This 205-page scientific report, commissioned by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, provides an overview of greenhouse gases, regional and global climate change, and the specific effects of climate change on New Jersey.
The report is broken up into chapters and there is an executive summary for quick reference.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This report is written in a clear, easy-to-understand style.
Clicking on the sidebar menu at the top left-hand corner enables a navigable table of contents.
Additional Prerequisites
The Executive Summary will help students understand the scope and purpose of the report because it provides a broad overview of many of the topics covered.
Differentiation
Civics classes could use the report to compare and contrast state environmental policies such as New Jersey's Executive Order 89 or the New Jersey Global Warming Response Act with international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol.
Health and biology classes could locate and read sections of the report that explain how climate change impacts human health.
Other resources on this topic include this resiliency map of New Jersey's coastal areas, this video about climate change impacts on New Jersey from Rutgers Climate Institute, and this Grist video on infrastructure improvements in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Scientist Notes
This resource contains a detailed report on the state of the environment of New Jersey between 1970-2020 and ways to manage climate risk. This report has been reviewed by scientists and experts, and it's recommended for students to gain deep insights.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
HS-ESS2-6 Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-3 Create a computational simulation to illustrate the relationships among management of natural resources, the sustainability of human populations, and biodiversity.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.1.9-12 Distinguish the powers and responsibilities of local, state, tribal, national, and international civic and political institutions.
D2.Civ.12.9-12 Analyze how people use and challenge local, state, national, and international laws to address a variety of public issues.
Dimension 2: Geography
D2.Geo.5.9-12 Evaluate how political and economic decisions throughout time have influenced cultural and environmental characteristics of various places and regions.
D2.Geo.6.9-12 Evaluate the impact of human settlement activities on the environmental and cultural characteristics of specific places and regions.
D2.Geo.9.9-12 Evaluate the influence of long-term climate variability on human migration and settlement patterns, resource use, and land uses at local-to-global scales.
