Throughout your investigation into the question "Are humans causing extreme weather?", you have gathered quality evidence based on your own interests. As you have seen though, there is a lot of conflicting evidence - meaning that some sources say humans are causing extreme weather, while others say we don't - and it's all very convincing. What we know for sure is that carbon dioxide levels are higher than ever in human history and most scientists believe that these levels are causing global warming. The two main ideas behind your research so far are...
1. Are humans causing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to rise? 2. Are rising carbon dioxide levels causing extreme weather events? This helps us simplify the evidence we need to look for in order to answer the main question, "Are humans causing extreme weather?". This week we will discover pieces of evidence for question 1 that supports both sides of the debate, but it is up to you to decide which evidence is most compelling. Are humans causing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere to rise or is it just Earth's natural process? Stay curious and keep looking for answers! With two snow days last week, it was tough to get much done towards answering our central question, "Are humans causing extreme weather?". This week though, you will present your concept maps to other groups in order to get feedback on the answers and evidence your group is gathering. Giving honest, detailed feedback and being open to constructive criticism will help your group develop better answers and stronger arguments for our debate. This week, we will also be looking at different types extreme weather events from Earth's past, then try to understand why they developed in the first place and how they became so strong. Understanding the answers to these questions may help us better understand if there is a connection between humans and extreme weather. Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
As we discussed on Friday, the nor'easter that hit us last week brought with it winds up to ~80 mph and multiple high tides with severe flooding. But recently, weather around the world has also been out of character too, especially the enormous blizzard in Europe - even bringing snow to areas near the warm waters of Mediterranean Sea (see snow in Ireland below - they never get snow, just rain). There may be a connection between global warming and this extreme weather, but what is it? Are humans causing these extreme weather events? If so, what are the connections? As you investigate and uncover more clues to answer these questions, you will discover what evidence scientists are now are using to make predictions about our future. Is this enough evidence though, to show that humans are causing extreme weather? Stay curious and keep looking for answers!
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The Weekly UpdateThese posts are updates of weekly topics, events, and experiments. The most recent posts are at the top. Archives
March 2020
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