Global Warming
Did you know that the Earth is like a giant greenhouse? The Earth’s protective layers of gases in the atmosphere keep us safe from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays as well as keep the Earth to a livable temperature. However, recent increases in the greenhouse’s gases have been linked to an overall rise in the world’s temperature which, if continued, could have disastrous effects. Learn about global warming as well as what you can do to reduce this alarming trend through the direct links on The Times Launch Point Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint
Level 1
The EPA Global Warming Kids Page: It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that machines from human activity started affecting environment and climate. Learn how scientists study climate and find out, through illustrations, articles and games, how changes in temperature can affect our daily lives.
https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/kids/index.html
EEK! Global Warming is Hot Stuff! Some experts believe that the Earth’s temperatures will rise an additional 9 degrees Fahrenheit in the next century because of an increase in greenhouse gases. Find out what could occur if the Earth gets much warmer. Try an experiment to create your own greenhouse effect.
https://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/global.htm
A Beginner’s Guide to Climate Change for Kids: View animation that shows causes of global warming and how chlorofluorocarbongases, used in such items as refrigerators, can break down the ozone layer. Read a history of how the Earth’s climate has changed and learn about efforts of scientists around the world to stop greenhouses gases from being released into the air.
https://www.cop3.de/fccc/kids/kids.html
Level 2
Environmental Defense, Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast: Global warming could alter global precipitation patterns and lead to floods and water contamination. Learn about potential problems of global warming, and try some interactive games in the virtual museum exhibit that teaches you how you can reduce global warming.
https://www.edf.org/pubs/Brochures/GlobalWarming/
The Sierra Club Global Warming Campaign: The Earth’s climate has been slowly changing for thousands of years. Read articles on why scientists are concerned about the Earth’s now rapidly changing climate, and see how global warming may have already begun by using an interactive extreme weather map.
https://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/
The Why Files: The Ultimate Heating Season: View charts and hear statements from scientists regarding recent developments in global warming, such as remarks by UC Irvine atmospheric chemist Sherwood Rowland, who earned a Nobel Prize for predicting that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) would eventually deplete ozone.
https://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/080global_warm/
Level 3
EPA Global Warming Site: Greenhouse gases which occur naturally include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone, while chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are greenhouse gases generated by industrial processes. Learn about efforts at the local, state, national and international levels to reduce the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
https://www.epa.gov/globalwarming/index.htm
What’s Up With the Weather? Find out about scientists’ varying opinions about the future effects of global warming, read about alternative sources of energy that can replace fossil fuels and discover how ice cores are studied to learn about global weather over time. For example, studies show there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now than at any other time in the last 160,000 years.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/warming/
A Paleo Perspective on Global Warming: What is the difference between global warming and greenhouse warming, and where does ozone depletion fit in? Find out how scientists study tree rings, coral reefs and glaciers to determine climate changes over long periods of time and learn how they use this data to understand today’s weather and climate.
https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/paleo/globalwarming/home.html
EXPLORER’S QUEST
The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.
How can trees help reduce the greenhouse effect?
CLUE: The EPA Global Warming Kids Page
Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 100 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.
Answer to last week’s Quest: The bird without a song was an owl named Wise Guy who could only say: “Whoooooooooo.”
Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Gina Calabretta, Lisa Fox, Reena Han and Anna Manring.
