Carbon Crunch
In addition to changing the Earth’s landscape, humans have also changed our planet’s atmosphere. Using the Timeline, students work in small groups to determine the main environmental concerns during different periods of history. They then analyze carbon use changes over time (using the Carbon Emissions overlay on the Population Map) and compare countries in terms of amount of carbon emitted and vulnerability to climate change related risks. Finally, they read about and evaluate a proposal to have a “carbon budget” for the Earth and the possible consequences for different nations.
Subjects: Environmental Science (General and AP), World History (General and AP), World Geography, AP Human Geography
Key Concepts: Carbon emissions and climate change, climate-related risks (natural disasters, sea level rise, agricultural productivity loss), energy consumption, air and water pollution, strategies for sustainability
Lesson Materials
- Lesson Plan
- Student Worksheet
- Student Reading
- Country Cards
- Chart 1
- Chart 2