Lesson video

Hi there, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and it's so nice to see you here, for today's lesson.

Today, we're going to be continuing researching about the world's fascinating polar regions.

And today, we're going to find out lots of information about the threats they face and what we should be doing to protect them.

I think you're going to find this really interesting, so let's get going.

Today's lesson is called "Researching the Threats to the Polar Regions," and it comes from our unit called "Polar Regions: Essay Writing." By the end of today's lesson, you will have described some of the threats to the polar regions, what's being done to address them, and what more could be done.

Now, along with your notes from the previous lesson, the notes you make in this lesson will form the basis of the essay we're going to write later in this unit.

So please make sure you record them in a way that's helpful to you, and you keep them safe for future lessons.

Let's begin.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

A logical argument is an argument that follows a series of steps that lead clearly towards a conclusion.

And research is when we find out more about a topic or idea, using reliable sources.

Evidence is information or facts to show something is true.

And climate change, as I'm sure you know, is a long-term change to global temperatures and weather.

Here's our lesson outline for today.

We go to start off by researching the threats to the polar regions, and then we'll think about what's being done to tackle these threats, all in the context of our essay question.

So as you know, we're writing an essay in response to this question, "What makes the polar regions important and why should we do more to protect them?" And we know that this title is asking us to give just one side of the argument.

We are trying to convince our reader that the polar regions are important and that we should do more to protect them.

And we're going to write a logical argument that's going to prove that they're important, and prove that we should do more to protect them.

So because this essay is a non-fiction text, we also know we need to include information gathered through research, factual information that's gonna be really convincing to our reader that we are right, that these polar regions are important and that we need to protect them.

And this research should include evidence like facts, explanations, statistics, expert opinions, and references to official reports.

We might include all of those, but we need to have a variety of evidence to be really persuasive to our reader and to show that we're authoritative and that we're credible, that our information is believable.

So based on that essay question, our logical argument should lead the reader to make two conclusions.

Number one, that the polar regions are important, and number two, that we need to do more to protect them.

And in order to do this, we'll address several smaller questions that build towards these two conclusions.

Number one, what are the polar regions? Number two, how are they important? Then, what do they need protecting from? Because if we're saying they need to be protected more, we need to explain to our reader what they need protecting from.

And then finally, how are they being protected at the moment and what more could we do? Because the question says we should be doing more, so we need to know what we're doing now and what more could be done, and why that's so important.

So we've already completed research to address two of these questions, what are the polar regions and how are they important? So now let's test our knowledge of the polar regions and their importance.

Which of these statements about the polar regions are true? Pause the video and have a think.

Well, done.

Good job.

So A says the Arctic has many more people than Antarctica.

That's correct.

98% of Antarctica is covered in ice.

That is correct.

It's not true that several countries own parts of Antarctica.

No countries own Antarctica.

And there's no land under the North Pole.

That is true.

It's the Arctic Ocean, isn't it? It's true to say many scientists work in Antarctica.

And it is not true to say Antarctica is an ocean surrounded by land.

Antarctica is, in fact, a continent surrounded by oceans.

And it's true to say that parts of Antarctica are a desert.

So we've got loads of knowledge there, about Antarctica and the Arctic and why they're important.

We're gonna learn today, about how they're threatened and how we can protect them.

So can you explain why Andeep is correct to say the polar regions play an important role in keeping the world's temperature down? Can you think of all the reasons why that's correct? Pause the video and have a think.

Well done.

Good job, good thinking.

So there's lots of reasons in there.

Let's go through them.

First of all, the snow and the ice at the poles, because it's white, reflects back the sun's heat into outer space, and that cools the Earth down.

It means less heat is trapped in the atmosphere.

Then we've also got the sea ice on top of the ocean trapping heat in the ocean and stopping it from warming up the air above it, so that keeps the temperature down.

Then we've got permafrost storing carbon in the frozen ground, permanently frozen ground, at the poles.

Now that reduces climate change.

Now this one needs a bit more explanation.

That's because carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of those greenhouse gases that drives the greenhouse effect, which is that blankets of gases that keeps the Earth warm, it traps heat from the sun in the Earth's atmosphere.

So if that carbon wasn't frozen in the ground, it would be in the atmosphere and that would add to the greenhouse effect, meaning more heat was trapped and the temperature would be raised.

So the fact that we've got carbon trapped in the permafrost also helps to keep the Earth's temperature down.

So we can see that the main reason why the polar regions are so important is because they play this incredibly key role in regulating the Earth's temperature and keeping it lower than it would otherwise be.

Really well done for your thoughts there.

So we've done that research to explain what the polar regions are and how they're important.

So we've answered using our research, our first two questions that lead us towards that conclusion.

