Dr. Dean Saghafi

Lincoln High School

The year is 2080. You and your family want to go shopping downtown in Manhattan. Unfortunately, there is a big problem. Downtown Manhattan is underwater! How did this happen? Global warming was responsible for the disappearance of downtown Manhattan. Global warming is caused by the increasing levels of greenhouse gases (CO2) that are emitted into the earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse gases are produced primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. The greenhouse gases cause the sun’s radiant heat energy to be trapped by the atmosphere, resulting in increased land and water temperatures. Warming has occurred in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. A warming trend of 1.0-1.7 degrees Fahrenheit has occurred between 1906-2005. The warming of the planet has led to the melting of the polar ice caps, resulting in rising sea levels.

Your job is to create a five minute PowerPoint presentation that discusses the long term implications (50-100 years) of global warming in New York State. The Powerpoints are to be presented in class.

In order to get your information for your PowerPoint, you need to complete a Public Policy Analyst (PPA). The PPA is made up worksheets that will help you answer the questions to your topic. The PPA worksheets will be collected with the PowerPoint. Click on the links below to download and answer the worksheets.

1. Define the problem (worksheet 1)

2. Gather evidence of the problem (worksheet 2)

3. Identify the causes of the problem (worksheet 3)

4. Evaluate (look at) existing (current) public policies (worksheet 4)

5. Develop new policies that could be used to solve the problem (worksheet 5)

6. Select the best policy (solution) for the problem (worksheet 6)

1. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

2. Wikipedia

3. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

4. Effects of Global Warming on New York State

5. Global Warming and New York State

6. Effects of Global Warming on New York State and the Great Lakes

7. Effects of Global Warming on New York City

8. National Center for Public Policy Research

Criteria	Excellent 3	Good 2	Poor 1	Pts
Gathering Information: PPA	Problem is identified and researched thoroughly. All steps of the PPA are addressed and the handouts are complete.	Problem is identified and researched. All six steps of the PPA are addressed. Most worksheets are completed correctly.	Problem is identified and partially researched. Some of the worksheets are incomplete.
Powerpoint	All of the required topics are addressed thoroughly in the Powerpoint. Content is accurate and ideas are supported well by research.	All of the required topics are addressed in the Powerpoint, however, some topics could have been researched more thoroughly. Content is accurate.	All of the topics are not addressed in the Powerpoint. More than two topics are not covered in enough detail. Content is inaccurate.
Oral Presentation	Students speak clearly and address the question completely.	The presentation is unclear at times. The question is answered completely.	The flow of the presentation is unclear. Questions are not answered completely.

Total Score = _________

Grades:

A= Total Score 7-9

B= Total Score 5-7

C=Total Score 3-5

F= Total Score <3

Upon the completion of this web quest you should have an understanding of the long term implications of global warming. I hope that you enjoyed doing this assignment. This webquest incorporates the New State Standards for English Language Arts, Science and Technology.