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Listed under:  Science  >  Earth and space  >  Atmosphere  >  Climate  >  Climate change
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Designing urban carbon sinks lesson

In this lesson, students learn about the role of vegetation as carbon sinks, conduct field work to evaluate local carbon sinks and explore urban design issues. Students asses their own carbon footprints using the carbon footprint calculator, learn about carbon offset, carbon farming and carbon storage programs. Students ...

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Making a difference: development for a better future

This series of project-based resources use real world contemporary contexts to highlight opportunities and challenges in international food and nutrition security, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Resources focus on international agricultural practices and Australia's role as a member of the global community. The ...

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Climate-resilient homes lesson

In this lesson, students explore how architects consider sustainability factors when designing innovative climate-resilient homes. Students then design their own climate-resilient home for a location of their choice. In their designs they are asked to consider many factors such as the climate of the location, orientation ...

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Visualising climate change lesson

In this lesson, students explore different approaches to data representation, with the aim of engaging audiences with scientific data. They explore local temperature and rainfall datasets over time and represent trends in innovative ways. Students learn about different ways to visually represent climate change, looking ...

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Turtles: impact of climate change on Flatback turtle populations

The lesson follows an inquiry process in which students use a dataset to answer relevant questions about the turtle population. They consider how to analyse and display the data in order to effectively examine the impact of rising global temperatures on flatback turtle populations.

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Melting Ice and Rising Seas

This activity invites students to investigate how melting ice is a factor contributing to sea level rise. They explore whether the location of melting ice on Earth affects the way sea level rise occurs by making a model of seas, ice and continents. The activity includes a list of tools and materials required, what to do ...

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Catalyst: Thinning ice sheet

Discover that that the massive ice sheet in East Antarctica has been losing mass since 2006 instead of growing, as was previously thought. Watch animations to see how scientists from NASA and Australia are using satellite technology and aerial monitoring to investigate the thickness of East Antarctica's ice sheet. Find ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Sustainable tourism

The Yucatán Peninsula in south-eastern Mexico is a popular tourist destination. This clip focuses on examples of sustainable tourism - tourism that aims to have a low environmental impact. View Tulum, a town under threat of being developed similarly to Cancún, a major tourist resort destination.

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Lateline: Carbon capture and storage

Is carbon capture and storage (CCS) the solution to climate change? CCS technology captures carbon dioxide from the flue gases of coal burning power plants and takes it to long-term storage. The coal industry has high hopes that pumping the liquefied gas into underground reservoirs, or geo-sequestration, will provide safe ...

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Catalyst: Geoengineering - a solution to climate change?

What is geoengineering, and how is it being investigated by scientists as a means of combating climate change? Learn about some climate control techniques that could slow down or even reverse the effects of global warming. Hear an atmospheric physicist explain the pros and cons of geoengineering techniques.

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Reflections on ending the White Australia policy

Why was the abolition of the White Australia policy so important? Steps taken by the Whitlam Labor government in 1973 signalled the end of the legislation behind the policy. Find out which event first led to the new multiracial policy being put into practice. In this clip, you will hear from former prime ministers and ministers ...

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Foreign Correspondent: New dam, new house: The Mekong

The mighty Mekong river provides a way of life for millions of people, and is arguably the most important resource in the developing country of Laos. Discover how villagers are being relocated to make way for hydropower dams on this river, which stretches for nearly 5,000 kilometres from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam. ...

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Daisies describe an ecosystem

Ecosystems are affected by many factors including increasing temperatures, which many scientists believe threaten natural systems on Earth today. This creative clip uses a theoretical world of black and white daisies to show how changes to the natural reflectivity of a planet's surface impacts temperatures and populations. ...

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Foreign Correspondent: Damming the free and mighty Mekong

The Mekong has been a rare thing: a largely untouched and free-flowing river. Stretching for nearly 5,000 km from the mountains of Tibet to Vietnam's Mekong Delta, it has provided a way of life for millions of people and been an important trading route between south-western China and south-eastern Asia. In this clip from ...

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Catalyst: Sustainable fish farming

There are already more people around the world who eat farmed fish than people who eat beef. With the world's population and demand for food increasing, why is it so important for us to farm sustainably? One fishery near Kakadu in the Northern Territory practises sustainable farming. Find out what makes this farm so sustainable.

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Landline: Feeding soils to grow hungry crops

How do today's farmers improve their crop yields? One school of thought is to go high-tech and use agricultural technologies designed to improve efficiencies and yields. See the role that soil condition plays in gaining those high yields.

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Four Corners: TV killed the radio star

Can you imagine a time when, instead of watching dramas at home on a screen, people listened to them on the radio - a time when the most popular of those dramas were made in Australia? This Four Corners program from 1964 examines the reasons for the death of Australian radio serials, the role played by television in their ...

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Stateline: Proposed coal mine raises environmental issues

Explore the possible benefits and impacts to the environment and community of a proposed new coal mine, called the Wallarah 2 Coal Project. In this clip from late June 2013, find out some viewpoints that landowners, community members, mine representatives and politicians present about the proposed underground mine.

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Catalyst: How will fire change the climate?

Considering the impact of a changing climate on the severity and frequency of fires is one thing, but how about the impact of fires on climate? Why does Professor David Bowman describe this scenario as a 'fire spiral'? What are the consequences of a world with fewer forests? As Professor Craig Allen explains, drought and ...

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Catalyst: Would you eat insects?

A lot of resources go into the production of beef. For example, 20 litres of water is needed to produce just 1 gram of beef. In order to produce food more sustainably to feed an ever-growing population, some alternatives to protein have been suggested. What are some of these alternatives? Do you think they will ever replace meat?