How Earth's Original Inhabitants Help Combat Climate Change
Videos
Grades9, 10, 11, 12Biology, 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 TED
What it is
- In this video, Steven Allison describes the fascinating abilities of microbes to help plants survive, recycle wastes, produce oxygen, and survive extreme environments.
- Steven explains that Earth's soil microbiome can help us adapt to climate change, build carbon in the soil, and fight food insecurity.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This video is a broad introduction to microorganisms with specific connections to climate change.
- Additional resources that would be helpful for further research are listed under "Steven Allison's resource list" towards the bottom of the page.
Additional Prerequisites
- Students should be familiar with cells, microbes, and microbial communities.
- The video can be downloaded as an MP4 and used offline.
Differentiation
- The video is somewhat long and full of information about microbes. In order to help students process the information, a graphic organizer or vocabulary list is recommended.
- Biology classes could use this resource to introduce decomposition, the diversity of life, evolution, natural selection, nutrient cycling, or natural solutions to climate change.
- It could be helpful to pause the video at various points to do comprehension checks and have students work in groups to write a summary of the video.
- An additional resource that may be helpful to watch before this video is Why Is Soil One of the Most Amazing Things on Earth?
From the scientist review
This 10-minute TEDx talk presents examples of new scientific discoveries related to climate change and microbiology. After introducing some basic microbiology descriptions, scientific experiments that have helped us understand the impact of climate change on microbiomes is presented, followed by some innovative ways to use microbes to address climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
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