THE GLOBAL

WARMING DEBA
Correlation or Causation?

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Understand the different types of evidence for climate change and its
causes, including records of CO2 levels, temperature records, pollen
and peat bogs, and dendrochronology; recognizing correlations and
causal relationships.
What is the difference between a correlation
and a causal relationship?

■ Correlation: is a strong tendency for two sets of data to vary together -

A correlation between measure does not mean that the change in one variable is the
cause of the change in the value of the other variable.

■ A causal relationship: is when one event happens as a direct result of another

with a clear mechanism by which one factor causes a given change -
To establish a causal relationship, further studies have to be conducted in a controlled
manner.
This provides further statistical information that would be required for establishing if
causality exists between two variables.
 GROUP TASK (max 3 people):
Prepare a presentation/campaign with accompanying appendices of evidence to convince the general
public/governments around the world that human-induced climate change is real and is a serious problem that we
need to tackle.

Your fact file should include actual data (statistics, maps, graphs, images, etc..) to back up any statements
you make.

You should use data from at least two of the following sources (but not limited to these!)
➢Frozen isotopes and temperature records
➢Dendrochronology
➢Peat bog records
➢Increasing carbon dioxide levels

Your evidence should be as up to date as possible and you should consider the source it comes from (Could it
be biased? Is the data collected reliable?)

You will all be expected to present your campaign (for at least a short time) next lesson- 10 mins per group.
Websites to help you:
https://u.ae/en/information-and-services/environment-and-energy/climate-change/climate-change

https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/

https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/basics-of-climate-change/

https://scienceexchange.caltech.edu/topics/sustainability/evidence-climate-change

https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-change/Evidence-for-climate-change

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/what-evidence-exists-earth-warming-and-humans-are-main-cause

You can also use the text book to support you- pages 69-70.