Pat Ecology

I would like you to write a short essay that demonstrates your understanding of global warming. I realize that you have probably covered this before, but now its time to show me what you know! Please use the links below to learn about global warming or to refresh your memory. Be sure to check out many links to get a good idea of what is going on with climate change because you will need to gather information to answer all of the following questions.

* What is the greenhouse effect?

* How could the greenhouse effect cause the process of global warming?

* What are greenhouse gasses and what has been happening to their concentrations recently?

* What are projected changes (there is some debate about this and you will see different predictions), and what effect will these changes have on humans?

This is a controversial topic, so I want you to learn more and tell me what you think. While opinions are good, you can't just make the statement that you believe its happening or not. I want your opinion, but it must be based upon fact (Don't make statements like its only a theory without backing it up). Below are some links to sites that will give you more information on the subject. Browse through them, or find your own sources of information.

****************************************Your Paper Must Include!!**************************************

- Answers to the questions in essay form, not bullet points

- support for the statements that you make

- references to the sources you used (cut and paste the links below to show the sources of information you used)

Note: Please check out the rubric that follows the links to see how I will score this essay...

****************************************************************************************************

Web Sites

Global Warming. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Union of Concerned Scientists Web site: http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/

NOAA, Global Warming: Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from National Climatic Data Center Web site: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/globalwarming.html

Global Warming 101: The Science. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from GlobalWarming.Org: Reasoned Thinking Comes From Cooler Heads Web site: http://www.globalwarming.org/gw101

The National Acedemies of Science, Understanding and Responding to Climate Change. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from The National Academies Web site: http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/climate_change_2008_final.pdf

The Warming of the Earth. Retrieved October 29, 2008, from Woods Hole Research Center Web site: http://www.whrc.org/resources/online_publications/warming_earth/index.htm

Climate Change. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from Environmental Protection Agency Web site: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/

Climate Change. Retrieved October 30, 2008, from United Nations Environment Programme Web site: http://www.unep.org/Themes/climatechange/

*****************************************************************************************************

Insert this on the last page of the document. It should be the only thing on the page.

Global Warming Essay

5

(a good example for others)

4

(complete overall)

3

(could be improved)

2

(QQ = of questionalbly quality)

Score

Questions

All questions are addressed with complete answers

All questions are addressed, but some are not completely answered

One of the questions has not been addressed or some answers are confused

two or more questions have not been addressed

Writing

Essay is complete and easy to understand

Essay is a bit difficult to understand at times but is complete

Essay structure is confusing and hard to follow

There is no essay structure

Opinion

Personal stand on issue is clearly defined and backed up with information

Personal stand is clearly stated but support for statements is a bit vague

Personal stand is clearly stated but there is nothing to back it up

Personal stand is not stated

Sources

All sources used are clearly sited

Some information has no apparent source

Much information has no apparent source

sources are not sited