But if we look at the second part of our essay question, it says, "and why should we do more to protect them?" So the next step in our logical argument is going to be to convince the reader that the polar regions need protecting.

So we want to show our reader that the polar regions face some really serious threats, otherwise we're not gonna be able to convince them that they need protecting from anything.

And even more important, that we need to do more to protect them.

So our next small question is what do they need protecting from? So we're going to focus now on the threats that the polar regions face.

And the main threat facing the polar regions is climate change.

So how do we know climate change is happening? Well, as you might know, the global temperatures have risen by a degree on average around the whole world in the last 150 years.

Now that sounds small, but it's actually a very fast rise in historic terms. And in fact, as a result of climate change, Earth is now hotter than it has been for 100,000 years, and we know that that's linked to human activity.

Now, that was the global average temperature change of one degree.

However, the polar regions are actually warming much faster than the world as a whole, and average temperatures in some places in the polar regions have risen three degrees in the last 50 years alone.

So that's three times the global average in the polar regions.

And we know that climate change is driven by human activity that increases the greenhouse effect, by increasing greenhouse gas levels.

So those are those gases like carbon dioxide and methane which humans put into the atmosphere through their activities, and that increases the greenhouse effect, which means more heat from the sun is trapped in the Earth's atmosphere, raising the global temperature.

So, true or false? The polar regions have been more affected by climate change than other parts of the Earth.

Pause the video and decide.

Well done.

You're right, that is true.

Now what's the best explanation? Pause the video and choose the right justification.

Well done.

You're right, it's B.

The average temperature in the polar regions has risen three degrees Celsius compared to the global average of one degree Celsius.

So we've already talked about the importance of the polar regions in maintaining or regulating the Earth's temperature, keeping it lower, but we can see actually, the polar regions themselves have suffered a higher rise in temperature than the rest of the world.

So this temperature rise associated with climate change is already affecting the polar regions.

In what way? Well, historically, the Arctic Ocean at the top of the world around the North Pole, has been frozen with sea ice all year round, in summer and in winter.

But due to climate change, we're actually losing 13% of the sea ice every 10 years.

So the area which is frozen during the summer is getting 13% smaller every 10 years.

And not only the extent of the sea ice, but also the thickness of the sea ice has decreased by 40% since the 1960s.

So the area covered by sea ice during the summer has decreased, and the thickness of that sea ice has also decreased dramatically.

And scientists say that if climate change continues along its current trends, then the Arctic Ocean at the top of the world around the North Pole, could be free from ice completely in the summer by 2040.

That would represent a huge change, and that is only a few years away from us right now.

Now NASA, which is the North American Space Agency responsible for getting rockets and space stations up into space, say that 140 billion tonnes of Antarctic ice and 268 billion tonnes of Arctic ice have been lost since 2002.

So that's a huge amount of melting of the polar ice caps.

And the Arctic permafrost, that permanently frozen land, is also melting as a result of climate change.

So we can see some really dramatic impacts of climate change on the polar regions already.

Let's test our understanding.

Can you match each of these facts to the correct number on the right hand side? Pause the video and have a go.

Well done.

Good job.

So when could the Arctic be ice-free in summer? That would be 2040, according to some scientists.

And how much has the thickness of ice decreased? 40%.

The weight of the ice that's been lost in the Arctic was 268 billion tonnes.

It's impossible to imagine such a big number, isn't it? But that is a huge amount of ice.

And how much Arctic ice is lost every decade, every 10 years? That is 13%, and that's the extent of the sea covered by the ice during the summer.

Really well done for matching those up.

So we've seen that there's lots of polar ice melting, but why is that a problem? What are the consequences of this polar ice melting? Well, it can lead to sea level rise, and scientists say that the sea level has already risen by 20 centimetres since 1900, and a third of that rise is a result of the polar ice melting we've seen in recent decades.

And also, as this permafrost melts, we know it's going to release some of that carbon it stores into the atmosphere.

Now that is going to take the form of a greenhouse gas called methane, which is going to act to increase the greenhouse effect and cause more heat to be trapped in the Earth's atmosphere.

So the release of that carbon when the permafrost melts, actually increases the problem of climate change.

And then also, we know there's a problem for animals.

The sea ice in the Arctic which is melting rapidly, is a hunting ground for animals like polar bears.

And as it disappears, as we lose that sea ice, actually in some areas, 40% of polar bears have been lost, so their population has decreased by 40%, and that problem will get worse as there becomes less and less sea ice.

In addition, we know that the ice and snow at the poles reflects back lots of the sun's heat.

So as the ice melts, it's not replaced by a white surface, it's replaced by the sea, a blue surface, so there's less white reflecting the heat.

So the loss of the ice actually adds to the effect of climate change itself.

We've got less heat reflected back out to space.

