Climate Change: reflections to support this discussion in Physics classes

Abstract

<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:SimSun; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:"Arial Unicode MS"; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@SimSun"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 135135232 16 0 262144 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:SimSun; mso-fareast-language:ZH-CN;} span.def-word {mso-style-name:def-word;} span.def-definition {mso-style-name:def-definition;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> The subject of Climate Changes is an everyday issue in our lives, due to media network information. Many questions about this theme are presented and discussed in a large sort of massive communication media. Despite this situation, we have to say that many of these issues are open subjects for the international scientific community, without a common sense about the causes and consequences of climate changes. In this context, Physics offers theoretical concepts and a way of modeling nature to produce some knowledge about this subject mainly because it is a basic science. From this point of view, the issue of climate changes can be considered a specially useful subject to illustrate these physical concepts by Physics teachers, to motivate students or to elaborate new educational proposals. In order to provide some tools to teach this subject in High School Physics classes, this paper offers two perspectives: to point out some physical considerations about this theme and to discuss a few uncertainties and controversies related to climate changes. In a specific way we will present some considerations about the energy balance in the Sun-Earth system, the greenhouse effect and the concept of the mean temperature of the Earth.