What If We Burned All the Fossil Fuels?
Videos
Grades9, 10, 11, 12, APChemistry, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Hot Mess
What it is
- This video cohesively explains the possible detrimental impacts of burning all the fossil fuels on Earth.
- The video also highlights and explains suitable options to reduce the use of fossil fuels in our societies.
Teaching tips
Positives
- The video concisely explains information through engaging imagery and clear text to ensure student understanding.
- The solutions provided in the video and the mention of commitments to reduce warming help to alleviate some of the panic students may feel when hearing about the possible future.
Prerequisites
- Students will need to have a basic understanding of the connection between climate change and fossil fuels.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This video can be used by civics and English classes as a hook to engage students in the activities Write a Letter to Your Energy Minister or Write a Letter to Congress.
- This video can be used by science classes when learning about the impacts of nonrenewable energy.
- Science teachers can extend this resource by using the activity Powering the Planet: Renewable Energy afterward to explore solutions to fossil fuel usage.
- For the most up-to-date information on levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, have your students explore this resource from NOAA.
From the scientist review
This resource is a 6-minute video that answers the question: What would happen if we used up all of the Earth's fossil fuel resources? The scenario is roughly equivalent to 2000 ppm of carbon dioxide, which is a very high emitting future scenario. The resource presents the potential sea level rise, temperature increase, and impacts on droughts and flooding, as well as giving some clear actions to avoid this future scenario. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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