THE GREEN HOUSE GAS GAME
OVERVIEW
During this activity participants will develop an understanding of what green house gases
are, where they come from, and how individuals impact the level of green house gases in
the atmosphere.
DURATION
15-30 min.
MATERIALS
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Enough 3x5 cards, scraps of paper, or sticky notes for each participant to have 2.
10+ pieces of heavy paper or other objects to act as tokens for participants to grab
and run with
A bucket or basket to represent the earth and hold pieces of paper
PREPARATION
Identify a safe, open, and large enough area to form a circle of participants at arms-length
distance.
If necessary define the edges of the circle with a rope, flagging etc.
PROCEDURE/ACTIVITIES
1. Discuss Green House effect, green house gases (GHG) and their sources
1. Green House effect
2. GHG gases and sources
i. H2O vapor: evaporation
ii. CO2: burning fossil fuels
iii. Methane: decomposition
iv. NOx, ozone, Etc…..
2. Have participants write down on the 3x5 card 2 specific things they do that
generate green house gases (2 GHG generators will allow facilitator to avoid
repetition) and one thing they do that reduces green house gases in the
atmosphere. For example participants could drive a car which produces CO2, or
put trash in a landfill which produces methane or to reduce GHGs they could
plant a tree, drive less, drive instead of fly etc. Be prepared to give suggestions or
have the students work in groups depending on the age and sophistication of the
group.
3. Go outside or to a large indoor gathering place, like a gym and ask the
participants to get in a circle and spread themselves out at arms length. In the
center of the circle place the bucket (or anything to represent the earth) and put
the 10 pieces of heavy paper into the bucket. Mark a protected circle around the
“earth.”
4. Ask one participant to volunteer to read his/her card and let the rest of the group
know what 1 of their GHG generating actions is. Ask the participant what kind of
GHG this action produces (CO2, methane, etc.).
1. If the activity produces CO2, he or she can pick one other participant to go
into the atmosphere with them (the area between the circle of students and
the earth)
2. If the activity produces methane or other GHG, the participant can pick 2
others to move into the atmosphere.
5. When the facilitator says GO the solar energy (participants still in the circle) will
try and run to the earth (collect a token, or piece of heavy paper) and return back
to space without being tagged or trapped by a GHG. GHG cannot enter the
protected area around the “earth.” Once the group settles, you can repeat this,
turning those trapped by GHGs into GHGs themselves.
NOTE: you can set the number of solar energy participants running
into the middle by changing the number of tokens available.
6. When things get too crowded in the circle, you can ask a participant to read an
action that removes GHGs from the atmosphere. The facilitator can choose how
many GHGs to remove as needed to keep things moving.
7. Every few rounds, reset the game using other GHG generating activities.
DISCUSSION
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Ask the participants what happened as the GHGs trapped more solar energy?
o It is more difficult for solar energy to be reflected back into space and
therefore the earth heats up
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Discuss that without GHGs there would be no life on earth but with too many GHGs
we are altering the earth’s climate and illustrate some examples of climate change
impacts (sea level rise, increasing temperature, storms, etc.)
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Discuss actions that reduce GHGs in the atmosphere