Instead, the heat is kept in the Earth's atmosphere because it's not reflected back, and that raises the global temperature too.

So can you explain why Sam is correct? She says, "Wait, so climate change itself is made worse by the effects of climate change on the polar regions?" Pause the video and have a careful think about why Sam is right.

Well done.

Good thinking.

So we could say first of all, that climate change, we know, is causing the ice to melt at the poles.

And then that means there's less reflection of heat back into space, and that means the heat isn't reflected out and it's kept in the atmosphere, raising the temperature.

So that's one way.

And then we know that climate change is also causing the permafrost to melt, releasing the carbon into the atmosphere as methane, and that strengthens the greenhouse effect.

And also, we could mention the fact that when we've got less sea ice, we no longer have the heat trapped in the ocean.

Instead, the ocean's heat is able to enter the air as well.

So that's a third way in which that melting of polar ice caps adds to the problem of climate change.

And remember, all of this melting is itself driven by climate change.

So climate change has caused the problem, and then the problem of the melting also makes climate change itself worse.

So hopefully, we're beginning to see why it's important to try and do more to prevent the polar ice melting in order to prevent this problem of climate change getting worse.

So let's make notes about this research in order to be ready for our essay.

I want to you focus on this third smaller question we've got, what are the threats to the polar regions? And we can break it down into some other questions.

We could say, how have temperatures in polar regions changed, first of all? And what has happened to ice and permafrost in the polar regions as a result of the climate change we've seen? And then what are the effects of these changes? So what does all that melting lead to? And we need to try and include those facts, and statistics, and explanations, as well as evidence to support what we're saying.

And you might of course, want to do your own research from different sources as well, to back up your argument.

So pause the video now, and have a go at writing notes, not full sentences, to answer these questions under the heading of "What are the threats to the polar regions?" Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, great job.

So here's an example of the notes you might have made.

First of all, we know that because of climate change, temperatures in the polar regions have risen by three degrees compared to one for the world average.

And what's the effect of that? Well, we know that the Arctic Ocean would normally be frozen year round, but it's now losing 13% of its sea ice every 10 years, and there's been a 40% decrease in its thickness of the sea ice, and we know that the Arctic Ocean could be ice-free by 2040 in the summers.

We know that NASA say that 268 billion tonnes of Arctic ice have been lost since 2002, and we know that the permafrost in the Arctic is also melting.

And we know that because of this melting, sea levels have risen by 20 centimetres, and a third of that is due to the polar melting.

And we know that the sea ice is also a habitat for polar bears, and they've had a 40% decline in their population.

And we know that the permafrost melting will lead to higher greenhouse gas levels, making climate change worse.

And then the ice melting means less heat being reflected, which also adds to the problem of climate change.

So, lots going on there.

You've done a fantastic job to get this far in understanding the threats to the polar regions.

We're gonna turn now, to thinking about what we can do about it.

So we've discussed the threats, now let's think about what's being done to tackle these threats, and what more could be done.

So let's return to a moment, for our essay question.

What makes the polar regions important and why should we do more to protect them? Well, we know you've answered what are polar regions, how are they important, and what do they need protecting from? So our research so far, has shown us that polar regions are important and they need protecting from the threat of climate change.

So we now need to focus on what doing more to protect them would look like.

And to know what doing more is, we also need to know what's currently being done, because we are trying to argue that more needs to be done.

So in order to do that, we need to say, "Here's what's currently being done and it's not enough." We need to persuade our reader that more has to be done.

So let's think about this carefully.

So first of all, let's look at some of the attempts being made to improve things in the polar regions right now.

This is what's being done at the moment.

Remember, we are going to say that this is not enough.

Now, some of these things relate to climate change, and some of them relate to other aspects of the polar regions.

So one thing that's done is the Antarctic Treaty.

This was signed in 1959.

It's an agreement between governments to stop any country from trying to own Antarctica and its resources.

So this was trying to make sure no one would claim Antarctica for themselves or try and steal all of its resources for themselves.

In addition, you know that in 2015, lots of world governments agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, which obviously would impact on what we've already discussed about the polar regions, and that was called the Paris Agreement and it happened in 2015, as I said.

There's also a group of countries that work together in what's called the Arctic Council, to try and address issues that affect the Arctic, including climate change, but also other issues relating to the environment and resources as well.

And there are also charities involved in this.

So we talked about governments, charities are involved as well.

Charities like Greenpeace are campaigning to stop oil being drilled in the Arctic in order to prevent further climate change.

There is a lot of oil underneath the Arctic, and Greenpeace say, "Well, if we drill that, if we use that oil, then we're going to make the problem of climate change worse and make things even worse for the Arctic." And we've talked about the threats faced to polar bears and other animals.

