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Module 1OVERARCHING IDEA:
Why Sustainability in Healthcare? Frames the course and makes it applicable and relatable. This will be the theme throughout the module.
Take-away: Being clear about the global and local impact of climate change and the opportunities that healthcare institutions, and in particular, EVS workers, have in reducing waste, conserving energy and water, and using non-toxic chemicals for cleaning (where
appropriate.
Activity/Time Frame
Seattle Custom-ization
Learning Activity Resource Instructors (Content and ESL)
Monday’s Class (2.5 hours) Welcome10 minutes
20 minutes
Welcome by instructors and guests (from labor/management)
Introductions (students and instructors)
Introductions: Name Cards ActivityStudents given 8.5 x 11 paper to make “tri-fold name cards” and asked to write their name in the center. Students also use the sides of the name card to write the name of their healthcare institution, the number of years as an EVS worker, and create a fun drawing of something about themselves that others might not know. Students share their name cards information in pairs, introduce each other to their group, and appoint a group spokesperson to introduce everyone at their table to the whole class.
Both
Opening Exercise
30 minutes
x Creating a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment (Handout #1)
Co-construction of a learning environment to create safety and support for all learners
Due to the large number of students born outside of the United States and the wide range of literacy levels (in particular low reading and writing levels), the Seattle pilot decided to insert an exercise at the beginning of the first class that invited students to help create a safe and supportive classroom environment for themselves and each other.
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Students worked together at their tables to respond to three prompts (handout attached). Volunteers were sought to act as a recorder and spokesperson for their group (could be same person). Students worked together to create one large easel paper combining all of their responses. Spokesperson from each table called out their responses which were written on the white board and later typed up by one of the instructors and redistributed to the class at the 2nd class as a classroom agreement that everyone contributed to.
Opening Exercise
10 minutes
Learning Styles (Handout #2) Building on the previous exercise, this exercise helps students better understand how they learn best.
Three cards placed around the room with the words yes, no and maybe written on them. Teacher reads from learning style handout #2. Students move to the correct answer as they respond to the questions about their preference in learning style. Follow up includes a discussion about different styles, how we all learn differently, and how this course is designed to incorporate the different learning styles.
ESL instructor
Anchoring Exercise
15 minutes
Syllabus– Handout #3 Student expectations and worker experience – investigation into the syllabus
ESL instructor reads out loud the important sections of the syllabus.
ESL instructor
Bridge to first exercise and opening concepts: What is Sustainability? What is the “big reason” to care about sustainability, climate change and global warming? Opening discussion about what healthcare institutions and EVS workers can do. Opening Skill –
Zooming (learning to see in a new or different way) – learning to see our world and healthcare
Sheet of paper and pen or pencil needed. Content Instructor
2
seeing with “green” glasses
5 minutes
(This activity was not done due to time constraint)
organizations through “green” glasses Students asked to take a sheet of paper and poke a hole through the paper with a pen or pencil. Students asked to hold up the paper close to their face and to look at something in the room and notice what they see. Next students are asked to extend their arm so that the hole in the paper is much further away from their face. Ask students to look through the hole again and notice what they see. Ask students what is different? This “zooming” activity helps students to realize that there are different ways to look at the same thing. In their “green” projects, they will be learning to move back and forth – looking closely at something and then reflecting on it from a distance.
Opening Question – 10 minutes
Building on what workers already know about sustainability, climate change and global warming
Listening and listing activity
What do you already know about climate change and global warming?
What have you noticed or seen? What’s changed around you over time? What do you remember from your
training? Why do you think it’s important?
ESL Instructor
Vocabulary
15 minutes
(This activity was not done due to time constraint)--
Vocabulary Word List- Pre-teach words in context before seeing the video and the group discussion.
Handout #4 – vocabulary words cut up and put into envelopes; 1 per table; students match words and definitions as well as supply an example in their own words
ESL Instructor
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moved to week 2Knowledge Building
15 minutes
VIDEO on the impacts of climate change Video: National Geographic on catastrophic climate change (10 minutes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MY-i_kdwe0
Small group debrief activity; sharing with whole class
Discussion: How does climate change affect your hospital, your family, your community?
ESL Instructor
15 minutes DISCUSSION: Facts about global warmingWhat do you know? What have you heard?
Handout #5
Teach in groups. Pick one fact per table. (Can pick randomly) to discuss. What do you know? What have you heard? How does it impact healthcare and EVS workers? Use easel paper per table.
Both
Wednesday’s Class (2.5 hours)Welcome10 minutes
Welcome from college deanThoughts and Observations from students from first night of classOverview of 11 weeks – (from last page of the syllabus)
Content Instructor
Anchoring Exercise
PowerPoint
Lab Experiment (handout #6)
What is 350 ppm? Why is it an important number for us to know? Handouts #7 and #8
C02 PowerPoint: What is carbon, carbon cycle, and carbon dioxide?
Lab Experiment
Content Instructor
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Group Activity
This activity was not done due to time constraint)
Wing Spread Principles (WEBSITE) – US response to climate change –
Handout #9
Exercise around computer literacy and opportunity for student application in class.http://summits.ncat.org/energy_climate/statement.php
Jane
Bridge to next exercise and concept: The local impact of climate change and global warming
ACTIVITY: VIDEO – Healthcare Without Harm “Leading the Healthcare System to Sustainability” (11 minutes) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY4ohVzrMkg
Video and Discussion
Connect Video and Discussion to Resources (websites and other resources)
If time, have students practice how to access these three websites mentioned in the video:
Practice Greenhealth, http://www.practicegreenhealth.org/,Healthcare Without Harm, http://www.noharm.org/, and Healthier Hospitals Initiative, http://www.healthierhospitals.org/
Content Instructor
ACTIVITY: Fact Sheet from Healthier Hospitals Handout #10
Students self organize in groups based on the area (waste, water, energy, etc.) they are interested in. They review the main points for that particular resource. Groups create a “talking poster” about the main points which is put up on the classroom wall. Instructor does a “guided showing” going over the posters and asking for any feedback or correction from the groups.
