Which Greenhouse Gas Is Actually the Worst?
Videos
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Chemistry, Earth and Space Sciences
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Provided by Hot Mess
What it is
- This introductory video from Hot Mess explains the basics of average global temperature and the many greenhouse gases that affect the planet.
- The video explains why CO2 is the greenhouse gas that is creating the largest impact on our planet, even though it isn't the most powerful greenhouse gas.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This video creates engaging and clear content by incorporating music, graphics, and text.
- This brief video works great to explain why the focus of climate change topics is on carbon emissions.
Prerequisites
- The video finishes at 4 minutes and 30 seconds. There is an advertisement that plays after the content.
- Students will need to have a basic understanding of climate change and greenhouse gases before watching the video.
- The video omits nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with global warming potential between methane and sulfur hexafluoride. Nitrous oxide is almost always mentioned in climate change videos, but it is not here.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Teachers can use the resources What is Climate Change?, Causes and Effects of Climate Change, or What is Climate Change? | Our Climate Our Future Chapter 1 if students require background information.
- Teachers can create groups of students to conduct research about individual greenhouse gases. Groups of students could study water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfur hexafluoride.
- After watching the video, students can research carbon sequestration efforts used to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
From the scientist review
A trope of climate denialism is to take the focus off of cutting carbon emissions and talk about water vapor. It is true that water vapor is an important greenhouse gas that makes our planet livable, but it is not the culprit of climate change, as this video from PBS explains. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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