Fifty million years ago, the earth started to cool down drastically. It went from palm trees at the poles to glaciers. Video explains one theory of what happened to cause the drastic shift in climate change. It details how a specific type of fern began to thrive, then die, resulting in a change in greenhouse gases. It ends by discussing possible uses for the fern today and in the future.

Concepts

climate change, greenhouse gases

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Map the areas where azolla naturally grows today
• Research the pros and cons of using azolla as a food source for animals or even humans

Classroom Considerations

• Some comments contain details about an orifice you may not want to discuss, so be careful when showing the video if comments are visible

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Provides cross-curricular connections to history, paleoclimatology, geography, and climate change
• Lists sources in the notes section for those wishing to complete additional research

Cons

• None