Topic 12: Climate Change (Mandated Topic)
Learning Objectives
At the end of this topic, students will be able to:



Identify the causes of climate change;
Discuss various impacts of climate change including economical, geopolitical, biological
and meteorological aspects; and
Create a simple climate change advocacy through poster, slogan, and infomercial.
Activating Prior Learning
You might have already heard of “Climate Change” in some social platforms as a hot issue and
advocacy that calls for biological, economical, sociological and political concerns. Below is a
concept map, with the word climate change at the center, write something out of what you know
and understand about this
issue.
Climate
Change
Presentation of Contents
“There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable
point is what part humans are playing in it.”
-
David
Attenborough
Climate Change
Climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system that persists for
several decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural processes, such as changes in
the Sun’s radiation, volcanoes or internal variability in the climate system, or due to human
influences such as changes in the composition of the atmosphere or land use.
Many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of heat-trapping
greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and land-use change, are primarily
responsible for the climate changes observed in the industrial era, especially over the last six
decades. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, the largest contributor to humancaused warming, has increased by about 40% over the industrial era. This change has intensified
the natural greenhouse effect, driving an increase in global surface temperatures and other
widespread changes in Earth’s climate that are unprecedented in the history.
Let’s take a look at how interrelated and interconnected the following phenomena that ultimately
leads to climate change.
Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is a natural
warms the Earth’s surface. When the
reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some
reflected back to space and the rest is
re-radiated by greenhouse gases. This
greenhouse gases serves as the Earth’s
which without it, ours will be a called
process that
Sun’s energy
of it is
absorbed and
blanket of
insulator, of
dead planet.
Figure12.1.
Trapping of heat by the Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and some
artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Carbon dioxide and methane in
particular, trap the heat radiated by the sun.
The problem we now face is that human activities are increasing the concentrations of
greenhouse gases. From NASA’s observation, the increase and too much concentration of these
greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more heat that warms up the
planet leading to a phenomenon called global warming.
Global Warming
Global warming is the term used to describe a
gradual increase in the average temperature of
the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a
change that is believed to be permanently
changing the Earth’s climate.
Credit:VladisChern/Shutterstock.com
Figure12.2. The rise in global temperature
The increased volumes of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases released by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and
other human activities, are believed to be the primary sources of the global warming that has
occurred over the past 50 years. Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying
out global warming research have recently predicted that average global temperatures could
increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100.
Changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the melting of the
polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms and other severe
weather events – all of which are signs of a changing climactic patterns.
Impacts of Climate Change on Society
Credit: Left - Mellimage/Shutterstock.com, center - Montree Hanlue/Shutterstock.com.
Figure12.3. Catastrophic effects of Climate Change: From left to right: Forest Fire, Drought, Typhoon
According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the aspects of climate change are
having increasingly complex and important impacts on all the nations’ economy and quality of
life. Impacts related to climate change are evident across regions and in many sectors important
to society—such as human health, agriculture and food security, water supply, transportation,
energy, ecosystems, and others—and are expected to become increasingly disruptive throughout
this century and beyond.
Climate change affects human health and wellbeing through more extreme weather events and
wildfires, decreased air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects, food, and water. Climate
disruptions to agriculture have been increasing and are projected to become more severe over
this century, a trend that would diminish the security of the world’s food supply. Surface and
groundwater supplies in some regions are already stressed, and water quality is diminishing in
many areas, in part due to increasing sediment and contaminant concentrations after heavy
downpours.
In some regions, prolonged periods of high temperatures associated with droughts contribute to
conditions that lead to larger wildfires and longer fire seasons. For coastal communities, sea level
rise, combined with coastal storms, has increased the risk of erosion, storm surge damage, and
flooding. Extreme heat, sea level rise, and heavy downpours are affecting infrastructure like
roads, rail lines, airports, and all other infrastructures.
The capacity of ecosystems like forests, barrier beaches, and wetlands to buffer the impacts of
extreme events like fires, floods, and severe storms is being overwhelmed. The rising
temperature and changing chemistry of ocean water is combining with other stresses, such as
overfishing and pollution, alter marine-based food production and harm fishing communities.
Some climate changes currently have beneficial effects for specific sectors or regions. For
example, current benefits of warming include longer growing seasons and longer ice – free
period for agriculture.
Application
After learning about climate change, what natural processes and human activities causes it and
the possible consequences brought about this phenomenon, the question that comes next is, as a
concerned citizen and a student, what can you do about it? What ways can you think of to
mitigate the hazards caused by climate change?
And so here are some amazing activities prepared for you. Have fun!
Activity 1: Nature’s Advocates
A. Form groups of 5 and create an infomercial showing how community can help mitigate
the hazards caused by climate change. Each group must choose one from the given areas
below that are affected by climate change. A rubric is prepared below to rate your
performance. You have 15 minutes to conceptualize, and 2 – 3 minutes to present your
output. Enjoy acting!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Agriculture and Food Security
Economy
Biodiversity
Health
Geography and Ocean ecology
Climatic patterns
Exceeds Expectation
Meets Expectation
Needs Improvement
(3 points)
(2 points)
(1 point)
Criteria
Understandi
ng of Topic
 Factual information
is accurate
 Indicates a clear
understanding of
topic
 Factual information is
mostly accurate
 Good understanding
of topic
 Information is
inaccurate
 Presentation is off
topic
Teamwork
 Accepts ideas of
others; able to
compromise
 All members
contribute
 Accepts most ideas
without negative
comments; able to
compromise
 Some members
contribute
 Group does not work
together
 One person does all
the work
Presentation
 Shows confidence
 Informative
 Entertaining;
engages audience
 Speaks loudly and
clearly
 Appropriate use of
body language
 Shows some
confidence
 Presents some
information
 Engages audience
 Can be heard
 Some use of body
language





Portrayal stalls
Lacks information
Audience bored
Mumbles
Body language is
lacking; inappropriate
B. Retaining your group in activity A, create an advocacy campaign by making a poster and
a slogan that tells how community will help mitigate the effects of climate change.