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Review/Assessment
(This activity was not done due to time constraint)
Optional Activity (on if there is time)Group Writing Task
ACTIVITY: Letter to future generations or future EVS workers (pick one. (Reinforce the zooming out technique). Ask students to pull in new concepts, ideas and vocabulary words.
ESL Instructor
Homework
20 minutes
Homework: Handout #10
Optional Reading sheets attached for those with higher reading skills. Not a requirement of the course but more to provide information for those who wish it.
Writing Time: ESL instructor pre-teaches journal writing with samples.
Review of Field work (homework) and Weekly Journal
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Assessment
Closing ActivityListening/Learning Circle
15 minutes
Closing Listening/Learning Circle
Students stand and move into a large circle. Instructor begins by informing students that this is a listening activity. Each person is given a chance to answer the following two questions: What did you learn this week that was important to you for your job?
What did you learn that was important to you personally? There are to be no interruptions or comments, but rather everyone is practicing their listening skills.
Both
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Creating a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment
What can your teachers and tutor/s do
for you to help you learn best?
What can other students in this class do to help you learn best?
What can you do for
yourself to make this a positive and successful
learning experience
for you?
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Handout #1
WHAT IS YOUR LEARNING STYLE?
Directions: Answer the following questions. These questions will help tell how you like to learn. There are no right or wrong answers.
1. I like to draw or trace things. (Tactile-Kinesthetic or Hands-On Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
2. I learn best when I listen to other people speak. (Auditory Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
3. I remember best the things I read. (Visual Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
4. I really enjoy science experiments. (Tactile-Kinesthetic or Hands-On Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
5. I learn best when I say it to myself. (Auditory Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
6. I understand better when I see videos/films. (Visual Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
7. I like to make or build things about what I am learning. (Tactile-Kinesthetic or Hands-On Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
8. I remember best the things I hear. (Auditory Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
9. I like to use charts and graphs. (Visual Learner)
Yes No Sometimes
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Handout #2
Syllabus: Sustainability in Healthcare
Your Instructors: Jane Lister-Reis Megan Nilsson-DosterNorth Seattle Community College 1199NW Training [email protected] [email protected]
Your Tutor:Amy Erdman
[email protected] are available outside of class to assist you. Please make an appointment with us and we will do our best to meet with you either before or after class.
Class Hours: Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6-8:30 pm
Class Dates: Classes will start May 2, 2011 and run through July 11th, 2011.Classroom Location: Education Building 0840C, North Seattle Community College
Course DescriptionA 5-credit survey certificate course in sustainability in the healthcare environment including: communication, leadership, environmental sustainability, systems and processes and organizational knowledge. This course is of particular relevance to those interested in Environmental Services, Building Services, Waste Management, Hospital Facilities, and/or Dietary Services. Instructor permission required prior to registration.
Course GoalsFor frontline hospital employees, in particular Environmental Service Workers, Building Services, Waste Management, Hospital Facilities and Dietary Services, to have a deeper understanding of the importance of a more sustainable healthcare environment and to develop competency in the knowledge and skills related to “greening the healthcare environment” including communication, leadership, environmental sustainability, systems and processes and organizational knowledge.
Course Core Competencies 1. Problem Posing and Problem Identification2. Communication3. Leadership4. Sustainability Knowledge5. Systems and Processes
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Handout #3
6. Organizational Knowledge7. Final Presentation
Learning Objectives
At the end of this course, you should be able to:
communicate effectively (interpersonally, inter-culturally and publically) including coaching, mentoring, and orienting workers in “green” practices, speaking with co-workers and staff about “green” projects, and presenting publically about sustainability at various departmental meetings;
work effectively with diverse teams and across departments to achieve commonly identified sustainability goals by applying systems thinking principles that understand a healthcare environment as a living organism and view workers and others as important parts of a dynamic, interdependent whole system;
Be knowledgeable of the core sustainability challenges and opportunities facing the healthcare industry today including conserving water, waste, and energy, and reducing the use of toxic chemicals;
Able to gather, analyze , interpret and report data to inform departments of the development and progress of “green” initiatives that EVS workers play a part in; and
Be knowledgeable of the healthcare environment’s organizational structure in order to effectively negotiate its structures.
Texts A Course Reader will be provided as a “green” resource including:
o Articles about “green” practices in healthcareo Generalize healthcare site visit reports o Customized training material from H-CAP o Assessment Rubrics
Supplies Computer – loaned to each student for in-class assignments Computer Flash Drive -provided by the grant “Accordion” folder or a 3-ring binder (for handouts and homework) – provided by the grant Paper or Journal for writing notes in class - provided by the grant Pens/pencils/eraser – students should bring their own
Please bring all supplies to class.
Course Expectations Come to class on time
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Be prepared and complete your class work, homework and assignments on time Participate as a learner Have fun and enjoy the new learning experience!
Because this class is student-centered, your attendance and participation are very important. Please let your instructors know in advance if you will not be in class so we can make arrangements for you to make up your assignments. This can be in person or by email ([email protected]; [email protected]).
Course requirements and grading You will receive points for all of your work. Your final grade will be determined by attendance, class participation, completed assignments, and the final “green” presentation:
Aspects of the Course PointsAttendance: 15% of final course grade
On time Attends all classes
5 points per week for 10 weeks or 50 points
Class Participation: 15% of final course grade Student contributes to the class by:
sharing insights asking questions stimulating discussion helping peers
5 points per week for 10 weeks or 50 points
Weekly Homework Assignments: 40% of the final course grade (includes a weekly journal observations)
15 points per week for 10 weeks or 150 points
Final Project: 30% of the final course grade and includes:
Final Presentation–shared by your Team - 50 points Organized Portfolio (includes weekly observations) - 50 points
Grading sheets will be provided for both the final presentation and Organized Portfolio.
100 points
TOTAL POINTS 350 points
At the end of the course, your final points are converted to a final numerical grade used in the community college system.
