Teaching Climate

Collection of Climate and Energy Educational Resources (CLEAN)

A collection of 700+ free ready-to-use rigorously reviewed by educators and scientists. Suitable for secondary through higher education classrooms.

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Guides for Teaching Climate and Energy Science

Climate and energy are complex topics with rapidly developing science and technology and the potential for controversy. See the following pages for relevant principles concepts teaching materials and pedagogic approaches for each grade level.

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Teaching Climate Teaching Energy Toolbox for Teaching Climate & Energy

Global Climate Dashboard

Tracking climate change and natural variability over time

In 2021, the combined heating influence of all human-produced greenhouse gases was 49 percent higher than it was in 1990.

Since the start of the satellite era in 1979, the extent of ice covering the Arctic Ocean at the end of summer has shrunk by more than 40 percent.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen more than 45 percent since people began burning fossil fuels for energy. It hit a new high of 414.7 parts per million in 2021.

Since 1980, the cumulative ice loss from a reference network of mountain glaciers is equivalent to slicing an 87-foot-thick slab off each glacier. The rate of loss is roughly doubling each decade.

The ocean is storing 91% of the excess heat from global warming, contributing to sea level rise, ice shelf retreat, and stress on marine life.

Sea level has risen between 8 and 9 inches since 1880. The rate of sea level rise more than doubled from 2006–2015 compared to the rate throughout most of the twentieth century.

Since 1967, spring snow cover has shrunk by 1.4 percent per decade in April, 4.1 percent per decade in May, and 12.9 percent per decade in June.

The sun’s total brightness varies by an average of 0.1 percent over an 11-year cycle, but there has been very little net change over the last century.

Global average surface temperature has risen 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since 1880. The rate of warming has more than doubled since 1981.