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JANUARY 16
THE COST OF DROPPING OUT
JANUARY 11 - NUCLEAR ENERGY
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COAL - BLACK GOLD
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
TUESDAY JAN 10
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PODCAST
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PBS.ORG NOW BROADCAST APRIL, 9 2009
CAN COAL BE EARTH FRIENDLY?
TUESDAY 3 JAN - CLIMATE
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Observations document that the Earth's ocean is warming. As the ocean warms, it will also expand in volume, causing sea level to rise. This rise is in addition to the sea level rise that results from water added from melting ice and snow that comes from land-based sources. Today, there are large human populations living in coastal areas worldwide that will be affected by rising sea level.
Click on the video at the left to watch the NBC Learn video - Changing Planet: Ocean Temperatures. |
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Black carbon contributes to global warming in two ways. When in the atmosphere, it absorbs sunlight and generates heat, warming the air. When deposited on snow and ice, it changes the albedo of the surface, absorbing sunlight and generating heat. This further accelerates warming, since the heat melts snow and ice, revealing a lower albedo surface which continues to absorb sunlight - a vicious cycle of warming.
Click on the video at the left to watch the NBC Learn video - Changing Planet: Black Carbon. |
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As the Earth system warms due to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the high latitude regions of the Earth, which have been in the deep freeze of permafrost for thousands of years, are beginning to thaw out. As the ground thaws, organic matter trapped in the ground decomposes and releases methane - a potent greenhouse gas - into the atmosphere. In addition, melting permafrost damages the infrastructure of communities and facilities at high latitudes, since these were built under the assumption that the ground would remain frozen.
Click on the video at the left to watch the NBC Learn video - Changing Planet: Thawing Permafrost. |
WATCHED VIDEOS
WEDNESDAY - OVERPOPULATION
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MONDAY - CHILDREN SOLDIERS
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PODCASTS
Click on picture above for Powerpoint of this young man or click on title below for the podcast
Emmanuel Jal: From Child Soldier to Rising Star |