315 – 350 points/90 - 100% A” range (3.5-4.0)
280-314 points/ 80 – 89% “B” range (2.5 – 3.4)
245-279 points/70 - 79% “C” range (1.5-2.4)
210-244 points/60 – 69% “D” range (0.7-1.4)
209 points or below/59% & below “F” range (0.0)
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Organizing Material
Use the notebook provided in this class to organize the handouts and material for this course. Keep every handout and every piece of work until the class is over. Don’t throw anything away. Standard Format for Assignments Your journals can be handwritten (please write clearly). Some assignments may need to be typed on a computer. If you don’t have a computer at
home, you can use the computer in class, at the college library, or in the computer lab. Net ID required.
Put your name and the date on each assignment turned in.
Academic Honesty It is the practice within all colleges and universities in the United States that students must do their own work and use their own ideas. When you don’t, it is called “academic dishonesty” or “plagiarism” which means taking the words or ideas of someone else and presenting them as your own.
Examples of plagiarism include the following: Including into your own writing, without proper acknowledgement, the words, sentences,
or paragraphs from another written source; Paraphrasing or restating so closely from a source that the sentences and ideas really
belong to the original writer; Submitting as your own something written by someone else; and Receiving so much help from another person that the work is not honestly your own.
A teacher who believes plagiarism has taken place may require that a piece of writing be revised to eliminate the plagiarism, or deny credit for a piece of writing that is not original. In addition, a formal report may be filed with the college which could ultimately result in academic probation. Committing plagiarism does tremendous harm to your education. If you are having trouble with an assignment, please talk to your teachers so we can find a solution.
Remember, we want to support you in having your own voice in this class whether your voice is spoken or written! Support for Your Learning Once you are enrolled in this class, you may access the support for community college students which include:
Individual Tutoring - Tutors from the Training Fund.
A Tutoring Center - A writing and language center called The Loft is located on the top floor of the college’s library. The Loft provides free tutoring and computer learning programs. Tutoring sessions can help with reading, writing, grammar, listening and speaking. The Loft
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web site has lots of helpful information, and Loft tutors can provide on-line help with your work! The Loft is one of the best things about this college: please use it if you can. The Loft website: https://northseattle.edu/tutoring/loft-writing-center
Computers - North Seattle Community College has computers in the library available for your use. Before being able to use a computer and printer, you must obtain a Net-ID number which your instructor can help you get. https://northseattle.edu/online-services/netid
Computer Lab - North Seattle Community College has a computer lab which has computers available for student use. Again, a Net-ID number is required before using. See their webpage for daily hours: https://itservices.northseattle.edu/content/open-computer-lab
Withdrawal, No Credit, or Incomplete Grades If something happens and you can’t complete the class, please talk with your instructors. Don’t just disappear or stop coming to class. If you want an NC (no credit) grade, you must request it.
Course WebsiteAll materials from this class are posted to a website so you can obtain copies of anything presented in class should you need to:http://webshare.northseattle.edu/Sustainability_in_Healthcare/
WEEKLY CALENDAR 13
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOUAs your teachers, we want to help you to succeed.
We are available to meet to discuss any issues or problems that come up, before they overwhelm you – or us. We can usually help you work
out a solution and help identify resources to support you.Let’s work together to create the best learning experience we can
for everyone!
Module 1May 2 & 4th
Why sustainability in healthcare?
Module 2May 9 & 11
What might we do from our sphere of influence?
Module 3May 16 & 18
How do you choose a project?
Module 4May 23 & 25
How do we evaluate what is a good project? (Part 1) What might a process look like and what are the components?
Module 5May 30 & June 1
How do we evaluate a good project? (Part 2) – The issue of the 5 buckets
Module 6 June 6 & 8
How do we select our “green” project? Learning to communicate the impact on the triple bottom line with others (supervisors, managers, co-workers, etc.)
Module 7June 13 & 15
How do we work together? The value of collaborative relationships
Module 8June 20 & 22
Communicating about your project to others in the hospital
Module 9June 27 & 29
Prepare and practice for group presentations
Module 10July 4 & July 6
Prepare and practice for FINAL group presentations
Module 11July 11th
Present final projects. Celebration of Learning and Participation
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“Green” Vocabulary Words
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The United Nations formed a group of scientists called the International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The IPCC meets every few years to review the latest scientific findings and write a report summarizing all that is known about global warming.
Fossil Fuels Fossil fuels began as carbon that was fixed by photosynthesis in ancient swamps millions of years ago then locked deep underground as coal, oil and natural gas. These three fossil fuels provide more than 85% of all the energy used in the United States. They are also used to create nearly two-thirds of our electricity and almost all of our transportation fuels.
Carbon Emissions
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Carbon Dioxide Emissions, or “Carbon Emissions” or simply “CO2,” are generated in a number of ways. Carbon Dioxide Emissions are produced naturally through the carbon cycle and through human activities like the burning of fossil fuels.
Climate change/global warming
Tracking change in weather patterns over time
Overpopulation Condition where the number of human beings on the earth has become greater than the earth’s ability to provide
EcosystemA particular living environment that includes all of the creatures (non-human and human) who live in it and interact with the air, soil, water and sunlight
Biodiversity loss Change in the number of life forms that exist – during this time of climate change, many species are disappearing
PollutionThe introduction of harmful substances into a natural environment that causes harm to the ecosystem
Photosynthesis
The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.
