SUMMARY

Length 10 minutes.

This resource was selected for the CLEAN Collection.

This video features residents of Shishmaref, Alaska, plus environmental journalist Elizabeth Kolbert and scientist John Holdren, exploring the human impacts of global climate change. The roles of teachers, scientists, policymakers and concerned citizens in mitigating the changes are highlighted.

The following comments are by the CLEAN reviewers:

GOALS

About the Science

• This video examines some of the impacts of climate change on a small island community in the Arctic: warmer atmosphere, sea level rise, and less predictable weather. Village elders and scientist comment on the changes that are being seen.
• Comment from expert scientist: the activity is in the form of a 2007 AAAS video that shows how climate change is affecting oceanfront communities, with the greatest focus on a small coastal town in Alaska. There is footage of the town, showing erosion of ocean-front property. Analogies are drawn between what is happening now in coastal Alaska to what is likely to eventually happen in London, New York and Washington.
• The science appears to be accurate. There is a feeling of advocacy to the video to inspire action.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION AND TEACHING MATERIALS

Watch >> AAAS Global Climate Change

TEACHING NOTES / CONTEXT FOR USE

Use this video in conjunction with the resources found on the Encyclopedia of the Earth website: http://www.eoearth.org/climatechange

Technical Details/Ease of Use

• The video is of fair quality. Images are quite pixelated and is is hard to make out some of the details. Audio is fine.

ASSESSMENT

Assessment is at the discretion of the educator and how this video is applied.