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Vol.
31 No. 5
September-October 2009
Visualizing and Understanding the Science of Climate Change
Barraged by contradictory messages from media, many don’t have the right tools to know what to think about the connection between human activity and our changing climate. This project brings together chemists and educators from the IUPAC Committee on Chemistry Education, The King’s Centre for Visualization in Science (Canada), The Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), American Chemical Society (USA), UNESCO, and the Federation of African Societies of Chemistry to develop a set of critically reviewed, interactive, web-based materials for global dissemination to help students visualize and understand the underlying science of climate change. Target audiences are (a) teachers at the secondary and first-year tertiary levels, (b) students at those same levels, and (c) chemistry professionals. Visualizations will emphasize the fundamental chemistry of climate processes, but will also present research climate models, and place anthropogenic inputs to our atmosphere in a geo-political context.
The outcomes will contribute to the International Year of Chemistry’s goal of promoting the critical role of “education in and about chemistry” in “addressing challenges such as global climate change, in providing sustainable sources of clean water, food and energy, and in maintaining a wholesome environment for the well being of all people . . . .”
For more information and comments, contact Task Group Chair Peter Mahaffy <[email protected]>.
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last modified 14 September 2009.
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