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Handout #4
35 Critical Facts about Global Warming41
1. The earth is a natural greenhouse and is kept warm by water vapors, carbon dioxide (CO2), and other gases in the atmosphere, which absorb the sun’s energy and radiate it back toward the earth. This type of warming is called “natural greenhouse effect.” “Enhanced greenhouse effect,” on the other hand, causes global climate change due to excessive levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.a
2. Without the atmosphere to create a greenhouse-type effect, the average temperature on Earth would be just 5° Fahrenheit (F).g
3. Natural levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have varied throughout history between 180 and 300 parts per million (ppm). Today’s CO2 levels hover around 380 ppm, representing a 25% increase over the highest recorded natural levels.b
4. In the year 1997 alone, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere increased by 2.87 ppm; this increase is more than any other year on record.a
5. The year 2005 was the warmest on record, and the years 1998 and 2007 are tied for the second warmest. The eight warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998.a
6. Scientists expect a 3.5°F increase in average global temperatures by the year 2100, resulting in the warmest temperatures in the past million years. During the Pliocene epoch 1.8 million years ago, when the earth’s temperatures were roughly equivalent to today, sea levels were 12-18 feet higher.a
7. Geologists believe sea levels could rise between seven and 23 inches by the end of the century if current warming trends continue.f
8. Worldwide, one hundred million people live within three feet of sea level, and much of the world’s population is clustered in coastal areas.f
9. The polar bear, while surviving in drastically reduced numbers, is already effectively extinct in its natural habitat—and no amount of change can save it. Scientists estimate that just 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears still survive in the wild.g
10. The first forced relocation due to the effects of climate change occurred in 2007 when 100 residents of Tegua Island in the Pacific Ocean were evacuated due to rising sea levels and subsequent flooding.b
11. For the past million years, cool climate conditions have primarily prevailed throughout the world. It was under these conditions that the human species evolved.a
12. The earth has always experienced cyclical bouts of climate change. Recorded temperatures throughout history display graphs of peaks and valleys with occasional extreme periods, such as the Little Ice Age of the seventeenth and eighteenth century and the Medieval Warm Period of the eleventh
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Handout #5
century.g
13. According to NASA studies, average temperatures around the world have increased 1.4° F since 1880, with most of the change occurring in recent decades.
14. During the twentieth century, the earth experienced two warming trends. The first was a burst in temperature from 1900-1930, and the second is a continuing increase in temperature beginning in the 1970s.g
15. The last two decades of the twentieth century were the hottest decades in more than 400 years and may have been the hottest decades for several thousand years.f
16. Climate models predict the loss of Arctic sea ice earlier and more rapidly than the loss of Antarctic land ice if warming trends continue.a
17. Since the 1950s, Arctic sea ice has declined by 15% and the average annual duration of northern lake and river ice has decreased by two weeks.d
18. As Arctic ice rapidly disappears, scientists believe the Arctic will experience its first ice-free summer as early as the year 2040.f
19. Average temperatures in the Arctic climates of Alaska, Canada, and Russia have risen at twice the global average in the last century.f
20. The effects of global warming could destroy the habitats of and threaten extinction for over one million species of plants and animals.f
21. Between the years 1961 and 1997, the world’s glaciers lost 890 cubic miles of ice.b
22. In 1910, Glacier National Park in Montana boasted 150 glaciers—today there are 27.f
23. Deserts worldwide are increasing as a result of warmer temperatures. At the end of the year 2007, Australia lost 25% of crop production due to desertification.d
24. Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius realized as early as 1896 that human industrial activity was already surpassing the earth’s ability to reabsorb CO2.h
25. Fossil fuel burning currently adds nearly six billion tons of CO2 to the atmosphere every year. Only half of this CO2 is removed by forests and oceans.e
26. Rampant deforestation currently causes 20% of the world’s global warming pollution by prohibiting the reabsorption of CO2.c
27. Between the first Earth Day in 1970 and the new millennium, human-made emissions of greenhouse gases rose 70%.g
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28. The earth’s atmosphere now contains 40% more CO2 than before the Industrial Revolution.g
29. The United States represents less than 5% of the world’s population, yet Americans account for 25% of the world’s commercial energy consumption and 22% of the world’s industrial emissions of CO2.e
30. Cars amount to three-quarters of all transportation emissions. At the current rate, the world will be driven on by more than a billion cars in 2030 and a billion more by 2050.g
31. Roughly 75% of the annual increase in atmospheric CO2 is due solely to the burning of fossil fuels.e
32. About 20% of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere comes from the gasoline burned in motor vehicle engines. The vast majority of emitted CO2 is a result of fossil fuel burning in power plants for electricity generation.e
33. While increased concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere certainly can increase temperatures, many geologists believe that water vapor accounts for more than 90% of the greenhouse warming effect.a
34. According to the Internal Energy Agency, the world will invest some $20 trillion in new energy research over the next 25 years in an attempt to slow the effects of global warming.g
35. Global warming research is primarily conducted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a partnership formed in 1998 with the World Meteorological Organization and environmental agencies of the United Nations.d
Referencesa Archer, David. 2006. Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.b Environmental Defense Fund. “Global Warming Myths and Facts.” Accessed: January 17, 2009.c “Global Warming.” Union of Concerned Scientists: Citizens and Scientists for Environmental Solutions. 2008. Accessed: November 27, 2008.d IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2007. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Accessed: November 21, 2008.e Montague, Fred. 2006. Environmental Notebook: Observations, Principles, Trends, and Ideas about Life on Earth. Wanship, UT: Mountain Bear Ink.f National Geographic News. “Global Warming Fast Facts.” Accessed: January 14, 2009.g Walker, Gabrielle and Sir David King. 2008. The Hot Topic: What We Can Do about Global Warming. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc.h Weart, Spencer R. 2003. The Discovery of Global Warming. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
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WHAT IS CARBON DIOXIDE?
CARBON DIOXIDE:
1. Start this exercise by asking students what they already know about CO2 so to connect this experiment to their prior knowledge of CO2.
2. Inform students that they are going to do a small experiment to learn more about carbon dioxide. Distribute the lab experiment handout #51.
3. Distribute the small metal bowls (one per table) along with the materials.
4. Ask students to place the candle in the bottom of the bowl. Measure three teaspoons of baking soda and place it in the bowl around the candle.
5. Ask students to light the candle and using the dropper, add a drop of vinegar to the baking soda in the bowl.
Observation Questions:1. Is there any evidence of a chemical reaction when the baking soda and vinegar are
mixed?
2. What happened?: ________________________________________________(There will be bubbling and foaming as the baking soda and vinegar mix.)
3. Did anything happen to the candle flame?:__________________________ (After a few seconds, the flame should flicker and go out, as the oxygen is displaced by the CO2 gas released by the chemical reaction)
4. Once the questions have been answered and discussed, ask for three volunteers to read the three questions about carbon dioxide.
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INSTRUCTOR SHEET
Carbon Dioxide (C02) Experiment (one molecule of carbon and two molecules of oxygen)
1. Please a candle in the bottom of your metal bowl.
2. Measure three teaspoons of baking soda and place it in the bowl around the candle.
3. Light the candle.
4. Using the dropper, add a drop of vinegar to the baking soda in the bowl.
5. Observation Questions:
Is there any evidence of a chemical reaction when the baking soda and vinegar are mixed?
