This activity challenges students to use the En-ROADS climate simulator to make a plan to keep global warming to less than 2°C by 2100.
The guide outlines five goals that the students' plans must meet to be successful.
A shorter version of this activity can be found here.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The En-ROADS simulator is available in 12 languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, Russian, Dutch, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Korean.
The simulator provides many solutions for lowering future global temperatures. Students will have the chance to try several solutions to achieve the goal.
Additional Prerequisites
The link to the Quick Guide does not work.
The walkthrough video provides excellent information on how to use the simulator.
Differentiation
Students can complete the activity individually, in pairs, or in small groups.
This resource will improve students understanding of the future of our changing climate. Students will learn how to develop sustainable plans for the economy, trade, and energy sector without posing any negative influence on the climate. The resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ESS2: Earth's Systems
HS-ESS2-2 Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems.
HS-ESS2-4 Use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out of Earth’s systems result in changes in climate.
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
HS-ESS3-2 Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
HS-ESS3-5 Analyze geoscience data and the results from global climate models to make an evidence-based forecast of the current rate of global or regional climate change and associated future impacts to Earth systems.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 1: Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries
D1.1.9-12 Explain how a question reflects an enduring issue in the field.
Dimension 2: Civics
D2.Civ.13.9-12 Evaluate public policies in terms of intended and unintended outcomes, and related consequences.
Common Core Math Standards (CCSS.MATH)
Statistics & Probability: Interpreting Categorical & Quantitative Data (9-12)
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.A.1 Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.HSS.ID.B.6 Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and describe how the variables are related.
