Front Page Talking Points

FOR THE WEEK OF MAR. 31, 2014

White House posts climate change details at new website as part of push for action

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1.gifLook for other coverage of climate, science or the environment and summarize why it's newsworthy.

2.gifCan you spot a photo of nature or a scenic environment? Discuss how climate change might have a long-term impact there.

3.gifNow see what President Obama or First Lady Michelle Obama is doing this week. Who could be affected by an issue either of them discusses?

The White House wants to show how climate change could affect the areas where we live or visit. A new website, climate.data.gov, is part of an effort to make Americans see global warming as a real and pressing problem. It turns scientific data about projected droughts, wildfires and rising sea levels into flashy digital presentations that can be mapped locally across our country.

One goal is to rally support for a upcoming regulations to limit emissions from coal-fired plants, which are linked to global warming. The new site, which isn't operating fully yet, will use climate science data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Defense Department and NASA. The first data will focus on coastal flooding and the rise in sea levels. The government is asking researchers and private companies to create free software simulations illustrating the impact of higher oceans for every coastal ZIP Code, municipality, county and state.

White House officials hope that if city planners and homeowners see vivid projections of the impact of climate change in their areas, it could ease opposition to climate-related policies. In a related move, President Obama also plans to ask Congress for $1 billion in his 2015 budget to start finance research, preparation and construction to adapt to extreme weather driven by global warming.

President says: "Climate change is a fact. And when our children's children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did." – State of the Union Address, 2014

Skeptical scientist says: "Dealing with climate change is not so much about identifying specific impacts at a specific time in the future." -- Christopher Field, Stanford University global ecology director

Utility industry says: "The administration's new climate change website will further bolster its fear-inducing vision of the future, which sounds more and more like a scene out of a Hollywood movie." -- Laura Sheehan, senior vice president at the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity

Front Page Talking Points is written by Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2024

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Common Core State Standard
SL.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: An essay of a current news event is provided for discussion to encourage participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the article. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event within the news, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.