What happened? ________________________________________________
Did anything happen to the candle flame? _____________________________
Safety Precautions Proper ventilation is required due to the odors of vinegar. Take care using the matches and candle
DisposalThe solutions can be poured into the sink and followed with water. Solid residues may be placed in the trash can.
Green Notes:
Baking soda is a chemical called sodium bicarbonate. Vinegar is a dilute solution of acetic acid in water. When mixed together, there is a chemical reaction in which carbon dioxide gas is
formed and released into the air. The bubbling and foaming you see as soon as you mix baking soda and vinegar together is the carbon dioxide gas.
The carbon dioxide gas is heavier than the air so it stays the bottom of the bowl. As the reaction continues, more and more carbon dioxide gas is produced which begins to slowly fill up the bowl. When the level of carbon dioxide has risen to the level of the flame, the flame will go out from lack of oxygen as it displaces the air.
Green Discussion Question #1: Can carbon dioxide be hazardous to you?
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Handout #6
Answer: Yes, in high concentrationsCarbon dioxide is a colorless, odorless gas that exists as a very small amount of the air in our atmosphere which we usually don’t notice. But if the amount of CO2 in the air you are breathing increases, it can be dangerous for example, from a leaking compressed gas cylinder of carbon dioxide gas or from a chemical spill.
Carbon dioxide gas is a hazard to humans in cases like this because it is an asphyxiant. Breathing in high concentrations may cause headache, sweating, rapid breathing, increased heartbeat, shortness of breath and dizziness depending on the concentration of carbon dioxide and the length of time you are breathing it. Breathing in very high concentrations can cause you to pass out or to die.
Green Question #2: Is carbon dioxide hazardous to our planet?
Answer: No…and Yes.Carbon dioxide occurs normally in our atmosphere. Green plants must get carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to live and grow. Humans and animals release carbon dioxide gas when they breathe out. Carbon dioxide is also created by the burning of any substance that contains carbon, such coal, gasoline, and wood.
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas – that is a gas that traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse effect occurs as a result of greenhouse gases trapping the sun’s heat and keeping it close to the earth. This warming effect refers to how gases in the earth’s atmosphere naturally keep the earth warm. Too much carbon dioxide causes global temperatures to rise and our climate and weather patterns to change.
Many elements of human society and the environment are sensitive to climate variability and change. Human health, agriculture, natural ecosystems, coastal areas, and heating and cooling requirements are examples of climate-sensitive systems.
Green Question #3: How do human beings add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?
Some human activities lead to the emission (sources) and removal (sinks) of carbon dioxide (CO2): The largest source of CO2 emissions globally is the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal,
oil and gas in power plants, automobiles, industrial facilities and other sources. A number of specialized industrial production processes and product uses such as mineral
production, metal production and the use of petroleum-based products can also lead to CO2 emissions.
In healthcare institutions, carbon dioxide is used as medical gases, as a refrigerant (dry ice is solid CO2), in beverage carbonation, and in fire extinguishers.
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CLIMATE CHANGE/CLIMATE WARMING37
Year25 CO2 (ppm) 2010 389.78 2009 387.35 Copenhagen Accord2008 385.57 2007 383.71 2006 381.85 1997 363.47 Kyoto Protocol 1992 356.271987 348.98 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 1959 315.98 The first year with a full year of instrument data
Atmospheric CO2 is accelerating upward from decade to decade. For the past ten years, the average annual rate of increase is 2.04 parts per million (ppm). This rate of increase is more than double the increase in the 1960s. See the table below.38
Decade Total Increase Annual Rate of Increase2001 – 2010 20.38 ppm 2.04 ppm per year 1991 – 2000 15.24 ppm 1.52 ppm per year 1981 – 1990 15.48 ppm 1.55 ppm per year 1971 – 1980 13.00 ppm 1.30 ppm per year 1961 – 1970 8.77 ppm 0.88 ppm per year
______________________________________________________________________37 http://co2now.org/Current-CO2/CO2-Now/annual-co2.html
38 http://co2now.org/Current-CO2/CO2-Trend/acceleration-of-atmospheric-co2.html
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Handout #7
GLOBAL WARMING
There are three important numbers to understand global warming39 -- 275, 389, and 350
For all of human history until about 200 years ago, our atmosphere contained 275 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Parts per million is simply a way of measuring the concentration of different gases, and means the ratio of the number of carbon dioxide molecules to all of the molecules in the atmosphere. 275 ppm CO2 is a useful amount—without some CO2 and other greenhouse gases that trap heat in our atmosphere, our planet would be too cold for humans to inhabit.
So we need some carbon in the atmosphere, but the question is how much?
Beginning in the 18th century, humans began to burn coal and gas and oil to produce energy and goods. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere began to rise, at first slowly and now more quickly. Many of the activities we do every day like turning the lights on, cooking food, or heating or cooling our homes or institutions rely on energy sources like coal and oil that emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. We’re taking millions of years worth of carbon, stored beneath the earth as fossil fuels, and releasing it into the atmosphere. By now—and this is the second number—the planet has about 389 parts per million CO2 – and this number is rising by about 2 parts per million every year.
Scientists are now saying that’s too much – that number is higher than any time seen in the recorded history of our planet—and we’re already beginning to see disastrous impacts on people and places all over the world.
Glaciers everywhere are melting and disappearing fast—and they are a source of drinking water for hundreds of millions of people.
Mosquitoes, who like a warmer world, are spreading into lots of new places, and bringing malaria and dengue fever with them.
Drought is becoming much more common, making food harder to grow in many places.
Sea levels have begun to rise, and scientists warn that they could go up as much as several meters this century. If that happens, many of the world’s cities, island
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Handout #8
nations, and farmland will be underwater.
The oceans are growing more acidic because of the CO2 they are absorbing, which makes it harder for animals like corals and clams to build and maintain their shells and skeletons.
