Page 80 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: Science, 2008 (revised)

Grade 10, Academic
d1. analyse some of the effects of climate change around the world, and assess the effectiveness of initiatives that attempt to address the issue of climate change;
d2. investigate various natural and human factors that influence Earth’s climate and climate change;
d3. demonstrate an understanding of natural and human factors, including the greenhouse effect, that influence Earth’s climate and contribute to climate change.
D1. Relating Science to Technology, Society, and the Environment
d. earth and Space Science: climate change
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | science
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
By the end of this course, students will:
d1.1 analyse current and/or potential effects, both positive and negative, of climate change on hu- man activity and natural systems (e.g., loss of habitat for Arctic mammals such as polar bears and loss of traditional lifestyles for Inuit as Arctic ice shrinks; famine as arable land is lost to desert- ification; an increase in water-borne disease and human resettlement as coastal lands are flooded; expansion of the growing season in some regions) [AI, C]
Sample issue: Scientists are researching changes in climate patterns as possible contributing factors to an increase in the number of smog days in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. As the air quality worsens, people may curtail their outdoor activities, and those with respira- tory problems may require medical attention, increasing health care costs.
Sample questions: How have recent extreme weather events such as heat waves in Europe or drought in southern Africa affected habitats in these regions? How might predicted changes to global temperature and precipitation affect agri- culture in Ontario, Canada, or different areas around the world? How might the continuing reduction of the polar ice cap influence domestic and international transportation and shipping?
d1.2 assess, on the basis of research, the effective- ness of some current individual, regional, national, or international initiatives that address the issue of climate change (e.g., Drive Clean, ENERGY STAR, federal and provincial govern- ment rebates for retrofitting older buildings to be more energy efficient, carbon offset programs, community tree-planting programs, municipal recycling programs, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC]), and propose a further course of action related to one of these initiatives [PR, AI, C]
Sample issue: Governments and industry have created rebates or tax cuts to encourage consumers to replace their old appliances with efficient ENERGY STAR appliances. However, such in- itiatives do not take into account the resources used to create the new products or the problems associated with the disposal of old appliances.
Sample questions: What type of recycling and composting programs are in place in your com- munity? What proportion of locally generated garbage do they divert from landfill sites? How could they be improved? What is the purpose of carbon offset credits? Do they achieve that purpose? Why or why not?