Climate Change
1. Read the following articles, published during October 2018: https://grist.org/article/how-brazils-presidential-election-could-eff-up-the-planet-for-everyone/
https://theconversation.com/jair-bolsonaros-brazil-would-be-a-disaster-for-the-amazon-and-global-climate-change-104617
And this article published in 2021:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/14/amazon-rainforest-will-collapse-if-bolsonaro-remains-president
In the 1960s and 1970s, while Brazil was under a military dictatorship, Brazilian land policy opened up vast swaths of the Amazonian rainforest for farming, pasture-grazing, and logging. These policies accelerated the deforestation of the Amazonian rainforest.
A. What “good news” do the articles describe as happening to Amazonian rainforest deforestation in more recent decades?
B. List and describe three environmental policies that new Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has proposed that would gravely endanger the Amazon rainforest and jeopardize our likelihood of keeping global warming below 1.5C.
C. According to the articles, why is the Amazon so important for keeping global warming in check?
D. After three years of Bolsonaro’s presidency, why are activists now saying the Amazon will entirely collapse if his policies are not immediately reversed? In your estimation––and according to the 2021 article––were the grave warnings from 2018 accurate or were they not grave enough?
E. Based on the three articles, and our discussions in class, would you classify Jair Bolsonaro as a climate denier? If so, which “denier tactics” (that we discussed in class) does Bolsonaro employ?
2. Using the spreadsheet titled “climatechange_chitemps_spreadsheet, answer the following questions (similar to what we did in class):
A. In class we compared 1984 temperatures to 2017 temperatures, here you are comparing 1950 temperatures to 1980 and 2017 temperatures. Using the spreadsheet data, show and then discuss whether 1950 was warmer or cooler than 1980.
B. Now show and discuss whether 1980 was warmer or cooler than 2017.
C. Do your observations from Part A and B lead you to conclude that Chicago has been warming since 1950? How? Be sure to describe your logic using as numbers and graphs.
D. Sketch your results or attach the graphs you made that clearly show your results to Parts A-C
E. Now, look at the columns showing precipitation data. Using a similar method that you used in Parts A-B, show whether has precipitation changed between 1960, 1980 and 2017. Based only on these data, how would you describe the response of precipitation in Chicago to climate change?