The Arctic shows us the clearest message that climate change is occurring much more rapidly than scientists previously thought. In the summer of 2007, sea ice was roughly 39% below the summer average for 1979-2000.
Some of the world’s leading climate scientists have now revised the highest safe level of CO2 to 350 parts per million (the 3rd number) and represents the safety zone for planet earth. As James Hansen of America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the first scientist to warn about global warming more than two decades ago, wrote recently:
“If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted …CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm.”
The Heathcare Section’s Impact on Climate Change40
The healthcare sector ranks as the #2 energy user after the food service industry.
Inpatient care facility is the health sector’s largest energy consumer and obviously the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) producer.
Hospitals use approximately twice the energy as office buildings of the same size, and roughly twice the amount of comparable European hospitals.
The high energy intensity of fossil fuel generated power used by medicine to heal is having the unintended consequence of causing additional illness and disease that
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must then be cured.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) has recently recognized the threat of Climate Change to public health stating that the long-term threat of climate change to health is extremely serious and that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are primarily responsible for this threat.
The APHA states that the healthcare industry should be better educated about the impacts of climate change and adopt mitigation and adaptation strategies.
What can Healthcare Institutions Do?
Maintain an electric energy management program
Use less energy usage, for example by purchasing products with more recycled content
Improve energy efficiency by investing in innovative projects that use alternative fuels
Gradually replace the use of conventional energy with clean, renewable energy that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions
What Can Frontline Workers Do?
Use microfiber mops and rags which reduce water usage
Purchase Energy Star products: The Energy Star program promotes energy efficiency practices that protect the environment through intelligent product design and practices. Energy Star is a service of the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Department of Energy.
What other ways could you help reduce energy consumption?
________________________________________________________________39 Adapted from http://www.350.org/en/about/science
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40 Adapted from http://www.practicegreenhealth.org/educate/energy/
Wingspread Principles on the U.S. Response to Global Warming
Great nations rise to great challenges. Today, no challenge is more critical than global climate change. It reaches to the core of humanity's relationship with the Earth. It tests our capacity to make intelligent changes in our economy, policies and behaviors in the interest of all people and all generations.
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, believe that the United States must take immediate, comprehensive action against global warming, guided by these principles:
Urgency: Global warming is real and it is happening now. Every year that we delay action to reduce emissions makes the problem more painful and more expensive - and makes the unavoidable consequences more severe. Leaders in government, business, labor, religion and the other elements of civil society must rally the American people to action.
Effective Action: The U.S. must set enforceable limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to significantly reduce them within the next 10 years, and should work with other nations to achieve a global reduction in absolute GHG emissions of 60 - 80% below 1990 levels by midcentury. Experience proves that voluntary measures alone cannot solve the problem. Aggressive government action, including mandates based on sound science, is imperative and must be implemented now.
Consistency and Continuity of Purpose: Climate stabilization requires sustained action over several decades to achieve deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions throughout the economy. With its frequent changes of leadership and priorities, however, the American political system does not lend itself to long term commitments. Leaders in both government and civil society must shape policies and institutions that ensure sustained climate protection.
Opportunity: Mitigating and adapting to global warming offer the opportunity to create a new energy economy that is cleaner, cheaper, healthier and more secure. We must awaken America 's entrepreneurial spirit to capture this opportunity.
Predictability: Measures that signal investors, corporate decision makers and consumers of the certainty of future reductions are essential to change the economy.
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Handout #9
Flexibility: Deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions demand and will drive innovation. Our economy will innovate most efficiently if it is given the flexibility to achieve ambitious goals through a variety of means, including market-based incentives and/or trading.
Everyone Plays: Measures to stabilize the climate must change the behaviors of business, industry, agriculture, government, workers and consumers. All sectors and the public must be engaged in changing both infrastructure and social norms.
Multiple Benefits: Actions to stabilize, mitigate or adapt to global warming should be considered alongside other environmental, economic and social imperatives that can act synergistically to produce multiple benefits - for example, "smart growth" practices that conserve forests and farmland while reducing the use of transportation fuels. Many actions to stabilize climate offer local, regional and national, as well as global, benefits.
Accurate Market Signals: The true and full societal costs of greenhouse gas emissions, now often externalized, should be reflected in the price of goods and services to help consumers make more informed choices and to drive business innovation. Policymakers should eliminate perverse incentives that distort market signals and exacerbate global warming.
Prudent Preparation: Mounting climatic changes already are adversely affecting public health and safety as well as America's forests, water resources, and fish and wildlife habitat. As the nation works to prevent the most extreme impacts of global warming, we also must adapt to the changes already underway and prepare for more.
International Solutions: U.S. government and civil society must act now to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of the actions of other nations. Because greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate change are global, however, the ultimate solutions also must be global. The U.S. must reengage constructively in the international process.
Fairness: We must strive for solutions that are fair among people, nations and generations.
DO WE WANT TO ADD OUR SIGNATURE AS A CLASS?
http://summits.ncat.org/energy_climate/statement.php
http://summits.ncat.org/energy_climate/question.php
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DID YOU KNOW? HEALTHCARE FACTS AND SUSTAINABILITY OVERVIEW28
Health/Wellness
The U.S. Government estimates that managing chronic diseases in the U.S. population consumes approximately 75 percent1 of all health care expenditures. Chronic illnesses cost the U.S. 1.3 trillion a year2.
• The US spends $147 billion3 each year to treat obesity, $116 billion4 more to treat direct costs of diabetes, and hundreds of billions more to treat cardiovascular disease and cancer that many suspect are related to the Western diet.
• Globally, livestock for meat and dairy production is estimated to contribute approximately 18 percent5 of total greenhouse gas emissions, and runoff from animal farms and fertilized fields are polluting waters.
Energy Hospitals are the second most energy intensive buildings in the United States, using
836 trillion Btus of energy annually6 and generating significant greenhouse gas emissions.
• The healthcare sector spends about $6.5 billion7 on energy each year, and that number is increasing.
