Using NewsHour Extra Feature Stories

Overview: NewsHour Extra feature stories can help students identify and interpret key issues in current events. This activity anticipates one class period, but the follow-up essay might be assigned as homework or in another period.

Warm Up: Use initiating questions to introduce the topic and find out how much your students know.

Main Activity: Have students read NewsHour Extra's feature story and answer the questions on the reading comprehension handout.

Discussion: Use discussion questions to encourage students to think about how the issues outlined in the story affect their lives and express and debate different opinions.

Follow-up: Students can write a 500-word editorial on the topic expressing their views and send it to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org] for possible publication.

Evaluation: Students are graded on their answers to reading comprehension questions and/or their editorial.

Story: Earth Day Intensifies Global Warming Debate, 04/19/06
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june06/earthday_4-19.html

Initiating Questions:

1. What is Earth Day?

2. Are you or anyone you know doing anything for Earth Day this year?

3. Do you think environmental issues get as much attention as they should? Why or why not?

Reading Comprehension Questions: (click here for printout)

1. What is significant about the winter of 2005-2006?

The winter of 2005-2006 will go on record as one of the warmest in recent history and 2005 was the warmest year on record, according to NASA.

And although not all scientists agree, most experts studying Earth's recent climate past believe that human activities such as the release of heat-trapping gas are a dominant factor in the warming trend.

2. How is Earthday being recognized differently in the U.S. and the world?

Earthday Network, Earth Day's international organizing body, has chosen to feature global warming as the theme for Earth Day, April 22, taking the issue head on and hoping to encourage activism.

Meanwhile, the Bush administration, which has been skeptical of the human influence on climate change, saying more study is needed, has designated the theme of Earth Day 2006 as "cleaning the air, promoting land conservation, and improving water quality."

3. What are greenhouse gases?

Across the world, people burn fossil fuels, like coal and oil, for energy. The energy created provides electricity and heat for our homes and businesses, but the burning process, called combustion, also releases gases into the air.

Some of the gases can trap heat near the Earth instead of letting it pass through the atmosphere into space. These gases are known as greenhouse gases because they reflect heat and warm the Earth the same way a greenhouse creates a warm environment for plants to grow, even in the middle of winter.

4. What consensus was achieved on climate change in 2005?

In 2005, 11 national science academies, including those from the United States, United Kingdom, China and Russia, signed a statement renewing their support for the document, asserting that climate change is "real" and a result of human activities.

5. What do skeptics of the agreement believe?

However, skeptics charge that the models forming the basis of Climate Change 2001 haven't been sufficiently scrutinized.

A 2003 report criticized the simplicity of the mathematical models used to create the "hockey stick" graph and suggested using local data instead of global averages. Skeptics say other climate change indicators account for local temperature anomalies like a Medieval Warm Period that occurred about 1,000 years ago and a Little Ice Age that ended about 100 years ago.

6. Describe the history of Earthday and how it has evolved from when it was first founded.

Earth Day was founded in 1970 by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, an outspoken advocate for the environment.

The first Earth Day was organized by grassroots organizations from across the country. Over the years these groups spread Earth Day to 174 countries, organizing events with schools, businesses and governments.

While originally started to build support for a political cause, Earth Day has been seen by many to represent a respect for the planet and a desire to care for it.

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. In 2001, President Bush said, "No one can say with any certainty what constitutes a dangerous level of warming, and therefore what level must be avoided." Do you agree or disagree? Explain your answer with clear details.

2. In 2005, the Prime Minister of Britain, Tony Blair said, "Climate change is in my view long-term the single biggest issue that we face. And the brutal truth is, without America in the process of dialogue and action in the international community, we aren't going to make progress on it." What did he mean by this? Do you agree?

3. Some cities have taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emission. Take a look at this NewsHour story:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/july-dec05/kyoto_8-15.html

What, if anything, are cities near you doing?

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.