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The Climate Tipping Points that Could Change the Earth Forever

Provided by: Grist |Published on: April 27, 2021

Videos

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Synopsis

This video from Grist discusses the concept of tipping points, specifically with regard to permafrost melting, melting ice sheets, and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
The video uses a glass of water that is slowly tipped to one side until it falls over as a visual representation of ecological tipping points.

Related Teaching Resources

Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences

Authors: Grist

Region: Global

Languages: English

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Teaching Materials

Positives

This video is brief and does a nice job of simplifying the concept of positive feedback loops and ecological tipping points related to climate change.

Prerequisites

There may be a commercial before the video.
It may be beneficial to activate prior knowledge about the albedo effect, the density of water at different temperatures, and the production of carbon dioxide from cellular respiration and decomposition.

Differentiation & Implementation

Science classes can set up their own model demonstration of a tipping point to illustrate the idea or run an albedo experiment using identical objects of different colors to see differences in temperature increase in direct sunlight.
Social studies classes can discuss the human toll and impacts on societies in various locations if we cross these tipping points.
Students can also view this related video about ecosystems.

Scientist Notes

Teaching Tips

Standards

Resource Type and Format

Related Teaching Resources

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.