Hospitals have more than 2.5 times the energy intensity and CO2 emissions of commercial office buildings, producing more than 30 lbs. of CO2 emissions per square foot.8
A 2006 survey published in Health Facilities Management identified the top factors that stop energy efficiency improvements:
• Lack of funds• Other priorities• Long payback periods• Underfunded Operations & Maintenance (O&M) budgets• Lack of senior management commitment and support
91 percent of hospitals reported higher energy costs over the previous year, and more than half cited an increase of more than 10 percent (ASHE survey, Health Facilities Management, June 2006)
Water• Hospitals use an average of 139,214 gallons of water per day.
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Handout #10
A water use study published in 2002 showed a range of water use from 68,750 to 298,013 gallons9 per year per bed for hospitals in the size range of 133 to 510 beds.
System‐wide conservation practices have been shown to cut water use by 20 to 30 percent10— which can mean a savings of up to $100,000 a year for some facilities.
Water is finite; it cannot be created or manufactured. What is available on the planet is all there is. Only 3 percent is fresh water, and only a fraction of that is available for our water consumption needs. Water conservation has two main categories: (1) using less waste through better technologies in systems and fixtures and (2) capturing rainwater and other “used” water for other purposes. (IFMA Water Sustainability Guide)
Healthcare facilities are also significant water consumers and create 6,600 tons11 of waste per day.
Purchasing• The combined purchasing volume for healthcare group purchasing organizations in 2010 was estimated at $110 billion, a 31% increase over 2009.12
• In 2002, health care spent over $106 billion in direct purchases of chemicals and chemical products, more than double the amount spent by the second largest consuming industry sector. 13
Waste• The nation’s hospitals generate approximately 6,600 tons14of waste per day. With waste disposal costs up to $68 per ton15, and an estimated annual health care cost of solid waste disposal at approximately $15 billion annually, disposal of solid waste greatly adds to the hospital operating budget (may be as high as 40 to 70 percent).
• Burning of medical waste generates a number of hazardous gases and compounds, including hydrochloric acid, dioxin/furan, and the toxic metals lead, cadmium, and mercury. The disposal of solid waste produces greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. By reducing waste, hospitals not only avoid disposal costs and environmental hazards, they reduce the amount of raw materials, energy, and processing needed to replace the used products. 16
General Waste
A small but significant amount of that waste, about 15–20 percent, is highly regulated by multiple regulatory agencies including EPA, OSHA, DOT, Joint Commission, DEA and others. Items like regulated medical waste, pharmaceutical and hazardous chemical waste, radiological waste, sharps and others are expensive to manage—up to 10–100 times more than solid waste or recycling.
The non-regulated waste, the other 80+ percent, is no different from that generated by a hotel, up to 60 percent of which is either recyclable or compostable.
Landfill facts: In the early 1970s, about 20,000 landfills, most of which were actually unlined dumps, were being used. Today, as a result of the regulations, the dumps are closed and
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slightly more than 1,700 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are in use. New landfills are difficult to site and build due to community pressure (not in my backyard) and the cost of the required technology. The strategy today is to extend the operating life of a landfill by recycling and reusing materials that don’t need to be land-filled.
Methane gas: When waste is land-filled, methane gas is created by organic materials decomposing in an oxygen poor environment. Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG), is 8 times more potent as a GHG than CO2. The strategy for improvement is an integrated waste management plan that includes reuse and recycling, and composting programs to remove organic materials. Also ensuring your landfill has mitigation strategies for capturing the methane gas as an energy source or at least burning it off to reduce methane emissions.
Recycling Waste
Cardboard alone makes up almost 15-20 percent of the waste stream of a typical hospital.
Cardboard is used to ship 90 percent of all products in the United States.
Recycled cardboard (sometimes called old corrugated containers—OCC) only takes 75 percent of the energy needed to make new cardboard and lessens the emission of sulfur dioxide that is produced when making pulp from wood trees.
Recycling 1 ton of cardboard saves 9 cubic yards of landfill space and 46 gallons of oil.
While OCC is very recyclable, finding opportunities to reduce it is a priority—like implementing a reusable tote program.
Beverage containers (glass, plastic, aluminum containers) make a combined rate of about 6&ndash10 percent of healthcare waste. (Practice Greenhealth)
Blue sterilization wrap accounts for up to 19 percent of waste generated in the Operating Room (www.premierinc.com/quality-safety/tools-services/safety/green-link/green-corner/Harbor_Blue_Wrap_MDH2E.pdf).
A standard recycling program in a hospital consists of cardboard, confidential paper collection (HIPAA), mixed fibers (magazines, newspapers, non-confidential mixed office paper, boxboard), beverage containers, metal, recyclable construction/building materials, some non-traditional mixed plastics. This level of program can reduce waste by 30–40 percent.
Pharmaceuticals• Today, pharmaceutical waste can be found in trace amounts in soil and groundwater throughout the world. This waste comes from a variety of sources, including hospitals, whose pharmacies stock between 2,000 and 4,000 different items.17
Handout Reference28Adapted from http://www.healthierhospitals.org/announce/lib/downloads/HHI_Health_Care_Facts.pdf
Handout Sources: Adapted from: http://www.sustainabilityroadmap.org/resources/index.shtml#back01
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1 http://www.healtheducationadvocate.org/factsheets/chronic_disease_factsheet_2009.pdf
2 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/03/health/webmd/main3324881.shtml
3 July 27, 2009, teleconference with: Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. director, U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention; Eric Finkelstein, Ph.D., director, RTI Public Health EconomicsProgram, Research Triangle Park, NC; William H. Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director, Division ofNutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; July27, 2009, Health Affairs, online. (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=8184975&page=1)
4 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007) http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/faq/research.htm
5 UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock’s Long Shadow, 2006 (http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM)
6 Wilson, M., “Green Chemistry in California: A Framework for Leadership in Chemicals Policy and Innovation,” California Policy Research Center, University of California, 2006, http://coeh.berkeley.edu/FINALgreenchemistryrpt.pdf
7 Energy Star, Health Care: An Overview of Energy Use and Energy Efficiency Opportunities (www.energystar.gov)
8 U.S. Healthcare Costs - www.kaiseredu.org/topics_im.asp?imID=1&parentID=61&id=358
9 Practice Greenhealth Green Guide for Health Care Series – Water Conservation Strategies
10 Practice Greenhealth Member Case Studies, 2009.
11 http://cms.h2e‐online.org/ee/waste‐reduction/
12 http://peasnerhealthcare.com/GPO2010Outlook.html
13 Department of Energy, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey
14 http://cms.h2e ‐ online.org/ee/waste ‐ reduction/
15 2000, Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, http://cms.h2eonline.Org/ee/waste ‐ reduction/
16 http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/waste/generalinfo.html
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OBSERVATIONS Name:_________________ Hospital:_______________
Date:__________________
MODULE 1 JOURNAL ACTIVITY
With your “green glasses” on, record your observations in your journal as you go about your daily work. For example, you might write about energy waste or conservation ideas that you see. Or, you might write about any conversations you had this week with your co-workers about helping to “green” your hospital.
