and environmental change. In particular, we hope our site is useful to public media and educators. Any and all materials published on the Earth Observatory are freely available for re-publication or re-use, except where copyright is indicated. We ask that NASA’s Earth Observatory be given credit for its original materials. Includes information on the atmosphere, oceans, land, energy, and life. Types of information for each section may include data & images, features, news, reference, missions, and experiments. Contains an excellent glossary. Can view web pages with the glossary mode turned on or off.

NASA’s Earth Observing System. (E, I, HS, C, G)

The Earth Observing System Earth Observing System (EOS) is the centerpiece of NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise. It is composed of a series of satellites, a science component, and a data system supporting a coordinated series of polar-orbiting and low inclination satellites for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans. EOS will enable an improved understanding of the Earth as an integrated system. The EOS Project Science Office is committed to bringing program information and resources to program scientists and the general public alike.

National Climatic Data Center. from U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (I, HS, C, G)

The world’s largest active archive of weather data, the NCDC has long served the Nation as a national resource for climate information. As climate knows no boundaries, NCDC works closely with scientists and researchers worldwide.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (G)

EPA’s mission is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment (air, water, land). Sections on this web site include: newsroom, browse by EPA topic, laws/regulations/dockets, where you live, educational sources, information sources, programs, business opportunities, and jobs.

United Nations Environment Programme: UNEP Activities in Atmosphere. (HS, C, G)

List of links to websites of various UN programs dealing with environmental issues.

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Copyright © 2003 American Chemical Society