Upload your work in social media, and try to elicit comments from the viewers, and then
share them with the class next meeting.
Feedback
Congratulations for making this far. Now, let’s test your understanding of our topic on climate
change.
Answer the following questions and follow the procedure on each item.
1. It is an important heat – trapping greenhouse gas, which is released through human
activities such as deforestation and burning of fossil fuels, as well as natural processes
such as respiration and volcanic eruption.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the last letter of your answer and put in it box # 1)
2. It is a change in global climate, and patterns, attributed largely to the increased levels of
atmospheric carbon dioxide.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 3rd letter of your answer and put in it box # 10)
3. It is a critical solution to climate change, by renewing the forest cover that will absorb
and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 8th letter of your answer and put in it box # 4)
4. The burning of natural fuel by humans is the largest source of emission of carbon
dioxide. These natural fuels were formed from the remains of living organisms million
years ago. The name given to natural fuel is ___.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 2nd letter of your answer and put in it box # 11)
5. This is a process that occurs when gases in the Earth’s atmosphere trap the Sun’s heat
making the Earth much warmer.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 6th letter of your answer and put in it box # 5)
6. This is a long – term rise in the overall temperature of the Earth’s climate system,
generally attributed to greenhouse effect.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 7th letter of your answer and put in it box # 6)
7. It is a permanent destruction of forest in order to make the land available for other uses,
which consequently add more atmospheric carbon dioxide as a result of large – scale
removal of trees that will absorb this harmful gas.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 5th letter of your answer and put in it box # 8 and 12)
8. It is the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought or
deforestation, and leading to shortage of food supply.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 11th letter of your answer and put in it box # 7)
9. It is the average weather in a given area over a longer period of time.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 5th letter of your answer and put in it box # 2)
10. This is a disaster of below – average precipitation, resulting in prolonged shortages in
water supply that could cause reduced crop yield, and potentially loss of harvest and or of
livestock.
__ __ __ __ __ __ __
(copy the 2nd letter of your answer and put in it box # 3 and 9)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
You did a great job!
10
11
12
Summary
The last module of Science, Technology and Society discussed the special topics that would
allow you to reflect on the role of science and technology not only in the community where you
are living but to the whole world.
The advent of information age has played a big role in cascading vital information to the society.
With the advance technological devices like computers, laptops, cellular phones, personal digital
assistants, servers, mainframes and internet that lets us access social media and online resources,
and even microchips and other high technologies, the life that we are living today is easy.
Information age has affected and transformed the lives we have. From communicating through
simple ways like papyrus, letter writing etc., we have shifted to calling through mobile phones,
sending files through email, chatting with our love ones through video calls, etc. Highly
modernized, automated, data-driven and technologically advanced-these is how we describe our
society nowadays. This era of our life offers us a lot for the development of noble researchers but
it also entails responsible use. You must learn how to check the reliability of the sources you are
accessing before dissemination for those information poses both positive and negative impacts.
You must always consider that the information you share could be of great help to our lives and
others.
Advances in science and technology have also affected our biodiversity. Some efforts have been
made by the government to conserve all species. Threats like habitat loss and destruction,
alterations in ecosystem composition, over-exploitation, pollution, contamination, and global
climate change has cause drastic decrease in the population of species all over the world. The
decrease has led to environment-related illnesses, nutritional, health and biological problems.
Together we must be all biodiversity savers to have a better environment.
Scientist has made advances in technology through the field of nanotechnology. Through this,
products can be manufactures to help improve health, environment, food, water, and agriculture.
Though this field promises a lot, you must take into account the social, ethical, and
environmental concerns of using such.
Another breakthrough in science is gene therapy. Gene therapy is a method that may treat or cure
genetic related human illness. As this science flourish, many ethical issues were raised. Thus, as
a future researcher, you must be able to distinguish what is vital if you wished to venture in the
field of nanotechnology.
Climate change is a worldwide issue that each of us must face. Several factors like natural
processes and persistent human activities have statistically increased the percentage of climate
change for a period of time. The continuous climate change has affected the biotic and abiotic
aspects of the earth.
Reflection
Now that you have reached this far, it is time to reflect and make a move by answering the
following questions
1. Is information age a boon or a bane? Why?
2. How does Information Age influence our society?
3. As a part of the planet earth, what can you do in your own simple way to help in the
advancement of science and technology for the improvement of the society?
4. Reflect on this “Gene therapy is still in its infancy, but it is believed that as it matures, it
will become an effective treatment for the myriad of genetic diseases that affect
humanity”
5. Imagine a product called multi-replicator was developt by a nanotechnologist and made
available to anyone. This replicator could allow people to simply produce any item they
need themselves without the help of any manufacturer or a company. What would this do
to our economy as we know it today? Can ou think of some impacts of these
breakthrough on employment, science, politics, society and other sectors. What are some
of the social and ethical considerations scientist must consider in conducting researches
in nanotechnology?