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Handout #11
OPTIONAL READING
What is Global Warming?
Glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising, cloud forests are drying, and wildlife is scrambling to keep pace. It's becoming clear that humans have caused most of the past century's warming by releasing heat-trapping gases as we power our modern lives. Called greenhouse gases, their levels are higher now than in the last 650,000 years.
We call the result global warming, but it is causing a set of changes to the Earth's climate, or long-term weather patterns, that varies from place to place. As the Earth spins each day, the new heat swirls with it, picking up moisture over the oceans, rising here, settling there. It's changing the rhythms of climate that all living things have come to rely upon.
What will we do to slow this warming? How will we cope with the changes we've already set into motion? While we struggle to figure it all out, the face of the Earth as we know it—coasts, forests, farms and snow-capped mountains—hangs in the balance.
Greenhouse effect
The "greenhouse effect" is the warming that happens when certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat. These gases let in light but keep heat from escaping, like the glass walls of a greenhouse.
First, sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, where it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere, “greenhouse” gases trap some of this heat, and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases are in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped.
Scientists have known about the greenhouse effect since 1824, when Joseph Fourier calculated that the Earth would be much colder if it had no atmosphere. This greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth's climate livable. Without it, the Earth's surface would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. In 1895, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius discovered that humans could enhance the greenhouse effect by making carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. He kicked off 100 years of climate research that has given us a sophisticated understanding of global warming.
Levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have gone up and down over the Earth's history, but they have been fairly constant for the past few thousand years. Global average temperatures have stayed fairly constant over that time as well, until recently. Through the burning of fossil fuels and other GHG emissions, humans are enhancing the greenhouse effect and warming Earth.
Scientists often use the term "climate change" instead of global warming. This is because as the Earth's average temperature climbs, winds and ocean currents move heat around the globe in
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ways that can cool some areas, warm others, and change the amount of rain and snow falling. As a result, the climate changes differently in different areas.
Aren't temperature changes natural?
The average global temperature and concentrations of carbon dioxide (one of the major greenhouse gases) have fluctuated on a cycle of hundreds of thousands of years as the Earth's position relative to the sun has varied. As a result, ice ages have come and gone.
However, for thousands of years now, emissions of GHGs to the atmosphere have been balanced out by GHGs that are naturally absorbed. As a result, GHG concentrations and temperature have been fairly stable. This stability has allowed human civilization to develop within a consistent climate.
Occasionally, other factors briefly influence global temperatures. Volcanic eruptions, for example, emit particles that temporarily cool the Earth's surface. But these have no lasting effect beyond a few years. Other cycles, such as El Niño, also work on fairly short and predictable cycles.
Now, humans have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by more than a third since the industrial revolution. Changes this large have historically taken thousands of years, but are now happening over the course of decades.
Why is this a concern?The rapid rise in greenhouse gases is a problem because it is changing the climate faster than some living things may be able to adapt. Also, a new and more unpredictable climate poses unique challenges to all life.
Historically, Earth's climate has regularly shifted back and forth between temperatures like those we see today and temperatures cold enough that large sheets of ice covered much of North America and Europe. The difference between average global temperatures today and during those ice ages is only about 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit), and these swings happen slowly, over hundreds of thousands of years.
Now, with concentrations of greenhouse gases rising, Earth's remaining ice sheets (such as Greenland and Antarctica) are starting to melt too. The extra water could potentially raise sea levels significantly.
As the mercury rises, the climate can change in unexpected ways. In addition to sea levels rising, weather can become more extreme. This means more intense major storms, more rain followed by longer and drier droughts (a challenge for growing crops), changes in the ranges in which plants and animals can live, and loss of water supplies that have historically come from glaciers.
Scientists are already seeing some of these changes occurring more quickly than they had expected. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eleven of the twelve hottest years since thermometer readings became available occurred between 1995 and 2006.
From:http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-overview.html
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What Causes Global Warming?
Scientists have spent decades figuring out what is causing global warming. They've looked at the natural cycles and events that are known to influence climate. But the amount and pattern of warming that's been measured can't be explained by these factors alone. The only way to explain the pattern is to include the effect of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans.
To bring all this information together, the United Nations formed a group of scientists called the International Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The IPCC meets every few years to review the latest scientific findings and write a report summarizing all that is known about global warming. Each report represents a consensus, or agreement, among hundreds of leading scientists.
One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2.
Different greenhouse gases have very different heat-trapping abilities. Some of them can even trap more heat than CO2. A molecule of methane produces more than 20 times the warming of a molecule of CO2. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful than CO2. Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons (which have been banned in much of the world because they also degrade the ozone layer), have heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2. But because their concentrations are much lower than CO2, none of these gases adds as much warmth to the atmosphere as CO2 does.
In order to understand the effects of all the gases together, scientists tend to talk about all greenhouse gases in terms of the equivalent amount of CO2. Since 1990, yearly emissions have gone up by about 6 billion metric tons of "carbon dioxide equivalent" worldwide, more than a 20% increase.
From: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-causes/
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Course Reader “Green” Resources
Healthier Hospitals Agendahttp://www.healthierhospitals.org/announce/lib/downloads/HHI_Agenda.pdf
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Catastrophic Climate Change Video
What did I feel when I watched the video?
What thoughts do I have?
What do I want to share with other?
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