Actually, hunting of polar bears was banned already in 1973, after lots of pressure from a charity called the World Wildlife Fund, or the WWF.

So we can see both governments and charities have taken some steps to try and tackle some of the threats that are faced by the polar regions.

So which of the following actions that we've discussed do you think is the most important? We've got making sure no one owns Antarctica, banning the hunting of polar bears, stopping oil drilling in the Arctic, agreeing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and working together in the Arctic Council.

Which of those do you think is the most important and why? Pause video and decide.

Well done, good job.

So here's what Jen says.

He says, "I think reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the most important, because that's the only real solution to the problem.

There's not much use in banning hunting polar bears if there's none left to hunt because of climate change." So Jen's saying it's all very well doing the other things, but if you don't tackle the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, then you're not really tackling the problem at its source.

So we now need to think about what doing more to tackle these threats might look like.

Remember, our essay question means we have to persuade our reader that we need to do more to tackle these problems. So here are some ideas of what doing more might look like.

Some scientists want governments to do much more to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

So setting more ambitious targets to reduce their emissions, and reducing them much more quickly than is planned.

So that's what some scientists believe is necessary to protect the polar regions.

Greenpeace, that charity we talked about, also wants governments to create what's called an Arctic Sanctuary area, which would be off limits to any industries, like drilling for oil, and also to fishing and military activity.

And the WWF say that governments should be investing money in developing technology that removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

So they want to not only see governments try and reduce their greenhouse gas levels in the way we just described, but also to actually remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere completely.

And some charities also want more research to be carried out, about what's happening in the polar regions as a result of climate change.

So those are some of the ideas about what doing more might look like, in order to tackle the threats faced by the polar regions.

So do you agree with Izzy, and why or why not? She says, "We can't just wait for governments to act - we need to take action ourselves." What do you think? Pause the video and decide.

Well done, good thinking.

So first of all, it's true that we can take actions that reduce our own personal greenhouse gas emissions.

For instance, we can use public transport where possible, we can eat less meat, and we can reduce how many disposable items we buy, because all of those things, if we don't do them, do contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

But our governments have a lot more things they can do than we can do alone.

Obviously, they're more powerful than individual people.

So remember, in a democracy also, we do have another power, which is that we can choose to vote for parties who will take the action that we want to see.

So depending on your own personal beliefs, you will, when you're older, be able to vote for parties who agree with those beliefs and who plan to implement things that you want to see happen in the world.

And we are lucky to live in a democracy where we're able to do that.

So let's do our final task for this lesson.

We're going to make our final research notes on this subject.

So we're gonna focus on that final smaller question, how are the polar regions being protected and what more could we do? And this is really important because this is the final part of our essay question, isn't it? We're trying to persuade our reader that more should be done.

So here's some questions that might help you guide your notes.

First of all, what's currently being done to protect the polar regions, including action to prevent climate change? And what more could be done by governments? And is there anything we can do as individuals? Of course, we're gonna try and include those facts, and statistics, and explanations as much as we can.

And you might want to, again, do your own research if you can.

So pause the video and have a go writing those notes to address that smaller question.

Have a go.

Well done, great job.

So here are some notes you might have made.

First of all, what's being done currently? Well, we've got the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, to stop the exploitation of Antarctica.

Then we've got the Paris Agreement of 2015, to reduce emissions.

And we have the Arctic Council, where countries are working together to protect the Arctic.

And we've got charities as well being involved.

We've got Greenpeace campaigning to stop oil drilling in the Arctic, and we've got hunting polar bears being banned in 1973, as a result of campaigns by charities like the World Wildlife Fund.

Then, what more could we do? Well, reduce emissions further and faster is what some scientists say is necessary.

And Greenpeace are campaigning also, to create that Arctic Sanctuary around the Arctic.

The World Wildlife Fund say we need to invest in technology to remove greenhouse gases.

And what about individuals? Well, we can reduce our own emissions by using public transport, eating less meat, reusing items, and I'm sure you know many more ways that we can do that as well.

So these notes are gonna help us to really drive home the end point of our argument, that more needs to be done to protect these polar regions.

Really well done for your ideas there, and great job making those notes.

So let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We know that our essay will give a logical argument in response to a question, and we'll be arguing just one side of the argument, providing a range of evidence to support it.

We know that we've completed research to support our logical argument, including facts, statistics, expert opinions, and explanations.

And we know that the logical argument should lead the reader towards a conclusion that addresses the essay question.

Really well done for your efforts so far, in generating all these brilliant notes.

They're going to make your essay so detailed and interesting for your reader, and most importantly, so persuasive for your reader as well.

I'd love to see you in the next lesson, where we start turning these notes into a more detailed argument together.

Goodbye.