Climate Changes

The course has the following objectives:  understanding the phenomenon from the point of view of Physics  making the young generation aware of the new climate changes  identifying the changes that have occurred in the students’ own country by giving clear examples  suggesting measures that should be taken, in each country, in order to stop or to diminish this phenomenon

The lessons will be as follows: b Lesson I: General presentation of the phenomenon. Causes. b Lesson II: The effects: the greenhouse effect and its damage, air pollution and its effects on animals, birds and human beings, environmental changes in each country and on Earth as a whole, ocean warming.

b Lesson III: Ways of reducing or even stopping this phenomenon: solar heating systems, wind or water energy, etc. b Lesson IV :Measures to make people aware of these effects: students from each school will have to realize a questionnaire about climate changes and a statistics concerning the knowledge of this phenomenon and the measures taken within households, schools, cities and countries to stop it.

b b Changes in the sun b b Changes in the earth's orbit b b Changes in the clouds b b Changes in ice sheets b b Changes in the gases in the atmosphere (Greenhouse effect) What makes climate change?

Human-Forced Climate Change b b Climate changes can be natural or human caused Humans can affect the climate by changing the gases in the atmosphere. (greenhouse effect).

The Greenhouse Effect

b Romania, like other countries are often confronting nowadays with floods, tornados and even with the desertification process. The climate changes caused by excessive pollution are already affecting the citizens’ way of life

Effects of Climate Change b Greater air pollution b Severe and frequent extreme weather events such as storms, floods, droughts, tornadoes, heat waves b Increase in diseases transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks or rodents because of changes in precipitation and temperature b Fresh water sources threatened with rapidly shrinking glaciers and drought

b Intense exposure to sun’s ultraviolet rays due to thinning ozone layer leading to more skin cancer and impaired vision b Inadequate food production due to environmental changes and pollutants b Changes in population distribution

Heat Absorption by Ice Masses b Arctic ice, Antarctic ice b Mountain glaciers Mt. Kilimanjaro glacier will disappear within 20 yearsMt. Kilimanjaro glacier will disappear within 20 years Chacaltaya glacier, Andes Mountains, will disappear in 7-8 years (water supply for La Paz, Bolivia)Chacaltaya glacier, Andes Mountains, will disappear in 7-8 years (water supply for La Paz, Bolivia) Italian Alps will lose its permanent ice inItalian Alps will lose its permanent ice in years Glacier National Park is losing ice at anGlacier National Park is losing ice at an accelerating rate

How will climate change affect people? b b Everywhere: b b Sea-level rise b b Ecosystem change effect on species effect on farming b b Melting of polar ice effect on shipping effect on wildlife b b Coral death

How will climate change affect people? b b Everywhere: b b Increase in intensity of hurricanes b b Increase in droughts in some places b b Increase in intense rain in some places

How will climate change affect people? b b Everywhere: b b How will humans react b b Surprise changes

The Challenge: Sustainable Energy

The Challenge: Food Security

The final products of the course will be: b realizing a questionnaire among the students from each school and a statistics concerning the knowledge about this phenomenon; b making a poster about climate changes that will be posted in each school; b making a film about climate changes in the students’ own country or city.

GOOD WRITING SKILLS GOOD WRITING SKILLS

WHY A COURSE ON WRITING SKILLS? b We have chosen this course as our students as well as all of us are writers in one way or another: writers of letters, memos, reports, daily diaries or greetings on Christmas cards and so on.

b By attending this course you will be able to write a better letter, avoid those grammar gremlins and make written English your most valuable tool at work, school or home. You may also find how to get the response you want, how to use clear, cliché-free ways to convey sympathy or express what you really feel without falling into the common writing traps.

OBJECTIVES b to make students aware of the difference between speech and writing; b to observe examples of good and also bad writing; b to get students familiar with the structure of different pieces of writing ( a CV, a letter of application etc); b to enable students to create their own effective pieces of writing.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE  LESSON 1. How To Write Clearly and What Language You Should Avoid;  LESSON 2. A Few Refreshing Things In Grammar and Punctuation;  LESSON 3. How To Create the Perfect CV;  LESSON 4. Say What You Mean, Get What You Want; Creating Persuasive Pieces of b Writing.

FINAL PRODUCTS b Students will have to write their own European CV b They will have to exchange s on certain topics applying the newly learned rules and notions

In Romania most investors and business men are foreigners, they had to present their CVs and job applications in English and according to the new European requirements. Therefore, we consider that students might need some extra information and practice on this topic as during the classes at school it is difficult to cover all aspects and to study enough examples. We hope you will find this course as useful as we do. Of course, suggestions and comments will be more than welcome. I hope you will enjoy it. Good luck!