You learned about the negative impact of economic growth and human utilization of resources that can lead to global climate change and extinction. In your Case Assignment, you reviewed many pieces of evidence and developed your own conclusions about the relationship between human activities and global climate change. Now review the conclusions that have been drawn by NASA regarding this information at NASA Climate

Part I:  A Closer Look at the Evidence

For the first part of this assignment, answer these questions using the NASA website:

Describe the graph on the NASA website. What does it show us about the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere? According to the following site (the United Kingdom’s National Meteorological Service), what recent event contributed to the rising carbon dioxide levels? Met Office
The supporting data on climate change are grouped into different categories on the NASA website. How are these groups labeled? Is there agreement on these categories between the NASA website and the UK website (Met Office). If not, how do they differ?
Select the Effects tab at the top of this web page: https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/. Summarize the effects of climate change listed here in one paragraph. Be sure to address the effect of climate change on our weather and water resources.
Part II:  How Can Economic Growth Become Part of the Solution?

Read the article from The Economist:

The outlook: Averting the sixth extinction. (2013). The Economist, 408(8853), 15. Available in the Trident Online Library.

Now answer the following questions regarding economic growth and climate change discussed in this article in paragraph format.

How does economic growth negatively impact other species?
What is described as the principal threat to biodiversity as the global economy and human population grows?
Is economic growth necessarily bad for our planet? What points suggest that economic growth can benefit biodiversity?
Conclude your summary by drawing connections between economic growth, climate change, habitat loss, and biodiversity.
SLP Assignment Expectations
Organize this essay assignment using subtitles that summarize the topic from each question above. For example, to answer Question 1, use a descriptive subtitle like the following: Part I: A Closer Look at the Evidence/Recent Events.

Answer each question under the subtitle using complete sentences that relate back to the question. Be sure to use APA formatting throughout your essay with 1-inch margins, 12-point type, and double spacing throughout. Include a title page, introduction, answers to the questions with subtitles, and concluding paragraph. Remember to include in-text citations within the body of the essay referencing your resources (e.g., Murray, 2014). Also, be sure to include a reference section at the end of your assignment listing all required readings and any additional resources you used to complete your essay. A helpful guide to writing a quality essay can be found in Trident’s Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper. This guide also provides links to example essays written in APA format.

Direct quotes should be limited and must be designated by quotation marks. Paraphrased ideas must give credit to the original author, for example: (Murray, 2014). Direct copying from homework help websites will not receive credit. Once you have completed your assignment within a Word document, please upload your final version to the SLP 2 Dropbox. Please also note your Turnitin originality score and make revisions as needed. Please contact your instructor with any questions.

Mass extinctions are periods in Earth’s history when abnormally large numbers of species die out simultaneously or within a limited time frame. The Cretaceous-Tertiary (or K-T) extinction event is probably the best known to many people because it wiped out the dinosaurs, but many other mass extinction events have occurred throughout the history of the Earth. Some of these mass extinction events are even more devastating than K-T. The most severe occurred at the end of the Permian period when approximately 96% of all species disappeared. Many smaller-scale mass extinctions of plants and animals have occurred as recorded in the fossil records. Discover more about Earth’s major extinction events below in the following Case Assignment.

Case Part I: Geologic History of Earth

The first part of this assignment requires that you consider the history of extinction on our planet.

From the Sam Noble Museum, answer the following questions:

How many major mass extinction periods are listed here? Follow the links from that page to learn more about each period. What caused each, and which major groups of species disappeared from each period?

Read the article link on Recent Extinctions:
Choose two of the recent extinctions listed on this link and explain why they occurred.
Case Part II: Global Climate Change

Scientists have concerns that human activities are changing our environment at rapid rates that could result in a sixth mass extinction. Lets examine the evidence:

Review the Recent, Past and Present section from Mass Extinctions.

Also review the following link from the NASA website: https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

Define greenhouse effect. Describe which gases are important to the greenhouse effect.
What were listed as human activities related to greenhouse gas production from each link?
How do humans contribute to both climate change and major extinction events?
Some scientists think that human activities may be contributing to a sixth mass extinction event. What specific evidence do they site for this possible event? (you may need to conduct additional research to support your findings).
Part III: Drawing Conclusions

Now provide a summary that explains what conclusions you can make for yourself based on the evidence provided and what you now know about the geologic time scale of the history of the Earth.

Assignment Expectations
Organize this essay assignment using subtitles that summarize the topic from each question above. For example, to answer Question 1, use a descriptive subtitle like the following: Part I: Geologic History of the Earth/Major Events.

Answer each question under the subtitle using complete sentences that relate back to the question. Be sure to use APA formatting throughout your essay with 1-inch margins, 12-point type, and double spacing throughout. Include a title page, introduction, answers to the questions with subtitles, and concluding paragraph. Remember to include in-text citations within the body of the essay referencing your resources (e.g., Murray, 2014). Also, be sure to include a reference section at the end of your assignment listing all required readings and any additional resources you used to complete your essay. A helpful guide to writing a quality essay can be found in Trident’s Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper. This guide also provides links to example essays written in APA format.

Direct quotes should be limited and must be designated by quotation marks. Paraphrased ideas must give credit to the original author, for example: (Murray, 2014). Direct copying from homework help websites will not receive credit. Once you have completed your assignment within a Word document, please upload your final version to the Case 2 Dropbox. Please also note your Turnitin originality score and make revisions as needed. Please contact your instructor with any questions.