NOTE: This assignment requires viewing a DVD - "An Inconvenient Truth." You have five options. 1. Go to the CSUDH Library Instructional Media Center (LIB C121) and ask to view “An Inconvenient Truth”, which is posted on their web server. Note that the IMC is closed on weekends. 2. Most public libraries will have the video for checkout. 3. You can rent the DVD at a local video store (Wherehouse, Blockbuster, etc.). 4. If you use Netflix, it is available there. 5) You can rent the video online for $2.99 via Youtube or Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=An+Inconvenient+Truth
Please note: Whether you like Al Gore or not, please keep in mind that he is presenting the cumulative work of leading scientists (see answer to #16). It is the *science* that is being presented here.
1. In two words, what is the topic of this film?
2. Name the four spheres of the Earth (not the hemispheres!). Of these, which one(s) do humans have the most impact on?
3. What causes the greenhouse effect?
4. What causes the annual downturns in carbon dioxide production?
5. What does Lonnie Thompson use to measure past CO2 and O2 levels? Other than CO2 and O2 levels, what other parameter can he and fellow scientists determine?
6. For tropical glaciers (e.g., Peru), how far back in time can they go using this technique?
7. How far back in time can they go using this technique in Antarctica?
8. How well do CO2 levels and temperature match over this time?
9. List the ten hottest years on record, according to the film.
10. List the ten hottest years on record, according to recent (2012 or 2013) source.
11. Other than temperature, what other weather phenomena (there are several) have set records in the last few years?
12. Where on Earth is global warming the most pronounced?
13. What causes ocean waters to sink? (name two factors)
14. What caused the Little Ice Age in Europe?
15. Melting of what two large ice masses