If last summer's record-melting trend continues, the ice that usually floats on the surface of the Arctic Sea year-round may be gone by September. More than 70 percent of the current Arctic sea ice is less than a year old and only 60 inches deep. Mark Serreze, a senior researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado, said there's a 50 percent chance that ice at the North Pole will melt completely this summer.

The Earth needs polar ice. On any given day, sea ice that covers the polar region is the size of the U.S. Losing year-round polar ice could heat the planet faster than expected. The Arctic ice pack helps cool the Earth in several ways:

1. The ice's reflective surface bounces the sun's rays back out of the atmosphere, and prevents rays from heating the ocean.
   
   
2. Less ice means the ocean absorbs more heat, causing sea ice to melt even faster, raising ocean temperatures that accelerate global warming.

Global warming will cause severe changes in weather patterns that will affect every country in the world. Global warming will cause sea levels to rise and threaten coastal homes and businesses in the U.S. and world.

Unfortunately, and despite the compelling evidence of global warming, most scientists were disappointed by the agreements made by the leaders of the industrialized countries in the G8 Summit in July. Their goals, primarily voluntary, fell far short of stopping the progress of global warming, namely "moving toward a carbon-free society" by seeking to cut worldwide emissions of heat-trapping gases in half by 2050.

Assign students to create a written report of at least 100 words or a PowerPoint report of at least two-minutes and six slides that addresses at least three of the essential questions for critical thinking listed below. The report should cite at least three resources.

Pathfinder
ENVIRONMENT Icon > Global Warming & Greenhouse Effect

Essential Questions for Critical Thinking (you can create others)

• What evidence is there of global warming on Earth and where you live?
• What causes global warming?
• What harm can global warming do to people and countries?
• What can governments do to reduce the acceleration of global warming?
• What can you and your family do to combat global warming?
• How do you think that global warming will change the weather and lifestyle of where you live?

Arctic warming has become so dramatic that the North Pole may melt this summer, report scientists studying the effects of climate change in the field. "We're actually projecting this year that the North Pole may be free of ice for the first time in history," said David Barber, of the University of Manitoba on a Canadian research icebreaker.

Firsthand observations and satellite images show that the immediate area around the geographic North Pole is now mostly annual, or first-year ice--thin new ice that forms each year during the winter freeze and is more prone to melting during the summer.

"I would say the ice in the vicinity of the North Pole is primed for melting, and an ice-free North Pole is a good possibility," said Sheldon Drobot, a noted climatologist. The melt would be mostly symbolic--thicker ice, pushed against the Canadian continental shelf by weather and Earth's rotation, would still survive the summer. Recent models suggest that the Arctic won't see its first completely ice-free summer until somewhere between 2013 and 2030.

Despite the compelling evidence of global warming, most scientists agree that the agreements made by the leaders of the industrialized Group of Eight Summit (G8) conference in July fell far short of stopping the progress of global warming. They pledged to "move toward a carbon-free society" by seeking to cut worldwide emissions of heat-trapping gases in half by 2050.

Global Warming is problem that has implications for both environmentalists and fossil fuel producers such as coal and oil companies. Your students will be motivated to learn more about global warming and what can be done by individuals, business, and governments to halt its progress.

ProQuest has created a BookCart lesson activity for you to use with your students for this topic: Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect. The BookCart includes:

• Five essential questions for critical thinking (you can create others)
• Student directions
• A place to provide print resource call numbers
• A national standard
• A five-question quiz

Time saved in searching by using the BookCart can be reinvested in more reading, writing, and presentation--the essential skills that students must have to succeed.

You can copy this BookCart and almost 80 other Elementary models from the ProQuest Carts collection:

• Logon to the eLibrary Elementary Teacher Edition.
• Click the BookCart Admin link.
• Click the ProQuest Carts tab.
• Click the Elementary BookCarts folder on the left margin.
• Click to access page two.
• Click the Copy Icon in the Actions column for Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect.
• Return to My Local Carts

To edit the BookCart for your students to open and use:

• Click the new BookCart Title (it will include the prefix "Copy of").
• Delete "Copy of" and then type your first and last name in the Author boxes.
• Edit any information in the Description box to customize the activity for your students.
• Scroll down and click Save.

Assign students to create a written report of at least 100 words or a PowerPoint report of at least two-minutes and six slides that addresses at least three of the essential questions for critical thinking listed below. The report should cite at least three resources.

Pathfinder:
Topic Tab > Science > Earth Science > Climate > Special Topics > Impacts of Climatic Change > Global Warming

• What causes the Greenhouse Effect?
• How does the Greenhouse Effect create Global Warming?
• What can government do to help reverse the Greenhouse Effect?
• What can you do to help reverse the Greenhouse Effect?
• How will global warming change the environment where you live?

Creating and assigning essential questions for critical thinking are a research-proven (Bloom Taxonomy) strategy for increasing literacy and thinking skills in inquiry-based learning activities.