Focus the Nation

To learn about global warming I watched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. It was very interesting and I learned a lot. Three things that I learned are:

• There is a possibility that a major ice sheet in Antarctica could collapse. This could raise global sea levels by 20 feet, which would cause flooding.
• Since 1880, the hottest ten years ever measured have all occured in the past 14 years.

• The Arctic Ocean is losing ice at a fast pace. This negatively effects polar bears.

Since I am going to be a health teacher, I could probably plan a whole unit on global warming, the environment, and ways to be more "green". I could teach my students ways to save energy such as using energy efficient light bulbs, turning off computers when not in use, and taking shorter showers. I could also give them tips such as car-pooling, avoiding bottled water to reduce the use of plastic that will end up in a landfill, and supporting local farmers, etc. I could teach them why global warming is happening and what exactly is happening to the environment. I like how An Inconvenient Truth sort of has a shock factor and it really made me want to try to make a difference. I would definitely want to share that film with my students. For a project, I would have my students create iMovies or use ComicLife to make an interesting project about global warming. I would then have a presentation that the community would be invited to, and all the students could share their work and discuss why making changes to improve our environment are necessary. I would also have the students send letters to Congress about the importance of taking action on global warming. This would make the students feel like they are making a difference.